In partnership with the Ministry of Justice, IBJ Cambodia held a four-day training event on fact finding skills and trial preparation. IBJ’s Training Director, Kellie Krake, joined IBJ’s local staff and partners to conduct the training. The goal of the training event was to show the importance of pre-trial preparation, including developing a theory and theme to tell your client’s case, the various stages leading up to trial and also direct examination and cross examination techniques.

In attendance were 23 defense lawyers, 6 prosecutors, 5 investigative lawyers, and 4 judges. In addition to our guest speakers His Excellency Bun Honn and His Excellency Soun Visal, there were an additional four members of both the Ministry of Justice and the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Judges, prosecutors and lawyers traveled from as far north as Rattanakiri and from the southern province of Prey Veng to attend the four-day training event.

The event began with an opening ceremony and welcome speeches from the Ministry of Justice, BAKC, Mr Ouk Vandeth our Cambodian Country Director, and Ms Kellie Krake. All speeches recognized the strong relationships between IBJ, the Ministry of Justice and BAKC. They also highlighted the importance of IBJ’s work here in-country towards strengthening the rule of law.

All participants, regardless of rank or status, were animated and enthusiastic during the four-day event. The first day of events was informative and specific to Cambodia’s criminal justice system. His Excellency Bun Honn spoke about defenses under Cambodian law while His Excellency Suon Visal spoke about the role and importance of having defense counsel for an accused during trial. This latter topic sparked the passions of the prosecutors present. Ms Angie Main, an experienced prosecutor in Scotland, volunteered her expertise and time at the event and spoke on the importance for both prosecution and defense of having legal representation and the respective roles of each.

The real fun however started on day two of the training. The whole day was full of laughter, experiments and enthusiasm as topics of theme and theory of cases, witness interviews, opening and closing arguments and the incredibly challenging skills of direct and cross examination were taught. Laughter, confusion and bewilderment were all on display. It was rewarding to see the progress made by all the participants on the day. The most diligent participant in attendance was the judge from Kampong Speu.

Day three followed up on the queries that arose from the previous day before a talk by a member of the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia about the trends in the criminal justice system. His Excellency Bun Honn rejoined us for a second day as a panel member to discuss issues of pre-trial detention and the roles and responsibilities of criminal justice stakeholders. A prosecutor from Phnom Penh raised concern about requesting bail and subsequent police refusal. His Excellency discussed possible steps that the prosecutor may take, especially when the accused had been detained longer than allowed under Cambodian law. The third day closed on the discussion of the impending mock trial for the final day of the event.

Friday morning arrived. And so did all the participants – early! In anticipation of the unknown, all participants arrived very early and were ready to go at 8.30. Preparation started as the participants were divided into groups of three: defense team, prosecution team and witness team. Everyone had a new role to play: prosecutors as defense lawyers, defense lawyers as prosecutors, investigators as witnesses and judges as prosecutors and defense counsel. The mock trial was a huge success. The skills that had been developed over the previous three days were evident. The day finished on a high and people were awarded their certificates. A touching moment to complete the four days was the speech made by our diligent judge. Standing up at the end of the day to acknowledge all the hard work of IBJ’s Training Director Kellie he stated: “While we acknowledge that there are differences in our systems, we can appreciate that we have learnt a lot of new skills. Thank you.”

Kate Flower is a volunteer with the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development (AYAD) Program. The AYAD Program is part of Australian Volunteers for International Development, an Australian Government, AusAID initiative.