The Cambodian judicial system was, like many other sectors, abandoned during the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979. Then, two decades of civil war deprived the country of an entire generation of members of the legal profession.
The Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia, created on October 16, 1995, and comprising about 24 lawyers, most of whom had returned from exile, began to structure itself in such a way as to respond, at least in part, to the need for access to the law in the country. The cooperation between the Bar Association and ASF France, formalized since 2005, aims to meet this need as a priority.
Since 2006, the Legal Aid project has enabled the installation of 22 lawyers providing legal consultations and free legal aid in all provinces of the country. These legal aid lawyers also benefit from a capacity building program.