PILCH Matters June 2009
Since the 1975 revolution that ousted the 500-year old royal kingdom of the land of ‘Lane Xang Hom Khao’ (the Kingdom of ‘One Million Elephants under a White Parasol), the Lao People’s Democratic Republic has largely operated under a punitive legal system consisting almost exclusively of the Courts, prosecutors and judges strictly enforcing criminal and other sanctions.
However, since the government commenced a process of development on the path to a market economy and graduation from Least Developed Country status in the early 1990’s, the importance of an operative private bar as a means to protecting rights (whether contractual, property, individual or otherwise) has exploded.
The Lao Bar Association (LBA) is the sole professional association that regulates and supports all Laos lawyers (being all non-government legal officers). Indeed, it is the sole legal body in Laos outside of the government.
Thanks to the support of PILCH, it is here at the LBA that I am fortunate enough to be working as a Project Officer for 12 months through the AusAID Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development program.
Since 2005, the LBA has been supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) though its Enhancing Access to Justice project. The Project aims to increase the capacity and training of the Laos legal profession, provide public legal education programs, assist the LBA to participate in legal sector reform and provide legal aid to the poor and disadvantaged.
When you consider that there are fewer than 100 practicing lawyers in Laos, and that most laws are less than a decade old, the ambitious nature of the Project is manifest.
While customary dispute resolution continues to play a crucial role, increasing wealth disparities and inflation, rising property prices and a geographic position squeezed between emerging China, Thailand and Vietnam, means formal dispute resolution practices are more frequently employed. It also means that a vast majority of the population – many of whom earn less than USD$500 annually as a family – has no access to justice, no protection from arbitrary uses of power, no ability to enforce their rights.
The LBA is therefore critical in developing Laos lawyers who are capable and responsive to the needs of the economy as well as the citizenry.
My role primarily focuses on the effective delivery of legal aid services nationwide, drafting and assisting with proposed laws and regulations and providing guidance on the annual training for university graduates who seek to become lawyers.
Since the LBA opened the first legal aid clinic in Laos (in August 2007), over 300 individuals have received free legal assistance and representation, while telephone hotline services have assisted over 1500 more. Today, the LBA operates a further two regional legal aid clinics, 6 legal aid drop-in centres in Vientiane and a mobile legal aid clinic visiting villages. In particular, the legal aid service has provided legal assistance to a number of individuals who were charged with offences warranting the death penalty.
It’s a challenging environment. While there is significant momentum for better health and education, law reform in a one-party socialist state is sometimes a more politically sensitive issue. While the government is committed to a ‘Rule of Law’ framework, it is frequently described as ‘Rule Through Law’. There are difficulties in accessing courts, jails and other places where legal aid is invaluable. Further, the law is at present not a well paid or regarded profession so attracting graduates is problematic.
Like Australian CLE’s, training lawyers to increase skills is a priority. The Canadian Bar Association has provided a number of annual trainings, but there is always room for further input. In 2008, partners and lawyers from top-tier London legal firms lawyers provided invaluable training to Lao lawyers and relished the experience.
Any legal associations or legal firms that may be in a position to provide basic legal trainings, legal texts or resources or other materials, should make contact through PILCH or the address listed below.
Despite the obstacles to legal reform that exist, my Laos colleagues are driven to create a more just legal environment, and I am constantly motivated by their good grace and dedication given the difficult (and often thankless) task.
Building ‘Rule of Law’ nations and implementing national access to justice programs occur ‘slowly slowly’, taking decades to achieve, not months or years. However, given the ability to contribute in a very small way to such activities, such long periods of time match the lengths that the profound experience of living and working in Laos will stay with me.
- Chris Sibree, Lao Bar Association
To read more about the Lao Bar Association: www.laobar.org. If you legal firm or organisation could provide any training, materials or assistance to the LBA, please contact: chris@sibree.net.