Developing the Mediation Service for the Mediation and Local Justice Department of the Ministry of Justice

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CCM cooperates with the Mediation & Local Justice Department, the Ministry of Justice to train the officials from districts, Khan and Krong around the country to become the professional mediators in order to provide the ADR and mediation services to the public communities. The training programmes has the objectives and processes as follows.
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Overall objective
The objective is to improve access to justice for Cambodian citizens through strengthened alternative dispute resolution (ADR), establishing the cooperative linkages between the formal and the non-formal justice, and incorporating ADR practice in judicial system in Cambodia. The chief intention is to build mediation capacity and establish a culture of mediation practice to Justice Service Centre (JSC) officials at 40 districts, in 10 provinces included Phnom Penh.
 
Specific objective
Increase mediation skills for JSC officials at Justice Service Centres, Enable the participants to use modern mediation methods and techniques, Practice the concept of justice and place of mediation in the legal system, Build up capacity for JSC officials to become mediator through learning and sharing mediation experiences and lessons learned, Improve shared understanding of ADR, Create understanding of ADR among the private sector, civil society, academics, and government, Enable cooperation between government; civil society; civil society; academics; and business communities in dispute resolution, and Advocate the government to integrate ADR into national policy and judicial system.
 
Expected results
Three two-day training courses will be conducted per year, Mediation training manuals developed, 27 JSC’s officials will be trained per year the conflict resolution, ADR and mediation skills, The trained JSC officials will be able to provide mediation services to the public communities, Mediation lessons learned will be shared among the civil society and the government, Increased understanding of ADR knowledge among the government and civil society, ADR knowledge is widely aware and supported by government and CSO, and Framework for monitoring and evaluation of ADR practice during the project implementation period will be developed.

​Details of activities
CCM collaborate with the Mediation and Local Justice (MLJ) Department, the Ministry of Justice to train and develop mediators at district level through capacity development of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and mediation program, and establish the ADR and mediation services to the 40 Justice Service Centres at districts in 10 provinces. The main activities are to train and build ADR mechanism and mediation capacity for the local government officials, and enable the trained mediators to mediate conflict more equitably and effectively.
CCM with MLJ jointly convene dialogues between the governments, civil society organizations including NGOs, courts, policy makers, and private sectors to set up a framework for incorporation ADR practice to courts and legal system so that the people have equal access to justice through ADR implementation.

Activity plan
  • Develop mediation training manuals and materials;
  • Conduct training workshop;
  • Monitor the practice of mediation service of the trained mediators;
  • Set up mediator networks at district level;
  • Follow up the training workshop;
  • Discuss and share lessons learned to find out solution for the improvement of ADR practice;
  • Bring sensitive issues from grassroots level to discuss at dialogue meeting;
  • Conceptualize the result and recommendations of dialogues for advocacy on ADR issues.

​Project Stakeholders
The involved stakeholders—Officials of the Justice Service Centres, Mediation and Local Justice Department, District governors and councilors, Provincial governors and councilors, Judges and prosecutors of provincial courts, Court officials, NGOs, national level policymakers from the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), Ministry of Interior (MOJ), Academics, and representatives from the private sector and business.
 
Mission and functions of JSCs
  • Provide training and/or technical advice to commune councils on mediation and certain legal matters.
  • Assess the demand for legal information at the districts and commune levels.
  • Disseminate necessary legal information to local officials and the public in the district.
  • Mediate and conciliate disputes if parties agree.
  • Provide referral services to disputants whose cases cannot be or are not desired to be resolved at local levels.
 
Mentoring and coaching
CCM continues provide the training programs on the “Conflict Resolution, ADR and Mediation Skills” to the target groups of the officials of the Justice Service Centres, Mediation and Local Justice, District governors and councillors at district level. CCM follow up regularly and coach the mediator team to ensure the compliance principles implementation and quality of mediation service
CCM closely monitor the progress of the project is enabled to clearly identify and subsequently address any potential obstacles to successfully complete the project within the timeframe set. By the end of each year, CCM conducts a mid-term evaluation to measure the success or failure of the project activities and make recommendations to improve the project for the next stages. The final evaluation will focus on ascertaining impacts and achievements of the project, and make recommendations for the future.
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