Cambodia finally gets its day in court

The EC will have the power to try suspects charged with committing crimes under both Cambodian and international laws, i.e., genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in addition to murder, torture and religious persecution.

The EC will have two chambers, the first being the Trial Court, made up of three Cambodian and two international judges. For a decision to be reached the principle of a “super majority” will apply; i.e., four out of the five judges must support the decision: this means that every decision must have both Cambodian and international support.

The other chamber, the Supreme Court - an appeals chamber - will comprise four Cambodian and three international judges and will require five judges to uphold an appeal decision.

If a super majority decision cannot be arrived at in either of the courts, the accused is released as his guilt would not have been established. If the accused is found guilty, the maximum sentence will be life imprisonment. The accused will escape the gallows as Cambodia has abolished the death penalty. In a country where pardons and amnesties are not uncommon, the government has indicated that neither will be granted to persons found guilty.

The courts will only try crimes committed between April 17, 1975 and January 6, 1979, all of three years, eight months and 20 days. Only those "most responsible for serious crimes" will be tried: envisaged to be less than ten. The actual trials are expected to begin early next year although prosecuting judges are expected to start work from the middle of this year.

The Cambodian people have waited for almost a generation for these trials. While there will be different expectations, there must surely be some unspoken pride that the trial will be conducted in Cambodia where the crimes took place, under Cambodian and international laws, and with Cambodian and international judges like Dame Silvia Cartwright.