Summary of the Terminal Evaluation
I. Outline of the ProjectCountry: CAMBODIA
Issue/Sector: Governance (Law and Justice)
Division

Project title: The Legal and Judicial
Development Project (Phase 3)
Cooperation scheme: Technical Cooperation
Projectin charge: Law and Justice Total cost: Approx. JPY 270 million
Division, Governance Group, Industrial
Development and Public Policy Department(R/D): April 9th, 2008
Partner Country’s Implementingth, 2008 to March 31st,
FromApril
9
Period ofOrganization: Ministry of Justice
Cooperati 2012

Supporting Organization in Japan:

onRelated Cooperation：
1 Background of the ProjectSupreme Court, Ministry ofFederation of Bar Associations

Justice,Japan

The Government of Japan has assisted the Royal Government of Cambodia in drafting the Civil
Code (CC) and the Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) through the Legal and Judicial Development
Project since 1999. To develop a legal system to accommodate the market-oriented economic reformof Cambodia. JICA set the advisory groups on the CC and CCP and assisted thelegislative-drafting process, especially in the field of Cambodia’s laws on civil affairs. Joint efforts
by Cambodian and Japanese parties produced the CC and the CCP drafts in both Khmer andJapanese in March 2003 (Phase 1).
Based on the results of previous project, the Royal Government of Cambodia requested
continuous assistance from the Government of Japan to promote the legislation and enactment ofthe draft CC and the CCP, and to draft associated implementing regulations and adjacent statutes.
The Legal and Judicial Development Project Phase 2 was implemented from March 2004 to March2008. The outcome of the Project Phase 2 was the application of the CCP throughout the country in
July 2007 and the promulgation of the CC in December 2007, following its passage in the National
Assembly and the Senate. JICA also worked to raise the proficiency of Cambodia’s working groupwith textbooks and clause-by-clause explanations from the Japanese advisory group.
The Project Phase 3, from April 2008 to March 2012, has followed on where Phase 2 left off indrafting, establishment, and dissemination activities for laws associated with the CC and CCP at
Cambodia’s request.

2 Project Overview(1) Overall Goal

The legal system relevant to civil matters functions appropriately(2) Project Purpose

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is able to take necessary measures to implement the Civil Code(CC) and the Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) appropriately.

(3) Outputs

Output 1:
MOJ takes necessary measures for drafting and legislating laws related to the CC and CCP.
Output 2:
MOJ follows up laws submitted by MOJ and makes necessary adjustment for laws submitted
by other ministries.
Output 3:
MOJ disseminates knowledge for implementing the CC, the CCP and ancillary laws to relevant
parties in the legal and judicial field

(4) Inputs
Japanese side：

Long-term Expert: 8 persons
Short-term Expert: 13 persons
Trainees received: 22 persons

Equipment: 48,697 USDLocal cost: JPY 50 million
Others: respective advisory groups(37 members)
Total Cost Approx. JPY 270 million

Cambodian Side： Staffing
Project Director: The Minister of Justice of the Kingdom of Cambodia
Project Managers: The Secretary of State in charge of legislation, The Ministry ofJustice of the Kingdom of Cambodia
Working Groups Facilities
1. Land, building and facilities necessary for the Project
2. Office space and facilities for the Japanese experts
3. Room and space necessary for seminars and workshops

II. Evaluation TeamMembers of (1) Ms. Kyoko KUWAJIMA (Leader): Director General, Industrial Development andPublic Policy Department, JICA
Evaluation(2)
Ms. Miha ISOI (Legal Assistance): Visiting Senior Advisor
TeamPeriodofEvaluation(3) Mr. Mitsuyasu MATSUKAWA (Legal Profession Nurture): Lecturer andGovernment Attorney, International Cooperation Department, Research andTraining Institute, Ministry of Justice of Japan(4) Mr. Masayuki KANEDA (Evaluation Planning): Assistant Director, Law andJustice Division, Public Policy Department, JICA
(5) Mr. Takayuki KURITA (Evaluation and Analysis): Senior Consultant, ICONS Inc.
(6)Ms. Megumi AMAKAWA (Interpreter): Japan International Cooperation Center
21/8/2011 - 7/9/2011

Type of Evaluation:Terminal

III. Results of Evaluation
1. Summary of Evaluation Results(1) RelevanceThe relevance of this project is deemed to be extremely high.
The Project is consistent with the strategy and the policy needs of the Royal Government ofCambodia, such as those in ”the Rectangular Strategy 2004”, “the Second Rectangular Strategy 2008,“the Strategy for Legal and Judicial Reform 2003”, and the “Plan of Action for Implementing theStrategy for Legal and Judicial Reform 2005” and the “National Strategic Development Plan
2009-2013”. The Project is aligned with the Japan’s ODA policy and strategy such as “the Basic Policyof Assistance for Legal and Judicial System Development” of the Overseas Economic Cooperation
Council in 2009, “Cambodia Country Assistance Program of 2002” of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
and JICA’s “Country Assistance Implementation Strategy for Cambodia of 2009”.
Since the support for the draft and legislation of the CC and the CCP was carried out by Japanthrough the Legal and Judicial Development Project (Phase 1 and 2), Japan has comparative advantages
in the utilization of the resources and knowledge accumulated through the cooperation in the past.
(2) EffectivenessThe effectiveness of the Project is deemed to be relatively high.
The approach to enhance the ownership of the Cambodian side through shifting the main role ofpreparing the first draft of laws and regulations to the MOJ officials was effective. Some DraftingGroup members actively and eagerly engaged in drafting activities in spite of busy working schedule,
while it took more time than expected.
Through drafting activities on the ancillary laws and regulations, the Drafting Group members
improved the understanding of the related articles of the CC. However, it seems that some MOJ
officials do not fully understand the whole structure and the practical meaning of the CC and the CCP,
while they understand some specific functions of the CC and the CCP very well in details. Broadened
understanding on the whole structure and function of the CC and the CCP is also necessary for MOJ
officials to improve the skills and capacity of drafting and implementing the laws and regulations.
The approach to establish the framework of drafting prakas in collaboration with MLMUPC waseffective, since it allowed MOJ to reflect the practical implementations and applications into the prakas
which needed to respond to the actual situation.
(3) Efficiency

The efficiency of the project is deemed to be relatively high.
Although inputs were deemed appropriate in general, following difficulties were found atsome points of the project period.
a) The dispatch of one long-term Japanese Expert was delayed in 2008.
b) The effective division of tasks among experts was not arranged.
In the process of project implementation, commitment of MOJ officials, especially DraftingGroup members has greatly improved. The transfer of technical skills for drafting and ofknowledge on the relevant laws and regulations was properly made by Japanese experts tothose members. The Japanese Working Groups on the CC and the CCP, and the Advisory
Group on Practice of Immovable Registration which was newly formed in July 2009, provided
appropriate comments on drafting laws and regulations, made proper inputs through training inJapan and seminars in Cambodia, even though there was a delay in preparing the Commentary
and the Textbook on the CC. The Advisory Group was formed in response to the needs ofdrafting works on regulations on immovable registration of the Joint Committee throughgiving advices from the practical point of view and providing information.
The combined assistance of Japanese experts, the Japanese Working Groups, the Advisory
Group and MOJ of Japan as well as the combination of assistance methodologies likedispatching short-term experts for implementing seminars in Cambodia, JICA-Net seminars
and training in Japan both enabled the Project to respond properly to the needs of theCambodian side. The Working Groups and the Advisory Group composed of top level scholars
and legal practitioners provided assistance in high quality, which contributed to the efficiencyof the Project.
In addition, the Textbook, the Commentaries, and the other teaching materials weremutually shared and utilized among the Project and the other two JICA projects for legal andjudicial sector development: the ongoing RSJP Project and the BAKC project which was ended
in June 2010.
(4) Impact

The impact of the Project is moderate.
Several positive impacts of the Project have been already observed. For example, the MOJ
officials involved in the Project have gained skills and experiences in drafting and interpretinglaws through activities in the Drafting Groups. These skills and experiences are utilized for
drafting and dissemination not only in their civil case matters but in other fields as well. MOJ
has also increased their knowledge of PDM concept and applied it for their 5-year planning.
Additionally, MLMUPC officials acquired knowledge and understanding on the CC and theCCP through drafting activities of the Joint Committee, which greatly contribute to theachievement of the Overall Goal.
Recently, some ministries voluntarily ask for the advices of MOJ concerning theconsistency of draft and laws and regulations under their jurisdiction with the CC and the CCP,raising specific points to be considered. This implies that the contents of the CC and the CCP
are recognized among the government institutions in Cambodia.
(5) Sustainability
Sustainability of the Project is deemed to be moderate.
As a result of the continuous efforts to keep reducing the involvement of the Japanese sidein the drafting activities from the beginning of the Project, MOJ has developed capacity of its
young officials and start to be engaged in drafting works with ownership. This is a great
achievement towards sustainability in the future taking into consideration the fact that legaland judicial system was devastatingly destructed under the Pol Pot regime.
However, understanding of the whole structure and practical function of the CC and theCCP cannot be said to be sufficient among the MOJ officials. This kind of understanding will
be necessary for developing their capacity to implement the CC, the CCP and the relevant lawson their own so as to make the civil legal system function appropriately.
To make the progress more sustainable, it is necessary for MOJ to continue its effort toensure necessary financial and human resources.
2. Conclusion
Based on the results stated in the previous sections, it has been agreed that the achieved
Project Output is expected to lead to the achievement of the Project purpose, with thecontinuous efforts by the Cambodian counterparts. Therefore the Project will be concluded asscheduled.
3. Recommendations(1) Actions to be taken during the project period① Continuous efforts for steady progress in drafting process of laws and regulations
There are several laws and regulations, of which drafting or legislating process has been
behind the schedule, such as the Law on Deposit, the Law on Bailiff, and the Prakas on
Registration of Juristic Persons. It is recommended that further efforts should be made tofinish drafting the above mentioned laws and regulations during the rest of the project
period.
The Team said that JICA would consider to include the drafting of the Inter-Ministerial
Prakas on Immovable Registration pertaining to the CC in the scope of a new project that isunder mutual consultation.
②Promote further comprehension of the CC, the CCP and the relevant laws and regulations
by MOJ officials
In order for more MOJ officials to obtain comprehensive understanding of the CC, theCCP and the relevant laws and regulations, MOJ should take the following measures forinternal dissemination of the knowledge;- Promote the non-member officials to attend “the Training of Trainers (hereinafterreferred to as “TOT”)” as observers.
- Provide the officials who attend the internal study sessions with the opportunities ofgiving presentations in the sessions, so as to encourage more proactive learning
environment.
(2) Issues to be considered after the completion of the Project①Importance of comprehensive understanding of the structure and functions of the CC andthe CCP
From long-term perspectives, it is recommended that MOJ to develop human resources
further in terms of systematic and comprehensive understanding of the structure andfunctions of the CC and the CCP. This kind of understanding of the CC and the CCP would
also enable effective discussion even on the interpretation and application of specificarticles.
②Implementation of the CC and the CCP in line with reality of practiceAccess to practical and actual cases related to the application of the CC and the CCP,
such as court practices and registration procedures, would help improve the capacity for
implementing the two laws in line with reality of practice, It is recommended that MOJ
continue to work closely with legal practitioners such as judges and lawyers, and officers incharge of immovable registration.