CLEC-PILAP Background

PILAP litigates those cases which positively affect not only its clients, but Cambodian society as a whole. As an indication of the importance of its work, PILAP and its cases have been cited in United Nations reports and international and domestic media outlets, including television, radio, and newspapers.

PILAP's goals are to use the legal system to assert and protect citizens' rights, as well as to encourage governmental and private sector transparency and accountability. To accomplish this, PILAP selects legal cases that have strong potential to generate publicity and debate, and that promote broader respect for legal norms beyond the mere bounds of the case. By publicizing its case work, PILAP hopes to achieve broader aims: to demonstrate the legal system's viability as an instrument of reform, to generate greater respect for the rule of law, and to assist both citizens and government to better understand and implement their legal rights and obligations.

PILAP's substantive focus is on land and forestry cases. Using a careful selection process, PILAP chooses a small number of high profile cases-ones which often negatively affect a large number of families or implicate powerful political interests. After accepting a case, PILAP employs painstaking legal analysis, careful development of evidence, negotiation, litigation, and use of mass media as necessary to resolve and publicize the case. Supplementing this case work, PILAP promotes policy reforms that assist citizens and government to more effectively use the law, and provides public legal education to develop greater understanding and confidence in the legal system. PILAP's media campaigns have included multiple public service announcements for television and radio, and its staff and clients have appeared on numerous radio and television talkshows.

The PILAP team currently consists of five attorneys, three project officers, a media and public relations officer, a translator, and an administrative assistant. Additional support is provided by a technical advisor provided through the American Bar Association, and an attorney advisor. Gender mainstreaming has been incorporated in the project, which includes three female attorneys, one of whom is the acting project coordinator. PILAP regularly provides internship opportunities to both Cambodian and international law students interested in public interest work. As an indication of their skills and dedication to serving the public interest, members of PILAP staff have been awarded fellowship and scholarship opportunities in the United States, Australia, and Austria.