Participants in a successful dispute resolution facilitated by the National Authority for Alternate Dispute Resolution (NADR). NADR
Local authorities are expected to become more adept at resolving disputes at the local level as the National Authority for Alternative Dispute Resolution (NADR) starts providing training next week.
Minister of Interior Sar Sokha on July 21 instructed sub-national level authorities to cooperate and coordinate with the authority in organising the dissemination of its mission, training on mediation techniques and facilitating alternative dispute resolution.
The instruction follows a request from NADR head Koeut Rith, Minister of Justice, who asked the interior ministry to cooperate with capital, provincial, municipal, district and commune administrations to spread information about the authority’s mission and organise training courses, in a letter dated July 21.
According to the minister, the minutes of meetings in which agreements are reached through NADR have the same legal effect as final court verdicts.
“The work of resolving disputes outside the court is the first of three priority tasks outlined by [Prime Minister Hun Manet] to strengthen and improve the quality and efficiency of the justice system,” Rith said.
NADR vice-president Chin Malin told The Post that training for local authorities will begin next week, following approval from the interior ministry.
He stated that while sub-national authorities already have a framework for this, the training would enhance their knowledge.
“This collaboration with local authorities aims first to promote the NADR mechanism and secure their cooperation. Secondly, it will assist in training officers in technical skills,” Malin said.
Pao Peng, chief of Troeuy Sla commune in Kandal province's Sa’ang district, told The Post that the common issues in his commune are usually land disputes, such as those involving roads and burial grounds.
He said about 60 to 70 per cent of local disputes can be resolved at the commune level, while the remaining cases are forwarded to the district level for further resolution.
Although he expected to gain more knowledge about the framework, he noted that local disputes are often difficult to resolve when a third party is involved. This includes situations where one side seeks intervention from powerful or wealthy individuals or hires lawyers to get involved in community issues.
"This includes, for example, one party in the conflict knowing someone influential and getting them to intervene or having an outside instigator. Sometimes individuals arrive with lawyers to resolve the issue, but at the grassroots level, there is no need for a lawyer,” he said.
He explained that at the sub-national level, dispute resolution is achieved through mediation, not by ruling in favour of either side. Both parties in the conflict must mutually agree on the resolution.
Am Sam Ath, operations director of rights group LICADHO, said that out-of-court dispute resolution mechanisms require relevant officials, especially local authorities, to understand the methods and strategies, and to have some legal knowledge as a basis for resolving disagreements.
He stated that the cooperation between the justice and interior ministries to provide training on this framework is appropriate and beneficial.
“So, after receiving the training, success also depends on the will, coordination and skills of the authorities,” he said. “These are the key factors for this system to be effective.”
An alternative dispute resolution mechanism was recently launched to resolve civil disputes on a voluntary basis for both parties. Recently, NADR has shown positive results, with conflicting parties finally finding solutions to their long-standing disputes.
