From 2004-2011, the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative’s (ABA ROLI) Public Interest Legal Advocacy Project (PILAP) focused on class-action and public-interest approach to human rights violations in Cambodia. PILAP’s involvement in time-sensitive and high-profile cases and legal consultations earned significant attention from the media and the international legal development community. The program’s cases included the Kong Yu Case, the Koh Pich Case, and the Group 78 Case. ABA ROLI worked with the Community Legal Education Center, a local non-governmental organization, to support the PILAP. PILAP aimed to use the legal system to assert and protect citizens’ rights and to encourage government and private sector transparency and accountability. It took cases with strong potential to generate publicity and debate, as well as those cases that demand broader accountability and respect for legal norms.
During the seven-year program, PILAP achieved remarkable successes, including a three-million-dollar compensation settlement for an urban community prior to the expropriation of its land.
In the Koh Pich Case, the PILAP team represented 78 families who lived on the island of Koh Pich as they sought fair compensation (as provided under the Cambodian constitution and the 2001 land law) in connection with a proposed redevelopment of their land. Koh Pich is directly offshore from downtown Phnom Penh, where there is substantial development potential, and the case was widely covered by the Cambodian media. Following extensive negotiations with City Hall, the development companies and their client base, the PILAP team settled this case for all but a few families in November 2005. The highly publicized, high-impact approach was one of the first collective legal actions in Cambodia to help a community assert its rights to land. By providing legal analysis and advocacy, combined with an aggressive media and outreach strategy, PILAP demonstrated the legal system’s viability to generate greater transparency and respect for the rule of law.
ABA ROLI worked with several PILAP lawyers to establish a public interest law firm. The firm was unique in the Cambodian legal community, with its lawyers working to bridge the gap between the Community Legal Education Center and private legal organizations. Other efforts included undertaking more effective advocacy by building relationships with reformers within the government. Initial case selection focused on those cases that can prove the firm’s capabilities and value, both to the government and to private firms, NGOs and local communities. The lawyers also will conduct informational seminars for other lawyers and government officials.
Organizing Regional Study Tours
To train the PILAP's Cambodian staff, ABA ROLI hosted regional study tours. In 2005, PILAP attorneys were trained in the Philippines and Thailand. Such tours provided staff attorneys with opportunities to learn about legal non-governmental organizations in other Asian countries and the impact of their more open political systems and participatory attitudes.
Creating Public Service Announcements
The PILAP team created three 60-second-long public service announcements (PSAs) targeting Cambodian youth aged 11–14. The PSAs, which aired throughout Cambodia in January and February 2007, were meant to raise the youth’s awareness about legal rights and responsibilities.