On March 8, 2017, MyJustice and the Rule of Law Centre Taunggyi jointly hosted a Community Forum on Access to Justice. More than 50 people attended the event, representing local civil society organisations and networks, government agencies including the Advocate General’s office and Myanmar Police Force, and members of the local legal profession including the Shan State Bar Association.
MyJustice Community Justice Manager Zaw Myat Lin presented findings MyJustice’s report, ‘Making Big Cases Small and Small Cases Disappear’, which documents access to justice experiences in Mon State and Yangon Region, including common dispute, crimes and injustices that people speak of experiencing, the ways people seek to resolve these issues and why, as well as an assessment of the quality of the justice they are able to achieve. After the presentation, MyJustice Access to Justice Advisor Susan Lee, Community Justice Empowerment Advisor Swati Mehta, and Senior Justice Sector Advisor Hang Za Thawn facilitated a discussion and feedback session with participants about experiences of justice in communities in Shan State.