Programs & Events
Close Window
Sonita Khun and Nearirath Sreng (center), members of Cambodia's client counseling team, with members of the Scottish team.
Cambodian Law Students Compete Internationally with US Support
Bangalore, India
April 3-6, 2008
Cambodia for the first time fielded a team at the International Client Counseling Competition (ICCC), a prestigious legal-skills tournament that attracts some of the best law students from around the globe. This year’s event was held on April 3-6 at the National Law School of India University in Bangalore.
The USAID-funded Cambodian team featured Sonita Khun and Nearirath Sreng, fellow third-year law students at the Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE). Although the pair did not win the competition, they received praise from the judges and gained valuable skills and insight.
“It was a great honor to attend the ICCC in India. I felt happy and proud to represent Cambodia at the tournament,” team member Sonita Khun said. “I learned a lot, especially best practices and how legal systems work in other countries.”
The ICCC places teams of students in a simulated law-office environment, where they are challenged to conduct a counseling session with a “client” who is played by an actor. Their performances are then scored by international judges. Over 100 students from 18 countries participated. Northern Ireland won the competition this year.
The teams competed in two rounds, the first featuring an asylum case and the second a trafficking case. In the second round, the Cambodian team competed against two of the strongest teams, the U.S. and eventual champions Northern Ireland. Although the Cambodian team finished third in that group, it was an excellent opportunity to compete against some of the brightest law students in the world.
The Cambodian team won the trip to India after placing first in the USAID-sponsored Cambodia Client Counseling Competition in February. The India trip and domestic competition are part of USAID’s $1.26 million Legal Education Program in Cambodia, an innovative program designed to strengthen the country’s legal system by improving the skills of law students.
