Starting February 3, anyone who has a question on the law or needs legal advice can phone lawyers from the Cambodian Human Rights Committee (CHRC) and consult with them for free, according to a CHRC notice on February 4.

The CHRC informed the public that for a limited period of time it was sponsoring a free legal advice hotline and lawyers were waiting to take their phone calls and answer their questions.

Five to six lawyers will be answering hotline phones and giving legal advice to the public every day.

“A team of lawyers from the CHRC is ready and prepared to provide legal advice and consultation to the public for free this week,” the notice said.

CHRC spokesman Chin Malin said on February 4 that the programme is for everyone without regard to their identity or background.

“If someone has a court case or a friend who is in trouble and they need advice, they are encouraged to call. Students can also phone to ask about the law even if they have no immediate legal concerns,” he said.

He added that the provision of these legal services are part of the CHRC’s community outreach efforts as well as part of their efforts to provide legal aid to those who are subjected to human rights abuses.

He said that in the past the CHRC’s volunteer lawyers had provided legal advice, mediated disputes and even defended people in court cases.

“This hotline is an expansion of that work in order to widen it and extend its reach to more of the community,” Malin said.

Am Sam Ath, deputy director for rights group Licadho, said the provision of free legal services could have a big impact in Cambodia because the majority of people did not know much about the law and could not afford to hire a lawyer.

He said in recent years some people did not know whom to contact for legal advice, while some had requested legal aid from civil society organisations or scholars.

“Unfortunately, there are only a handful of lawyers at the hotline to help quite a large number of people potentially. So, phoning to ask for advice may not get someone the answers they need in a timely manner if a lot of people call in, and people should be aware of that and plan for it,” he said.

He added that the most important thing was for Cambodia to make a commitment to the rule of law by reforming the legal and judicial systems to make the judiciary independent.

“We have a lot of laws, but there’s little understanding of the law or the legal system among the average Cambodians. If people are educated about the law it actually helps to reduce crime in society because they will better understand the full consequences of their actions.

“If they don’t understand then they might not even know that some of their acts are criminal offences,” he said.