Justice Base
Justice Base, which set up an office in Myanmar in October 2012, will, in 2013, implement a project designed to build the capacity of local lawyers who represent clients in Myanmar’s courts.
Challenge
Decades of military rule have severely damaged the institutions and networks that are vital to ensuring protection of the rule of law and human rights in Myanmar. Myanmar enters a new political era with a legal and social environment that is fraught with challenges for vulnerable communities and few viable channels for challenging human rights violations. Justice Base, which set up an office in Myanmar in October 2012, will, in 2013, implement a project designed to build the capacity of local lawyers who represent clients in Myanmar’s courts.
Program Summary
A team of local lawyers will receive training on legal advocacy skills, domestic and international fair trial standards, and Myanmar’s own evidentiary standards and procedure code. This team will then provide training and technical support to local lawyers who are representing clients in Myanmar’s courts. Key activities include:
- Development of Training Curriculum.
- Recruitment and Training of Project Team.
- Support and Training for Courtroom Lawyers.
- Information Gathering and Concluding Project Assessment.
Impact
The project will result in the development of a training curriculum on advocacy skills, fair trial standards, evidentiary standards and the domestic procedure code that can be used in subsequent efforts to promote the capacity of the legal community. Direct beneficiaries of the Myanmar Legal Profession Support Initiative will be the legal professionals Justice Base trains and supports. The lawyers who comprise the project team will be able to apply their enhanced knowledge and skills in subsequent engagements with court and government policymakers. Final beneficiaries will include the Myanmar justice system and the wider public.