A new civil code, long under discussion, will give people a chance to solve property disputes, family breakups and inheritance, officials said during a two-day seminar on civil law that ended Wednesday.
More than 200 experts, observers and activists from Parliament, lawyers’ groups and NGOs joined the conference at Hotel Le Royal.
“The civil code is also the state’s principal insurer for general unity, protecting human rights interests and society in order to have social development,” Prime Minister Hun Sen said in comments Tuesday.
There are two separate draft bills under consideration, Minister of Justice Neav Sithong said.
One covers the civil code and the other covers civil procedures. All told, the bills have more than 1,000 articles in them, the minister said.
Nevertheless, the bills won’t be ready for approval until March next year at the earliest, Neav Sithong said.
One of the most important sections of the bill revolves around the land law. Thousands of Cambodians are involved in land disputes and the crisis is only expected to get worse, experts say.
After a series of compromises, the bill will provide for land transference, titles and set regulations for zoning, said Niimi Ikufumi, a Japanese law professor who helped draft the law. “With this new draft, we have regard for those people who have real estate now, and those people who will become owners in the future,” Ikufumi said.
The draft bill would also set rules for marriage, Ikufumi said. Under the proposed law, brides and grooms would have to be at least 18 years old, agree to the marriage and be required to register as a married couple. This, Ikufumi said, will allow for more order in marriages and divorces, but also protect Cambodian tradition, by which most marriages are arranged.
Couples will be required to announce their wedding plans publicly and if there are objections, the ceremony could be put on hold, Ikufumi said.
