CLEC- Access to Justice Program

The Community Legal Education Center's Access to Justice Program (AJP), formerly known as the Community Justice Project-Decentralized Dispute Resolution (CJP/DDR) project, seeks to address the reality of the dispute resolution process in Cambodia: the majority of Cambodians are unable to access the formal justice system, and the existing local methods of dispute resolution are not sufficiently standardized, professional or comprehensive to offer viable alternatives. The commencement of the CJP/DDR coincided with the release of the Royal Government of Cambodia's justice sector reform strategy, which recognized the need to build capacity in alternative dispute resolution methods.

Although everyday disputes in Cambodia are usually manageable locally, several types of disputes - including those involving unbalanced bargaining power or those with political overtones - are often left unresolved. Courts in Cambodia have proven to have too many barriers for ordinary citizens to access, while alternative forms of dispute resolution have not demonstrated a capacity to provide justice for rural Cambodians.

This situation led CLEC to conclude that institutionalized commune level dispute resolution mechanisms would improve access to justice for disadvantaged groups, and CLEC began the CJP/DDR in 2003. The overall objective of the CJP/DDR project was to increase access to justice at a more localized level, given that approximately eighty percent of Cambodians reside outside of the provincial capitals in which courts are located.

Recognizing the need for expansion of effective local dispute resolution mechanisms, as well as a more supportive legal framework to ensure access to justice for poor communities, CLEC subsequently integrated the CJP/DDR into a program called Access to Justice Program (AJP). Aiming to enhance AJP so that it can more effectively respond to the target communities' needs for justice, CLEC has expanded the program to more communes throughout the country.

AJP's goals include:

The establishment of local alternative dispute resolution mechanism attached to the commune councils of the targeted communes;
The establishment and strengthening of paralegal services at the local communities;
The development of networks of community leaders who have increased knowledge about basic laws and procedures, alternative dispute resolution and legal aid services through paralegals;
Exploring ways in which the Commune Dispute Resolution Panel model might be used to provide access to justice for juveniles who commit very small misdemeanors with the most mitigating of circumstances;
Advocating at the national government for the establishment of a legal structure for dispute resolution at the commune level;
The development of reference materials including laws, regulations and court judgments for use by project beneficiaries.