Topic: Judiciary and Rule of Law
Press Release: Civil society gravely concerned over exorbitant fees derailing ECCC
Pages: Published on April 4, 2007; The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC), a coalition of 23 NGO members expresses our grave concern over unresolved fees imposed on foreign lawyers to practice before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) by the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia (BAKC) which is creating a stalemate and derailing the ECCC process.
We are particularly concern regarding the most recent standoff between the BAKC and the international judges in their inability to come to an agreement, and to learn that because of the failure of the BAKC to compromise on this issue of fees, the plenary session scheduled for the end of this month will not be convened. We urge the BAKC and the ECCC to arrive at an appropriate agreement which ensures freedom of choice of counsels immediately.
CHRAC squarely places the onus of resolving this issue of fees on the shoulders of the BAKC and holds it accountable for the inability of the ECCC to adopt Internal Rules.
Published on March 20, 2007; The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC), a coalition of 23 local NGO members and the Bangkok-based Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development Forum Asia), applaud the progress made by the Review Committee on Internal Rules during the 10-day meeting in resolving the major disagreements. We trust the agreement of these issues responded to CHRAC's nine key concerns submitted to the First Plenary Session held in November 2006 (ie, power of the Pre-Trial Chamber, nature of supermajority voting, defence rights, victim participation, protection and reparations, widespread public access to reasoned decisions of the Court, etc.).
CHRAC and Forum Asia would like to express our deep concern about the newly-raised issue of fees for foreign lawyers in terms of application and when they are selected to practice as imposed by the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia (BACK) as stated in the statement of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC) released on March 16, 2007 and newspaper articles.
We urge the BAKC to reconsider its request, in particular the exorbitant, prohibitive amount in light of spirit of larger goals of the ECCC and in light of other international and mixed tribunals (ICTY, ICTR, and SCSL) which on the whole do not charge a fee or a limited amount. We believe the BAKC's request practically and severely limits the freedom of choice of counsel afforded an individual, a legal principle that is recognized both by Cambodia and Cambodia with other nations.
Published on February 15, 2007; LICADHO condemns the decision of the Battambang provincial court this week to convict and sentence five community activists involved in a land dispute in Bavel district.
On February 13, the court convicted the five villagers, including a 78-year-old man, of using violence to infringe against the private property of others. No evidence was presented at the trial that the defendants had in fact used violence against anyone.
"This case is a sad example of how the law is misused to unfairly punish poor villagers who desperately need land, while the interests of rich or powerful people are protected," said LICADHO president Kek Galabru.
Published on January 29, 2007; January 28, 2007 marked three years or 1,096 days - that Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun have spent in prison since their arrests for the assassination of prominent trade unionist Chea Vichea. One day in prison for an innocent man is too long; both men have spent the last three years in prison for a crime that there is considerable evidence they did not commit. To mark the anniversary of their arrests, Cambodian NGOs and trade unions launched a public campaign that will continue until their release from prison.
Published on January 28, 2007; On the three-year anniversary of the arrests of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, Cambodian NGOs and trade unions are today launching a continuous public campaign for their release from prison.
"The injustice suffered by these two men has gone on far too long. The courts must set them free, so that they can return to their families and their normal lives," said Thun Saray, President of ADHOC.
Despite extensive evidence of their innocence, Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun are serving 20-year prison sentences for the murder of prominent trade unionist Chea Vichea. Many individuals - including former King Norodom Sihanouk, Chea Vichea's family and the main eyewitness to the murder - have declared that they are innocent. The two men have been waiting for 18 months for the Court of Appeal to review their case.
Published on January 25, 2007; With the inclusion of the prohibition of the death penalty in the 1993 Constitution, the Kingdom of Cambodia basically restituted the legal situation that existed in April 1989, when the government of the State of Cambodia banned capital punishment at the constitutional level.
Beyond domestic abolition, successive coalition governments since 1993 failed to demonstrate genuine commitment toward further ensuring the permanent prohibition of capital punishment in Cambodia by acceding to Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. For more than a decade now, Cambodia has been firmly enlisted in the camp of the more than 30 abolitionist none-State Parties to the Second Optional Protocol.
Published on January 25, 2007; The August 1, 2005 trial and convictions of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun for the murder of trade unionist Chea Vichea was marked by violations of fair trial rights and a lack of credible evidence. The following are some of the main issues raised by the trial that will be reviewed in this paper: 1/ Failure to hear prosecution witnesses in court, 2/ Lack of evidence, 3/ Undue reliance on confessions, etc.
The unofficial transcript is based on written notes taken during the trial; it is not verbatim and some parts of the trial were inaudible.
Published on January 24, 2007; Over the past few days, Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC), a coalition of 23 member NGOs, has learned from a source who wishes to remain anonymous that there have been disturbing developments in the progress of the rules committee and the future of the ECCC - including the possible pull-out of international senior officials should the Internal Rules not meet minimum international standards.
The lack of public information about this potential impasse underscores the need for more transparency in the rules drafting process, including NGO monitoring of committee meetings. At the very least, regular, detailed press briefings are necessary to keep the Cambodian people up-to-date on the cause of the latest delay in the court process. People are losing faith as the delays continue without explanation.
Published on December 22, 2006; 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 their Internal Rules. 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.
Published on December 9, 2006; On Human Rights Day this year, we remind all governments that almost sixty years ago in 1948, world governments adopted the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, which articulated and codified the rights of all individuals, with the fundamental message that every person is born free and equal with inalienable human rights, simply because he or she is a human being.
Despite this universal recognition decades ago, people continue to suffer from the denial of basic rights throughout the world. We, as human rights defenders in Asia, are particularly concerned about the deteriorating state of human rights in the region, as well as disappearances, extrajudicial killings and persecution of human rights defenders, aggravated by the prevailing culture of impunity for human rights violators and renewed emphasis by Asian governments on "cultural specificities" to justify human rights violations.
Published on November 17, 2006; The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee is pleased to note that the Draft Internal Rules for the ECCC ("Rules") include a number of very positive developments that can set a good example for Cambodian law generally. CHRAC welcomes the opportunity to give comments and believes that involving civil society in this historic process will only make the Extraordinary Chambers stronger.
CHRAC has nine main areas of concern regarding the ECCC Draft Internal Rules: 1/The additional power of the Pre-Trial Chamber, 2/The nature of supermajority voting, 3/Protecting defence rights, 4/Ensuring meaningful victim participation, protection and reparations, 5/Providing widespread public access to reasoned decisions of the Court, 6/Preventing in absentia trials, 7/Clarifying the role of the Constitutional Council, 8/Guaranteeing high quality interpretation, 9/Protecting ECCC personnel, victims, witnesses, and accused from defamation and libel actions in the Cambodian courts.
Published on October 24, 2006; "We demand a lot from children when we ask them to be participants in the court system, therefore, in a system designed for adults, we need to adapt practices to make them sensitive to children caught up, through no fault of their own, in the system."
A slideshow presentation on the best interest of the child in court.
Published on October 23, 2006; On the 1000-day anniversary of the arrests of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, LICADHO urges the Court of Appeal to promptly consider the two men's case and to release them.
Today, October 23, is the 1000th day that Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun have spent in custody since their arrests on January 28, 2004 for allegedly killing prominent trade unionist Chea Vichea. They are currently serving 20-year prison sentences for the murder, despite extensive evidence of their innocence. Many individuals - including former King Norodom Sihanouk, Chea Vichea's family and the prime witness to the murder - have declared that they are innocent.
Published on October 12, 2006; The Alliance for Freedom of Expression in Cambodia (AFEC) demands for abolishing Article 62 of the UNTAC law on criminal disinformation. The network of 28 Cambodian civil society organizations holds that this legal provision contradicts the Cambodian Constitution and the international human rights law by imposing unjustifiable restrictions to the human right to Freedom of Expression. In the view of AFEC, there are other and much more adequate legal ways how to protect public peace than a law against disinformation. The AFEC is convinced that the mere publication of false statement of facts should not be criminalized at all.
In an open society there are many mechanisms that finally lead to the revelation of truth. The recent cases where high-ranking government officials brought criminal disinformation complaints against two journalists, a dismissed university teacher and three people who distributed a leaflet are demonstrating how Article 62 can be abused for silencing criticism. The fact that some of these persons are still arrested is a gross violation of Freedom of Expression.
Published on October 4, 2006; The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC) a coalition of 21 NGO members, petitions the Appeal Court to release Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun in their upcoming Appeal Court hearing on October 6, 2006.
CHRAC has made investigations into the Chea Vichea assassination, which occurred on January 22, 2004 and continues to believe that Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun have nothing to do with the assassination. CHRAC considers the Phnom Penh Municipal Court's verdict to have been politically motivated. Furthermore, its appears that the police investigation into the assassination involved several now disgraced police officers, some who have now been arrested for criminal activity.
