Project News

From 9 to 17 September, 2009, counterpart training was held in Tokyo to provide the necessary knowledge and skills for the working group members, i.e., to enable the officers of the Ministry of Justice of Cambodia to draft the Law on Deposit. From the Cambodian side, the members of Drafting Group IV who are in charge of drafting the Law on Deposit participated in this training. The leader of the Cambodian delegation was H.E. Koeut Rith, Under-secretary of State and leader of Group IV. From the Japanese side, professors and judges who are members of the supporting group on the Civil Code (CC) and the Code of Civil Procedure (CCP), the Civil Affairs Bureau, the Legal Affairs Bureau and the International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Justice of Japan, as well as the International Civil and Commercial Law Center, supported the training..

In the first half of the seminar, the Cambodian participants acquired the necessary knowledge to draft the Law on Deposit through (1) lectures on the Cambodian CC focusing on the provisions related to deposit, (2) lectures on the Japanese law on deposit and (3) lectures and observation on the Japanese depositary system (Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau). During the lectures, the participants engaged in lively discussions with the lecturers, and the question and answer sessions often continued beyond the scheduled finishing time. Through the discussions the participants were able to resolve their queries and deepen their understanding of deposit law and the depositary system. Finally they were able to draw up a blueprint of the draft Cambodian deposit law.

In the second half of the seminar, the Cambodian participants presented the draft Cambodian deposit law and received comments and advice from the professors and judges, the members of the Japanese supporting group. They worked hard to prepare for the presentation until midnight of the day before the presentation.

It was the first time for the Cambodian side to present a draft law that they had written by themselves in front of Japanese professors and judges. The idea was initially put forward by the Cambodian side and this marks a new milestone in the initiative of the Cambodian side, which was highly encouraged in the project.

Finally, the Cambodian side set their own goal of finalizing the draft Law on Deposit　within the next two years. The Group IV will continue working on the draft, applying the knowledge and skills they acquired during this in-Japan training with the support of JICA experts.