Research and Publications

In 2018-19, MyJustice’s partner Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) prepared four policy briefs analysing the potential role Collaborative Dispute Resolution may play in Myanmar in promoting access to justice and participation in the peace process for vulnerable communities. The policy briefs were drafted in the context of improving access to justice through community-based dispute resolution (CBDR) for Housing, Land and Property disputes in Myanmar.

In 2018-19, MyJustice’s partner Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) prepared four policy briefs analysing the potential role Collaborative Dispute Resolution may play in Myanmar in promoting access to justice and participation in the peace process for vulnerable communities. The policy briefs were drafted in the context of improving access to justice through community-based dispute resolution (CBDR) for Housing, Land and Property disputes in Myanmar.

Many practices within Myanmar’s criminal justice system deprive the accused of their fair trial rights. Even where domestic law guarantees the protection of these rights, entrenched practices deprive people of just outcomes, undermine trust in the system and perpetuate and reinforce negative public perceptions about all justice actors.

Justice Base and MyJustice are working to counteract such practices by developing and empowering communities of legal practitioners who, through peer discussion and debate, identify key challenges faced by defence lawyers when attempting to protect their clients’ rights and brainstorm strategies lawyers can use to better respond to rights violations and ensure rights are protected.

This Legal Practice Brief reflects the ideas and contributions of the communities of lawyers in Yangon Region, Mon State, Mandalay Region, Shan State, and Bago Region. We hope that legal practitioners across Myanmar feel empowered by these briefs to strengthen their own practice, including by making it more rights protective.

Many practices within Myanmar’s criminal justice system deprive the accused of their fair trial rights. Even where domestic law guarantees the protection of these rights, entrenched practices deprive people of just outcomes, undermine trust in the system and perpetuate and reinforce negative public perceptions about all justice actors.

Justice Base and MyJustice are working to counteract such practices by developing and empowering communities of legal practitioners who, through peer discussion and debate, identify key challenges faced by defence lawyers when attempting to protect their clients’ rights and brainstorm strategies lawyers can use to better respond to rights violations and ensure rights are protected.

This Legal Practice Brief reflects the ideas and contributions of the communities of lawyers in Yangon Region, Mon State, Mandalay Region, Shan State, and Bago Region. We hope that legal practitioners across Myanmar feel empowered by these briefs to strengthen their own practice, including by making it more rights protective.

Many practices within Myanmar’s criminal justice system deprive the accused of their fair trial rights. Even where domestic law guarantees the protection of these rights, entrenched practices deprive people of just outcomes, undermine trust in the system and perpetuate and reinforce negative public perceptions about all justice actors.

Justice Base and MyJustice are working to counteract such practices by developing and empowering communities of legal practitioners who, through peer discussion and debate, identify key challenges faced by defence lawyers when attempting to protect their clients’ rights and brainstorm strategies lawyers can use to better respond to rights violations and ensure rights are protected.

This Legal Practice Brief reflects the ideas and contributions of the communities of lawyers in Yangon Region, Mon State, Mandalay Region, Shan State, and Bago Region. We hope that legal practitioners across Myanmar feel empowered by these briefs to strengthen their own practice, including by making it more rights protective.

Many practices within Myanmar’s criminal justice system deprive the accused of their fair trial rights. Even where domestic law guarantees the protection of these rights, entrenched practices deprive people of just outcomes, undermine trust in the system and perpetuate and reinforce negative public perceptions about all justice actors.

Justice Base and MyJustice are working to counteract such practices by developing and empowering communities of legal practitioners who, through peer discussion and debate, identify key challenges faced by defence lawyers when attempting to protect their clients’ rights and brainstorm strategies lawyers can use to better respond to rights violations and ensure rights are protected.

This Legal Practice Brief reflects the ideas and contributions of the communities of lawyers in Yangon Region, Mon State, Mandalay Region, Shan State, and Bago Region. We hope that legal practitioners across Myanmar feel empowered by these briefs to strengthen their own practice, including by making it more rights protective.

Many practices within Myanmar’s criminal justice system deprive the accused of their fair trial rights. Even where domestic law guarantees the protection of these rights, entrenched practices deprive people of just outcomes, undermine trust in the system and perpetuate and reinforce negative public perceptions about all justice actors.

Justice Base and MyJustice are working to counteract such practices by developing and empowering communities of legal practitioners who, through peer discussion and debate, identify key challenges faced by defence lawyers when attempting to protect their clients’ rights and brainstorm strategies lawyers can use to better respond to rights violations and ensure rights are protected.

This Legal Practice Brief reflects the ideas and contributions of the communities of lawyers in Yangon Region, Mon State, Mandalay Region, Shan State, and Bago Region. We hope that legal practitioners across Myanmar feel empowered by these briefs to strengthen their own practice, including by making it more rights protective.

Many practices within Myanmar’s criminal justice system deprive the accused of their fair trial rights. Even where domestic law guarantees the protection of these rights, entrenched practices deprive people of just outcomes, undermine trust in the system and perpetuate and reinforce negative public perceptions about all justice actors.

Justice Base and MyJustice are working to counteract such practices by developing and empowering communities of legal practitioners who, through peer discussion and debate, identify key challenges faced by defence lawyers when attempting to protect their clients’ rights and brainstorm strategies lawyers can use to better respond to rights violations and ensure rights are protected.

This Legal Practice Brief reflects the ideas and contributions of the communities of lawyers in Yangon Region, Mon State, Mandalay Region, Shan State, and Bago Region. We hope that legal practitioners across Myanmar feel empowered by these briefs to strengthen their own practice, including by making it more rights protective.

MyJustice supported its CSO partners in strengthening their capacities to design and implement legal awareness and empowerment programmes. As part of this process, MyJustice and Point B partnered with 18 civil society organisations in Yangon and Mon State to co-create Legal Awareness Strategy Design Hand Book. This handbook is focused on community building – to strengthen rule of law and legal awareness in Myanmar. In many ways, this handbook is an artefact of the collective learning that took place as community partners began the journey of applying a human centred approach to designing effective and meaningful legal awareness activities, programs and services for the communities they serve. In this handbook, you will find very useful and impactful methods, tools, skills and mindsets to design your own legal awareness strategies and initiatives. You can be use it in many ways depending your own interest, needs and background, as activities within this handbook are highly adaptable, interactive and flexible.

This manual is intended to be a practical learning aid and helpful reference guide for community-based paralegals and organizations running community-based paralegal programs.

It should be helpful to paralegal program management staff that supervise and support paralegal services, as well as to those who are interested in learning more about the operations of such programs. Moreover, this manual aims to contribute to developing mechanisms and materials to support sustainable community-based paralegal programs and provide support for a better understanding of the model.

This manual has been prepared as a hands-on document for community-based paralegals to guide them with basic messages about paralegalism, tackling justice issues, and the delivery of quality services. It provides a framework to ensure that community-based paralegal services can be provided in an efficient and quality-assured manner.