ECCC Reparations

This blog is designed to serve as a repository of analyses, news reports and press releases related to the issue of RERAPATIONS within the framework of the Extraordinary Chambers in Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), a.k.a. the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Does Jacques Verges Really Have a Choice at This Point?

Now that the PTC asked Khieu Samphan's international counsel, Jacques Verges, to extricate himself from further proceedings on the grounds of 'abuse of process' framed into the court's internal rules, what venues are open to Verges to appeal such 'request'? None, really. In case of perceived misconduct of a lawyer, ECCC Chambers can do one of the following: (1) give a warning and then impose sanctions against the derelict lawyer, or deny him/her audience with the relevant chamber and/or (2) the Chambers can file a complaint with the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia (BAKC) which can take 'disciplinary action' in response to it, and which can be appealed to the PTC, which in this case, incidentally, would be the injured party/complainant. Where can Verges find recourse then? Well, there's of course the Office of Administration of the ECCC, the Cambodian government and the UN, but there are no established appeal/complaint structures open to ECCC defense lawyers within any of these institutions. The way the system is set up, therefore, limits Verges two options: either suck it up and apologize to the PTC (which he is unlikely to do) or pack his bags, go back to France and run a smear campaign against the PTC -- and the ECCC as a whole -- from there. There isn't much else left to do.

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