MCCHR-KLYLC Strategic Litigation Workshops #LBengkel. For those who are attending the first of the four workshops this Saturday, 7 July 2012, note the following.
Outline of Programme and Modules
Purpose
1. To build the capacity of young lawyers, pupils and laws students in the area of strategic litigation by imparting legal skills in the practice of constitutional and human rights law.
2. To generate the interest of young lawyers in the area of strategic litigation with a view to growing a sustainable pool of lawyers at the Bar to act in more cases that are strategic as a form of redress for individual complainants and further, as a tool to promote and mainstream constitutional and human rights law in society.
3. To sensitise and involve pupils and law students early in the legal field by turning their legal learning into practice focusing specifically on two main objects of the Bar found in section 42 of the Legal Profession Act 1976, namely, to uphold the cause of justice without fear or favour and to assist the public in all matters related to the law and administration of justice.
How it is to be done
In collaboration with the Kuala Lumpur Bar Young Lawyers’ Committee (KLYLC) that has recently set up its Public Interest Litigation Unit (PILU), the Malaysian Centre for Constitutionalism and Human Rights (MCCHR) will conduct a pilot series of four half-day workshops on strategic litigation by experienced lawyers, advocates and activists.
Some unique features of this initiative are as follows:
- A strict rule of attendance is enforced. All participants are required to attend the full series of four workshops, and no exemptions are allowed save for exceptional reasons. This ensures only committed participants and high quality learning outcomes.
- An e-group among the participants facilitates the learning. The e-group will be used to distribute reading materials, provide a platform for discussions on cases, and instantaneous communication and feedback on queries while building camaraderie among the participants.
- The method and approach adopted in the workshops consist not of “banking” information to the participants but of involving them as part of the learning by the utilisation of special interactive tools commonly adopted by community organisers to mobilise activists.
- The syllabus includes incorporating a progressive and holistic worldview narrative of matters that pertain to the law, the courts and other stakeholders, and the social conditions of the nation without which strategic litigation will not be effective.
- The practicalities of conducting a strategic litigation from selecting the type of test case and time it is to be filed, interviewing the complainant, drafting the cause papers and written submission, to advocacy in court, are executed as part of the workshops.
- During and after the workshops, participants will have Key Performance Pledges, among others, to shadow lawyers who are already acting in various strategic litigation cases for practical court experience. The e-group will continue to bridge gaps and facilitate communication between the participants of latest developments and new cases.
- Based on the modules and feedback of the workshops, a step-by-step toolkit or handbook on strategic litigation will be drafted and published in March 2013 to be used to train new facilitators, to sustain this initiative and for greater access to the materials and tools of the workshops.
Details of the workshops
Dates: 7 July, 22 September and 3 November 2012, and 5 January 2013
Time: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Venue: KL Bar Auditorium
Facilitators: Edmund Bon, K. Shanmuga, Fahri Azzat, Nizam Bashir, Syahredzan Johan, Honey Tan, Aston Paiva, Amer Hamzah, Malik Imtiaz, Seira Sacha, Long Seh Lih, New Sin Yew and other lawyers, advocates and activists subject to their availability.
Bar Council’s CPD Points: 8 points for lawyers attending all four workshops (non-attendance of or partial attendance at one workshop will result in 0 points, i.e. no division of points for each workshop allowed). 2 points for lawyers facilitating each workshop (total: 8).
Modules (subject to change depending on factors of time and participants)
Workshop 1: Weapons for the Justice Struggle
– The Struggle v. Injustice, Inequality, Discrimination, Oppression
– What is, and why, Strategic Litigation?
– When do we resort to Strategic Litigation?
– How are cases chosen for Strategic Litigation?
– What is considered a “success” for Strategic Litigation?
– “#ProblemTree Analysis”: Causes and Consequences
– “#BigPicture Analysis”: Power Relations and Where is Your Voice?
– “Let’s Get Together”: Working with Other Stakeholders
– “What? Hear Me!”: Listening & Interview skills
Workshop 2: “The Bow & Arrow” – Detention without trial, ISA and habeas corpus
– “Where Do You Stand?”: Taking A Position
– “My 1st Time”
– “The Torture Ladder”
– Constitutional and Human Rights Law
– Real-time interview of the client, drafting of the cause papers and the written submission, and advocacy in court
– Media and NGO advocacy of the case: Drafting a press release
– Adopting a Non-Violent, Direct Action to pressure policy/decision-makers
– Key Performance Pledges by the participants
Workshop 3: “The Guided Missile” – Women’s rights, CEDAW and originating summons
– “Exploring Life”: What Do You Want?
– “Being a Woman: Advantages & Disadvantages”
– “The Washing Line”
– Constitutional and Human Rights Law
– Real-time interview of the client, drafting of the cause papers and the written submission, and advocacy in court
– Media and NGO advocacy of the case: Drafting a feature story
– Adopting a Non-Violent, Direct Action to pressure policy/decision-makers
– Key Performance Pledges by the participants
Workshop 4: “The Atomic Bomb” – Rights of persons with disabilities, PWD Act and judicial review
– “3 Bags of Rice”
– “The Malaysian Timeline”
– “What Role do I Play: Citizen, Rebel, Social Change Agent, Reformer?”
– Constitutional and Human Rights Law
– Real-time interview of the client, drafting of the cause papers and the written submission, and advocacy in court
– Media and NGO advocacy of the case: Lobbying Parliamentarians
– Adopting a Non-Violent, Direct Action to pressure policy/decision-makers
– Key Performance Pledges by the participants
Workshop Outcomes
- Gain an understanding of strategic litigation and the importance of the same.
- Explore the power relations between various stakeholders of the nation and the people.
- Learn the various forms of civil and criminal procedure, and substantive constitutional and human rights law commonly used in strategic litigation.
- Learn to use various tools for a holistic and progressive factual, data and problem-solving analysis of the issues.
- Learn the technical skills required to interview complainants, and to draft cause papers, pleadings and written submission in strategic litigation cases.
- Learn to conduct strategic litigation specialist advocacy in court.
- Learn to communicate difficult legal concepts to the lay public.
- Connecting with and supporting like-minded participants, complainants and NGOs in the cause of justice.
Jointly presented by MCCHR and KLYLCPILU
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