Research and Education Center for Japanese Law

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Dean Masabumi Suzuki's Business Trip Reports: 2019 Reunions with Graduates, Cambodia

Dean Suzuki and Lecturer Okuda moved to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on August 10. Judge Leang Chhon, our first-year Master's student who happened to be temporarily back in Cambodia, kindly attended them. In the evening, Dean Suzuki held a reunion with their former students, Dr. Sovath Phin, Dr. Kork Boren, and Mr. Phan Daro, and caught up on the new lives. Dean Suzuki was impressed that they are all in influential positions at a university, a law firm, and a financial institution.

On Sunday, August 11, Dean Suzuki and Lecturer Okuda interviewed two government officials (Mr. Nen Chansamuthone of the Ministry of Commerce and Mr. Lay Leangseng of the Ministry of Justice). They were going to enroll in GSL from the coming October as Cambodian JDS Fellows.

The Cambodian branch of the Nagoya University Alumni Association (NUAL) invited them to the reunion in the evening. More than ten graduates from GSL attended it, including Mr. Lim Lyhong, the Branch's President. All the participants were working in high positions at universities or national institutions in Cambodia. So again, they were able to see fruitful results of GSL efforts toward human resource development.

On Monday, August 12, they visited the National University of Management (NUM). They had a meeting with President Dr. Hor Peng, Ms. POK Phearoun, Lecturer of the university who got an LL.M.(Comparative Law) degree from our GSL in 2011, and other university staff. President Hor Peng was the first Cambodian student to GSL, completing the doctoral program with a Ph.D. degree. After the meeting, Dean Suzuki gave a lecture to about 70 students of the NUM.

After visiting the NUM, they met Honorable Yuok Ngoy, Deputy Minister of Education, NUM's President Hor Peng, and Vice-President LY Sok Heng. Honorable Ngoy is a former President of the Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE) and served as the counterpart at the beginning of the negotiation for cooperation between GSL and RULE.

Then they visited JICA's legal and judicial system development office. Luckily, they could meet Mr.Chheourn Kuyeng, a senior legal officer of JICA, and two senior judges, Mr.Synn Sovannrath and Mr.Chhe Vivathanak, who were all graduates of GSL. The judges were attending a seminar for local judges at that time.

After the visit to JICA, they visited the RULE. RULE is the partner of an academic exchange agreement and supports the Center for Japanese Law Education and Research (CJL). They met Rector Dr. Luy Channa and Professor Hap Phalthy (who got a doctoral degree from GSL in 2010 and is now in charge of the Graduate Program of RULE). Furthermore, they met Ms. Dany Channraksmey Chhoukroth (who got a Master's degree from GSL in 2015) in charge of the English Language Based Bachelor of Law Program-ELBBL.

On Tuesday, August 13, they met with Dr. Phin Sovath, who used to be a doctoral student under Dean Suzuki's supervision. He is now a professor at Pannasastra University as well as a senior partner at a law firm. So first, they visited his law firm, Bun & Associates. They could also see two associates, Ms.Yin Socheat and Ms. Sin Sokanha, both graduates, from our Master's program.
Then they moved to Panannastra University and met Professor Kong Phallack, Dean of the Faculty of Law and Public Policy, one of our first Cambodian students.
After the meeting, Dean Suzuki gave a lecture on intellectual property law to the students of Pannasastra University.