25 December 2006
PRESS RELEASE
Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia:
Independence and Impartiality are Key Pre-Requisites of any Credible Process
The Cambodian
Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC), a Cambodian coalition of 23 NGO members,
the Collective for Khmer Rouge Victims (CKRV) and the International Federation
for Human Rights (FIDH) express their concern about the failure of the plenary
session of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) to adopt
the Internal Rules of the tribunal. Those Rules are required to start
investigating and prosecuting those who bear the greatest responsibility in the
Khmer Rouge crimes.
On 25 November
2006, after a one-week session, the national and international judicial
officers of the Extraordinary Chambers announced that they did not reach an
agreement on the Internal Rules, or even part of them, which would have allowed
to start the investigation phase of the proceedings. They acknowledged,
however, the importance of such rules, required to start investigations and
prosecution.
Cambodian and international judges and prosecutors have substantive
disagreement about several key issues, including on already negotiated issues
contained in the Agreement between the United Nations and Government of
Cambodia. Those issues are of the utmost importance since they are closely
linked to the fair trial guarantees. Indeed, even though the Extraordinary Chambers
exist "within the Courts of Cambodia" they must operate pursuant to
international standards.
In order to ensure respect of the highest standards in terms of
independence and impartiality, all questions relating to the functioning of the
Extraordinary Chambers should be solved by the Chambers themselves and not be
referred to other Cambodian authorities. In particular, criteria of
admissibility of defence and victims’ lawyers must be objective and the list of
lawyers should be maintained by the Extraordinary Chambers themselves, in
conformity with international practice. Victim’s organisations should not be
required to register with the Cambodian government prior to being able to file
a complaint. Procedures relating to false testimony in the course of the ECCC
proceedings should not be referred to ordinary Cambodian courts but remain with
the exclusive jurisdiction of the ECCC.
The objective of the
government of
The credibility of both
the Cambodian authorities and the United Nations is at stake: an acceptable
agreement on the Internal Rules must be reached as soon as possible for the
Chambers to enter in the operational phase. However, any compromise that would
jeopardize the highest standards of independence and impartiality would be
unacceptable.
We consequently urge the
Extraordinary Chambers to reach as soon as possible an agreement in conformity
with fair trial international standards. We also call upon the international community, and in particular the countries which are
providing financial support to the Extraordinary Chambers, to closely monitor
the developments regarding the Internal Rules.
We reiterate our
determination to remain mobilised to help that truth be said regarding the
international crimes perpetrated by the Khmer Rouges in
Copyright 2006
The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee