MyJustice is a

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

-funded access to justice initiative, which aims to equip the people of

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

with the knowledge, confidence and opportunities to resolve conflicts fairly, equitably and justly. The project was set up to address the flaws in the country's justice system, a legacy of decades of colonial and military rule that is among the many challenges facing

as it opens up and transitions to a civilian government. With concern over the

Judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

lacking independence from military or political control, and disputes over land ownership and labour laws a particular problem. Setting up "justice centres" to improve access to justice by offering free legal advice to low-income and marginalised people, and the first centres opened in

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

and

Mawlamyine Mawlamyine (also spelled Mawlamyaing; , ; ; , ), formerly Moulmein, is the fourth-largest city in Myanmar (Burma), ''World Gazetteer'' southeast of Yangon and south of Thaton, at the mouth of Thanlwin (Salween) River. Mawlamyine was an ancient ...

(the Capital of

Mon State Mon State (, ; ) is an administrative division of Myanmar. It lies between Kayin State to the east, the Andaman Sea to the west, Bago Region to the north and Tanintharyi Region to the south, also having a short border with Thailand's Kanchanabu ...

) in 2015. They have also been involved in projects relating to the introduction of

legal aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right ...

and training. In 2017 they had provided legal representation to over 2,400 clients and legal advice to over 1,400 others, and opened centres in

Mandalay Mandalay is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. It is located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631 km (392 mi) north of Yangon. In 2014, the city had a population of 1,225,553. Mandalay was founded in 1857 by Ki ...

and Taunggyi (the

Shan State Shan State (, ; , ) is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos (Louang Namtha Province, Louang Namtha and Bokeo Provinces) to the east, and Thailand (Chiang Rai Province, Chia ...

capital). In 2018 expanding and opening more centres in

Hpa-an Hpa-an (, ; ; , also spelled Pa-an) is the capital and largest city of Kayin State (Karen State), Myanmar (Burma). The population of Hpa-an as of the 2014 census was 421,575. Most of the people in Hpa-an are of the Karen ethnic group. Legend Le ...

, Bago and Naypyitaw. In 2020 they linked up with the Scottish

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates () is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a const ...

to learn how the Scottish criminal justice system has adapted to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, and to get assistance in training and capacity building of the Myanmar legal community.{{Cite web, title=Vice-Dean of Faculty in talk to Myanmar lawyers, url=https://www.scottishlegal.com/article/vice-dean-of-faculty-in-talk-to-myanmar-lawyers, access-date=2020-12-03, website=Scottish Legal News, language=en

References

External links

Official website
MyJustice Legal aid