Seminar: Legal contribution to the International Phnom Penh Campus organized by the Paris Bar – 16 to 18 February 2014
The Henri Capitant Association Cambodia had the honor to participate to the International Phnom Penh Campus organized from the 16th to the 18th of February 2014 by the Paris Bar, with the contribution of the Henri Capitant France Association, represented by Professor Philippe Dupichot. Were Also present prestigious speakers such as the Minister of Justice His Excellency Mr. Ang Vong Vathana and the Cambodian Bar’s chairman His Excellency Mr. Bun Honn.
A unique experience to confront two legal systems
This seminar has been, on one hand, a fantastic opportunity to compare and confront the civil law (built on codified rules of law and present throughout world) and common law (essentially built on jurisprudential law which exists generally in the Commonwealth countries) and, on the another hand, to outline the business environment in the Association of South East Asia Nations (ASEAN) and the law that regulates it.
On this last point, the French Embassy in Cambodia underlined that this seminar “has been the occasion to talk about topics such as the business legal framework of in Cambodia and the ASEAN, the lawyer profession abroad, and the needs for enterprises and foreign investors regarding legal advice”. Hence, the Chef of the Economic Counsel of the French Embassy highlighted the specificity of the Cambodian business law.
These explanations were only made possible in a wider thinking environment, such as the analysis of Cambodian Law and Institutions, with the participation of Hisham Mousar, Member of the Scientific Counsel of the Henri Capitant Cambodian Association.
Lastly, these three days allowed us to confront the civil law and the common law through the example of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia. This topic had been introduced the first day of the seminar, with the screening of the movie “S-21, the khmer rouge death machine”.
To conclude this event, Laurent Martinet, Vice-Chairman designated by the Paris Bar Association, qualified this seminar as a “unique experience” to “confront two legal systems”. Then, he emphasized the necessity of “tackling without fear the globalization […] to harmonize and respect each identity and culture.”
The International Phnom Penh Campus gathered approximately 24.000 lawyers.
Click here to see and download the full program of the event (in French).