Rule of Law: Success Stories
Legal Advocacy Project Wins Against Government Municipality in Cambodia
The USAID funded Public Interest Legal Advocacy Project (PILAP) successfully stopped the Municipality of Phnom Penh from displacing landowners to widen a road. The landowners along the road were facing the loss of their land, houses and businesses.
The Phnom Penh Municipal Government had planed to expand the road from its current 7 meters width to 30 meters width, at a total cost of $520,000. In mid-July, residents along the road (some of whom have occupied the land since 1979) received 30 day notice that the city planned to expand the road. For many, this meant that they would lose a substantial portion of their land and houses. With no information about compensation forthcoming, some 88 families turned to PILAP to legally represent them in this case.
PILAP client Prum Nary spoke for many residents in describing her situation: "I have lived in the area since being relocated there by Vietnamese soldiers in 1979. No one ever told me I was living in a road or right of way. Why does the City Hall start to construct and evict people without any information and compensation? How can I have money to demolish my house? How can I have money to buy a new house?"
PILAP lawyers pressed their clients' case, demanding that the construction stop until fair and just compensation is paid. Although PILAP was going to file the case in court, they reached an agreement with the municipality that their clients decided to accept. "The Municipality agrees that it will not expand the road to 30 meters, but will only improve the road's existing 7 meters width," said PILAP Senior Attorney Huon Chundy. "In fact, the Municipality agrees to a moratorium on any further expansion of the road until 2010. During this time we will work closely with the Municipality to determine the extent of fair and just compensation due to each affected family in the event that the road is expanded at some point in the future." The Constitution and Land Law of 2001 make clear that a taking, such as was contemplated in this case, can occur only after the payment of fair and just compensation. Phnom Penh Municipality Chief of Cabinet Mann Chhoeurn was equally pleased.!
"The city realizes that it must provide a proper compensation plan before such construction projects begin. Under this agreement, the entire road will be paved and improved for commerce, but the citizens along the way will suffer no harm. And we look forward to working with PILAP to develop a lawful compensation plan for the future if need be."
PILAP's goal is to use the legal system to assert and protect citizens' rights, as well as to encourage governmental and private sector transparency and accountability. To do so, PILAP selects legal cases that have strong potential to generate publicity and debate, and that demand broader accountability and respect for legal norms - beyond the mere bounds of the case. Thus, while protecting individual clients' rights, PILAP also hopes to demonstrate the legal system's viability as an instrument to generate greater transparency and respect for the rule of law. PILAP seeks to assist both citizens and government to better understand their rights and obligations under the law, so that citizens develop confidence that their legal rights will be respected, and government can demonstrate its commitment to and respect for the rule of law. This case - PILAP's first case - is a perfect example of this approach."
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