Participants and Training

The program was divided into two phases, including the Workshop and the Event. It ran from 3 February until 9 March 2024. This report provides a detailed account of the event’s success, including the participants, volunteer trainers and judges, workshop sessions, and impact on the participants and legal profession.

The participant selection process was competitive, attracting 79 law students from 10 countries across Asia, including Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, and Vietnam. After a one-day training workshop, outstanding participants advanced to the Mock Sentencing Hearing Event scheduled for 9 March 2024. Volunteer trainers, comprising lawyers, judges, and law lecturers from various countries, facilitated training sessions and provided invaluable feedback to enhance participants’ advocacy skills and legal knowledge.

The training topics are:

• Awareness Raising on issues related to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV)
• Discussion on sentencing and various punishments rendered by courts
• Arguments on preparation, presentation, and techniques.

The training and event schedule are outlined below:

• 3 February 2024 – Training workshop for participants from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Philippines, and Vietnam
• 10 February 2024 – Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka
• 24-25 February 2024 – Practice Session Round
• 3 March 2024 – Event (Semi-Final Round)
• 9 March (Final Round)

Volunteer Contribution and Collaboration

Nineteen volunteers from diverse backgrounds volunteered their time and expertise to lead workshop sessions and serve as judges during the event. Their contributions were instrumental in guiding participants through the intricacies of courtroom procedure, evidence exclusionary hearings, and the principles of fair trial and the Rule of Law. The collaborative effort demonstrated by volunteers from different countries underscored the importance of international cooperation in addressing legal issues such as gender-based violence and promoting access to justice.

The initiative has received tremendous support from various stakeholders, including DLA Piper/New Perimeter, Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), White & Case, Brian Bourke Chambers, and individuals who have contributed significantly to the success of the program.

This initiative has benefited from pro bono support, which has been instrumental in the development of training materials, the facilitation of training sessions, the evaluation of participant practice, and the provision of constructive feedback on participant performance.

We remain grateful for the unwavering support of our stakeholders, who have made it possible for us to provide high-quality training to law students in the region. Through this initiative, we aim to promote the Rule of Law, fair trial, and ethics while fostering pro bono practice growth and increasing opportunities for pro bono involvement.

“The workshop was very professional but also very interesting, which made it easier for me to approach when trying to understand specialised words in another language.”

“When we become lawyer at that time, we need this kind of the skills and knowledge about the law field. In this way, it impacts our studies. As also learn about violence, gender issues, and many more.”

“ It was great opportunity for us to take hypothetically our future clients role since I was a defendant I got to know that for a human mistakes are very fluent and the way judges analyse our roles and the comments they gave us were very useful.”

“ I grasped the meaning and understood more about gender-based violence as well as the criminal laws of other countries, the role of each gender in the family, the reasons why people suffer from gender-based violence but still do not leave their relationship, analyze aggravating and mitigating circumstances in cases, and presented work on your own in a mock trial.”