Local authorities from the district to village levels throughout the country will receive training from the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia (BAKC) to increase legal awareness on topics ranging from birth, marriage and death certificates to criminal and civil procedures.

The training is being conducted under the association’s "Lawyer to the Community" project, which aims to disseminate legal knowledge and basic understanding of criminal and civil law. The initiative will also promote free defense and counseling services for the poor.

The programme began last week in Kampong Thom province, according to the association.

BAKC secretary-general Liv Sovanna told The Post that those who would receive the training include village authorities, commune chiefs and council members, commune police, district administration officials and district and military police across the country.

"In the first round, we will complete training in all districts within the capital and provincial towns. In the second round, we will expand to districts across the country. Our goal is to reach the commune level,” he said.

According to Sovanna, the project could take about two years to cover all 32 towns and 163 districts across the country, as well as the 14 districts in Phnom Penh. To achieve this goal, approximately 200 instructors have already been trained.

Through the project, local authorities will be able to inform people, especially the poor, about their eligibility for free legal services and provide consultation on their issues.

Additionally, local officials will gain a better understanding of how to create and amend documents such as birth, marriage and death certificates, and necessary documents for marriage and inheritance.

“We all know that in our daily life, especially local authorities in the commune, they encounter many problems such as disputes. For example, if there is a criminal case, which of the authorities will resolve it? And if the victim agrees to withdraw the complaint, will the criminal lawsuit be dismissed or not?" Sovanna said.

Regarding civil cases, he noted that local authorities still face many difficulties because they do not understand the law clearly and are hesitant to correct documents, which is permitted by law. When they do attempt corrections, it sometimes worsens the case.

"For instance, with inheritance, when parents die, their children may dispute and come to the authorities, like village and commune authorities. What happens if local authorities do not understand the law either? In some cases, people inherit their parents' property verbally, which is not legally binding,” he said.

Pa Chanroeun, president of the Cambodian Institute for Democracy (CID), observed that local authorities' understanding of administrative work, law, human rights and democracy is still limited. Therefore, he said the BAKC project is beneficial.

"We see many people have problems related to misspellings on birth certificates and identity cards. Some of them find it very difficult to correct those errors; it’s like asking for fire from a demon,” he said, referring to a Khmer proverb.

He suggested that if the association or any stakeholder could add content related to human rights or democracy, it would further strengthen awareness of these subjects at sub-national levels.