January 15, 2014 - 4:49 AM
VANCOUVER - A group of Mongolian justice officials is in British Columbia to learn about the Canadian criminal justice system, parts of which they aim to adopt in their own country.
Erdenebat Ganbat, deputy prosecutor general for Mongolia, says he is among 22 delegates meeting with police, Crown lawyers, judges and public education providers during a visit this week to B.C.
Ganbat says the group has also reviewed legal systems in Korea, Germany and several U.S. states including Texas, but will reform Mongolian law based on the adversarial aspects of the Canadian system.
He says he was in B.C. with two Mongolian prosecutors in 2012 as they considered the Canadian system and that new laws could be drafted in Mongolia later this year.
Ganbat says that while there are long wait times for trials in Canada, he hopes efficiencies in the Canadian system can be adopted to speed up the process for a much smaller population in Mongolia.
The group of Mongolian judges, police, a Canadian embassy official and a politician will meet with federal officials including Canada's Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin in Ottawa next week.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014