KRT Judges, Prosecutors Review Internal Rules to Open First Trial

By: Chan Rainsy

Posted date: 03-09-2008
Source: Kampuchea Thmey



Phnom Penh – The Khmer Rouge Tribunal (KRT)’s Cambodian and international judges and prosecutors on 01 September 2008 opened a five-day long meeting at the Phnom Penh’s Raffles Hotel Le Royal to review or amend some articles of the KRT’s Internal Rules (IRs) in order to ease the first trial proceedings.

Since its 2007 processes, the KRT is facing two major issues that may stall the hybrid-court tasks. The first is funding shortfall – the KRT administration is seeking supports by international community to grant more funds amounting to an estimated US$40 million for its proceedings until the end. Second, in addition to the funding shortfall, the corruption allegation is undermining the KRT.

More than 250 Cambodian staffers’ monthly salaries were not paid for the month of July due to the corruption allegation complaints by the KRT Cambodian staffers on June 2008 at the ECCC. However, the issues were resolved on 15 August 2008 due to the unified formation of the internal anti-corruption committee headed by Helen Jarvis.

Court spokesman Reach Sambath said both UN and Cambodian side determined to fights against a so-called corruption inside the tribunal.

On 25 August 2008, before his departure from Cambodia, US Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli whose term expired said of the US attention to grant assistance directly to the tribunal as the corruption allegation is resolved.

Supreme Court Chamber’s Judge Kong Srim said in a meeting on 01 September 2008 that the present budget is sufficient for the ending of the coming month’s trial of former Tuol Sleng prison (S-21) director Kaing Guek Eav aka Duch indicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

For the five-day long meeting, Reach Sambath said it was a crucial and the last meeting after the KRT has proceeded for over six months. The meeting is aimed to review both weakness and strength in the IRs of 113 articles which the Cambodian-UN judges and prosecutors adopted for nine months in 2007.

The KRT’s IRs allow the judges and prosecutors to make use of Cambodian and international legal system in which France and Britain (Civil Law and Common Law) will try former Khmer Rouge leaders according to crimes committed during their reign in 17 April 1975 – 07 January 1979.

Unofficial Translation
-Extracted from Kampuchea Thmey – Vol. 07, #1736 – Wednesday, 03 September 2008

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