Japan brings reluctant public into crime trials

By Isabel Reynolds Isabel Reynolds – 1 hr 12 mins ago

TOKYO (Reuters Life!) – Japan is counting down to its biggest legal revolution in 60 years, opening up its criminal justice system by bringing the public into court as lay judges -- but many say they'd rather leave it to professionals.

The new system, aimed at speeding up trials that have often dragged on for years, will require six members of the public chosen at random to join three professional judges to pass verdicts and sentences in serious criminal cases.

Media say August 3 will mark the start of the first of what are likely to be 2,000-3,000 such trials each year.

But opinion polls show almost half the population does not want to take part and many more are worried.

"Some people have said the trial system was difficult to understand, or that it was hard for ordinary people to use or to feel familiar with," said an official at the Justice Ministry, explaining the reasons for the change.

"Occasionally there were verdicts that didn't seem to quite chime with the views of the public," said the official, who declined to be named.

Japan introduced a limited jury system in the early 20th century, but suspended it during World War Two. Despite calls for it to be re-introduced, verdicts and sentencing have been the province of professional judges since then.

Neighboring South Korea has introduced a consultative jury system, but many prosecutors and even defense lawyers are reluctant to abandon the old way of doing things.

Japan's judges reach verdicts and pass sentences largely on the basis of paperwork. Many trials are very lengthy and usually end in a guilty verdict for more than 99 percent of cases.

One of the aims of the new system, from which defendants cannot opt out, is to reach a verdict in a few days.

PUBLIC UNEASE

Some Japanese reject the lay judge system entirely, and are campaigning to have it suspended. Family relations consultant Hiromi Ikeuchi says acting as a judge will be a needless burden on people who are not trained or paid to deal with the stress.

"It doesn't suit the Japanese temperament," she said. "I would not want my own 20-year-old daughter, for example, to have to examine disturbing photographic evidence from a rape-murder."

"If they want to open the legal system up to the public, they should just broadcast trials on television," Ikeuchi added.

Others are calling for changes in the system, which comes into force months after a previous legal shift allowed victims or their families to question the defendant in court.

"I supported the system at first," said Setsuo Miyazawa, a law professor at Aoyama Gakuin University. "I thought lay people would uncover the many cases of bad police investigation, especially the way they question people," he added.

But Miyazawa says he now fears victims' families may hold too much emotional sway over lay judges.

Japan's police are often accused of using violence and intimidation to obtain the confessions that form the basis of most convictions. Attempts to stamp out the problem by introducing full recording of questioning have so far failed.

In the latest case, Toshikazu Sugaya was released from jail last week after 17 years when his conviction for the killing of a four-year-old girl was overturned after DNA evidence was found not to match. He told media an initial confession had been drawn from him under duress.

Opponents of the death penalty, though a minority in Japan, are also concerned about the new system.

"Through our own negligence, we let this bill pass without debating it properly," said lawmaker Shizuka Kamei, a former policeman and deputy leader of the small People's New Party.

"We assumed it was just like a jury system, but it requires people to pass sentences, including the death penalty, by majority verdict," he added. Kamei says death sentences should be passed only by unanimous vote.

The new trial system is set to be reviewed after three years, but Kamei says he hopes to push changes through sooner if the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party loses power, as opinion polls show it may, in an election that must be held by October.

(Editing by Miral Fahmy)

Japan's internal affairs minister steps down

AFP/File – Japan's internal affairs and communications minister
Kunio Hatoyama, has resigned

TOKYO (AFP) – Japan's internal affairs and communications minister has resigned, dealing a setback to conservative Prime Minister Taro Aso just months before a general election.

Kunio Hatoyama, the brother of Japan's main opposition party leader Yukio Hatoyama, stepped down in a row related to the privatisation of the country's huge postal service.

"I submitted my resignation," he said.

"It's regrettable but I can't change my beliefs," Hatoyama told reporters after a meeting with Aso.

Hatoyama had demanded Aso fire Yoshifumi Nishikawa, the head of the privatised postal service, over Nishikawa's attempts to sell off postal assets at what Hatoyama called unreasonably low prices.

The minister accused the postal chief of a conflict of interest in trying to sell off a key public asset of the service, a nationwide hotel chain, at a price far below market value to a business associate.

Hatoyama had warned for weeks that if Nishikawa didn't go, he would.

His resignation dealt a setback to Aso, whose public support ratings have recently hovered in the 30 percent range ahead of the general election, which must be held sometime between now and October.

Aso has been put in a quandary as some heavyweights of his Liberal Democratic Party back Nishikawa, the former governor of the private mega bank Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group.

Toll in rail venture with Cambodia

June 12, 2009
Ross Kelly
Dow Jones Newswires

Homemade wooden cart on Cambodian poor railways


TOLL Holdings has signed an agreement with Cambodia to operate the nation's railways under a 30-year concession.

Under the agreement, announced today by Toll, a joint venture between Toll, with a 55 per cent stake, and Cambodian conglomerate Royal Group, with a 45 per cent stake, would operate the rail network and related freight logistics.

The agreement is conditional on final confirmation of investment by "the international community" of $US145 million ($176.8m), Toll said.

Toll already has an oil and gas logistics operation in Cambodia.

HARDEV KAUR: It's time Europe paid serious attention to Asem

By : Hardev Kaur

Some have described the European participation at the recent Asia-Europe Ministerial Meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, as ‘pathetic’.

HOW important is Asia to Europe? How serious is Europe in engaging Asia? Perhaps not very. This conclusion, rightly or wrongly, is based on the European presence -- or rather absence -- at the recent Asia-Europe Ministerial Meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, and the Asean meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The European participation at the Asem meeting was "pathetic", according to a European journalist in Hanoi. Two-thirds of European Union member states were represented by junior officials. The current president, the Czech Republic, and the incoming president, Sweden, were represented by their foreign ministers.

The major European powers -- Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain -- were absent. Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the EU commissioner for external relations, represented the Brussels-based commission.

And this after Jose Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, had declared at the Asem meeting in Beijing last October that "we swim together, or we sink together". But the Europeans sent an entirely different message with their low-key presence at the Asem meeting in Hanoi.

"The excuse of... European parliamentary elections is feeble," Philip Bowring commented in the International Herald Tribune.
"Europe's failure to take the Hanoi and Phnom Penh meetings seriously is viewed in Asia as typical of Euro-centricity -- not just in Brussels, but Europe in general -- and of an unwillingness to appreciate the role of Asia -- and not just China -- in today's world."

Bowring wrote that Europe's "lack of a significant role in high-level diplomacy is no reason to treat Asem so lightly, especially when Asian countries make a point of being there in force".

Asia, which is usually lectured by the Europeans, was fully represented in Hamburg two years ago, with ministers from China, India, Japan and all the Asean 10.

Asem was seen as Europe's response to Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), as it did not want to be left out for its lack of engagement with emerging Asia and its "miracle economies". It was felt that the relationship between the two regions had to be strengthened to reflect the new global context of the 1990s.

The rapid growth of economies in Asia saw many courting the region -- Europe included. The first Asem summit was held in Bangkok in March 1996.

At present, Asem's 45 members are the European Commission, 27 EU members, the Asean secretariat, the 10 Asean members, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Pakistan and Mongolia. Asem is the main multilateral channel for communication and dialogue between Asia and Europe. It followed hot on the heels of another forum -- APEC, which brings together Asia Pacific nations here and in the Americas.

The first meeting of the 21-nation grouping was held at the invitation of former United States president Bill Clinton on Blake Island, the US, in November 1993.

Numerous statements have been made by political and business leaders on the need for cooperation and coordinated efforts to deal with the current global economic and financial crisis.

Described as the worst crisis in decades, the economic meltdown is just one of the many crises that the world needs to deal with. Others include climate change, the influenza A (H1N1) virus, migration and piracy issues. All these represent an unprecedented challenge.

According to Dr Brigid Gavin of the European Institute of Asian Studies, "the effects of the economic crisis will be far-reaching and prolonged if governments do not act in a determined way to cut the vicious circle of ailing banks, spiralling government deficits, faltering industry and rising unemployment".

Certainly, there are competing agendas demanding governments' action, attention and funding. This is true for all -- emerging Asian nations as well as developed European countries.

"The current global economic and financial crisis (also) demands that both sides engage in very close cooperation," Shada Islam, senior programme executive at the European Policy Centre, said in a presentation at an EU-Asia forum.

But Europe seems to be turning inwards. Could it be because of the "leadership deficit" within the EU, which has revealed tensions within the community and given rise to major upheaval in Europe's internal balance of power?

European leaders need to take a close look at their collaboration and cooperation efforts. They should pay serious attention to Asem and not just lip service and token attendance. It is time to "explore ways to enhance and reinforce the substance and content of ties" with Asia.

hardev@alumni.ksg.harvard.edu

Holding the Government of Cambodia Accountable for Reproductive Health

June 11, 2009
By Ramona Vijeyarasa
RH Reality Check, Southeast Asia

On May 11 and 12, the Government of Cambodia will be put to a test of accountability as it reports to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Geneva. This is a great opportunity to give attention to the situation of social and economic rights in a country where discussions about education, health and housing rights are frequently clouded by the attention given to the war crimes tribunal. The Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has been enforced in Cambodia for over 17 years. As a result of this commitment, the Government of Cambodia is bound to take steps to achieve the full realization of the right to the highest attainable standard of health for all Cambodians.

The Government has already noted women's reproductive health needs in its report to the Committee. Its national population policy aims to ensure that all Cambodian people have access to comprehensive use of reproductive health service in 2015, with the goal of supporting couples and individuals to decide the number and spacing of their children and have the information and services to do so.

However, the reports previously submitted by a number of NGOs to the Committee revealed the extent of the current government's shortfall in achieving its international obligations, particularly with regard to maternal health as well as access to health care by indigenous communities.

A report by the Center for Economic and Social Rights highlighted the inadequate resources dedicated by the Government to economic and social rights. The Government's expenditure on health and education is particularly low compared to the country's GDP. Compared to other countries in the region, Cambodians are more likely to pay out-of-pocket for their health care. In fact, the World Bank has reported that Cambodia has the highest private health expenditure as a percentage of GDP of all low-income countries. The report also highlights the vast regional disparities in availability of reproductive health services in Cambodia. Women giving birth in the capital Phnom Penh are over six times more likely to be assisted by a skilled birth attendant than women in the regions of mondol Kiri and Rattanak Kiri.

The health disparities for indigenous people are also a pressing issue highlighted by several NGOs. The NGO Working Group argues that money, transportation, language, discrimination, low levels of education and traditional beliefs/obligations act as barriers and are impeding access to health services and information. The Indigenous Community Support Organization, one of several organizations reporting on the rights of indigenous peoples, has similarly reflected on the obstacle to accessible services created by language and cultural barriers, citing the lack of indigenous minority staff in public health services as a significant problem.

Maternal health has also received coverage among the NGO reports, unsurprising given that the World Health Organization reporting a Maternal Mortality Rate of 540 per 100,000 live births in Cambodia, though data varies with the Cambodian and Demographic Health Survey indicating an MMR of 437 in 1998 and 472 in 2005. Regardless, the estimates are alarming and can be addressed with greater prioritization of maternal health. The NGO Working Group has offered several recommendations including addressing basic needs for reproductive and child health services, supplies and infrastructure with particular emphasis on community-based health care, increasing the skill of birth attendants and emergency medical obstetrics care services and providing free maternal health services to all poor and marginalized women.

The NGO Working Group has also highlighted the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS, Cambodia having one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in Asia, falling second to Thailand. They have specifically noted the need for expansion and strengthening of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) programs, increased coverage of the Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission (PMTCT) services, including better access to Voluntary Confidential Counseling and Testing (VCCT) services for pregnant women and, overall, an increase in the number of HIV positive pregnant women who received antiretroviral drugs to reduce mother-to-child transmission. They have also called for improvements in programs targeting specific at-risk groups, "such as brothel sex workers, women working in entertainment establishments, Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) and Injecting Drug User (IDU)."

Equally concerning, however, are the issues that have been given inadequate attention in the government and NGO reports. Wide-scale gender inequality persists in the country, with UNFPA reporting high rates of gender-based violence, with limited services for survivors and limited strategies for finding perpetuators of violence, rape and indecent assaults that disproportionately affect young women and girls. UNFPA and others like the Global Health Council report alarming evidence of gang rape, resulting in unintended pregnancies, HIV and other STIs as a result. Other groups whose health needs appear to be neglected in these reports are migrant workers and those living in urban slums.

It is clear the inadequacy of reproductive health care is much more complex than a question of improved physical access and increased government investment. At least, however, the Cambodians, through the NGOs participating in the process, have an opportunity to seek some accountability for the shortfall, and a new platform to lobby for change.

With Jarvis' new position, KRT reaches a new low

Thursday, 11 June 2009
Written by Noman Pentelovitch
Letter to The Phnom Penh Post

Dear Editor,

With Dr Helen Jarvis' appointment as the head of the Victims' Unit, the ECCC has reached a new and baffling low point in what has already been a process marred by alleged corruption and incompetency.

Dr Jarvis formerly managed the Public Affairs Section, a unit with the responsibility to "inform Cambodians throughout the country about the work of the Court generally ... [and] to facilitate their understanding and involvement...." Unfortunately, under her leadership the Public Affairs Section devoted a vast majority of its outreach resources to ill-advised efforts that did not reach a significant number of Cambodians, including printing expensive T-shirts and caps, desk calendars and posters that were heavily criticised for their confusing messages. These activities were a waste of limited resources and, as has been repeatedly pointed out, have done little to accomplish the stated goals of the Public Affairs Section.

The Victims' Unit is a unique innovation in international criminal law that informs survivors about and facilitates their participation in Court proceedings. Most importantly, its work is believed by many to be the best vehicle for ensuring the people of Cambodia feel that justice is being done for and by Cambodians, not by a disconnected international body for the "greater good" of international law.

Such a compelling mandate requires an equally compelling leader, a Cambodian with experience working with victims, and with an ability to prioritise resources and goals appropriately. Dr Jarvis does not have the relevant professional experience and has not demonstrated the necessary qualities in her role as head of the Public Affairs Section to lead the Victims' Unit.

When the dust settles on the proceedings before the ECCC, the measure of its success or failure in the eyes of Cambodian survivors may well rest on the efficiency, organisation and compassion of the Victims' Unit. If it is run with the same lack of energy, insight and care with regard to actually reaching Cambodians that has thus far characterised the work of the Public Affairs Section, however successful the prosecutions may be, the ECCC will fail to realise its full potential.

The voices of Khmer Rouge victims have been stifled for so long; to allow them to fade now only deepens the tragedy.

Noman Pentelovitch, Legal associate
Documentation Center of Cambodia

The sex industry in Cambodia: The traffic police

The wrong side of the street (Photo: Ryan Plummer)

Jun 11th 2009 | PHNOM PENH
The Economist

’Tis a pity, but she won’t go away

IN EERIE, deserted silence on the outskirts of Phnom Penh sits the Prey Speu detention centre. Barely legible on its grimy walls a few weeks ago were cries for help and whispers of despair from the tormented souls once crammed into its grimy cells. “This is to mark that I lived in terror under oppression,” read one message.

It recalls a Khmer Rouge torture centre from the genocidal 1970s. But in fact the building was used just last year as a “rehabilitation” centre, where detained sex-workers, along with beggars and the homeless, learnt sewing and cooking. They were rounded up in a crackdown on trafficking for the sex industry. At first an attempt to clean up Phnom Penh, it soon escalated into a violent campaign by the police against prostitutes and those living on the street. According to Licadho, a local human-rights group, guards at the centre beat three people to death, and at least five detainees killed themselves. Sreymoa, a trafficked sex-worker, detained in May 2008 with her four-year-old daughter, recalls daily beatings, rapes and one death.

Partly to allay the previous American administration’s concerns about trafficking, Cambodia in February 2008 outlawed prostitution. Three months later the State Department took Cambodia off its annual “watch-list” of human-trafficking countries. But the police read the law as entitling them to lock up all sex-workers, not help victims of trafficking.

Reports of abuses soon surfaced, at first denied by the government. But in August it halted the raids as the United Nations and NGOs expressed mounting concern. One worry was that they would endanger HIV/AIDS-prevention programmes. The prevalence of HIV in Cambodia had fallen to 0.8% of the population since the government adopted a campaign in 2001 for “100% condom” use. Now, however, fearing the brothels where they worked would be raided, many sex-workers had started plying their trade on the streets or in karaoke bars, where health-care workers could not find them to distribute condoms.

Tony Lisle, of the UN’s AIDS organisation, says that since the raids stopped, HIV-prevention efforts have resumed with more success. Sex-workers in bars as well as brothels are to be covered, and the police to be encouraged to teach sex-workers about condom use. But those campaigning for sex-workers’ rights have objected, fearing that this might give the police a pretext to renew the raids. Jason Barber of Licadho says that for years the government has stopped arbitrary detentions when a fuss has been made, only to restart them as soon as attention has shifted.

Indeed, just before a regional summit in Phnom Penh in late May, the police again herded up beggars, sex-workers and drug-users, and sent them back to Prey Speu, newly reopened (with the graffiti painted over). Detaining sex-workers is much easier than arresting the traffickers. But the global slowdown is adding to the ranks of the unemployed. The World Bank forecasts that 200,000 Cambodians will fall below the poverty line this year. Many will fall into prostitution or beggary, whatever the law says and high-minded donors hope.