Cambodian Courts Still Struggle to Uphold Defendants’ Rights, CJR Study Finds
CJR's Cambodian Courts Monitoring Project (CCMP) has found that defendants have been frequently denied the right to Equality of Arms, a fundamental legal principal including the rights to be tried in person, to defense counsel, and to examine and cross-examine. From December 2009 to February 2010, the CCMP study monitored 484 full criminal trials at the Supreme Court, the Appeals Court, and the Courts of First Instance in Phnom Penh, Battambang and Kandal.
CJR found that the right to Equality of Arms, which is protected by the Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Cambodia ratified in 1992, is often violated. On average, of the 799 defendants monitored, slightly more than one third was tried in absentia. At the Appeals Court, which is responsible for hearing appeals from all twenty-one courts of first instances nationwide, nearly seven in ten defendants were absent from their own hearings. This finding highlights the continuing lack of infrastructure and administrative support for defendants who need to travel great distances to the Appeals Court.
CJR’s monitors found the absence of defendants at trials resulted in shorter trial duration. Of the monitored trials held in absentia, more than 90% were less than 30 minutes in duration. Out of all trials monitored, less than 1 in 5 included the presence of witnesses examined by the judges. Less than 1 in 10 trials were conducted with both victims and witnesses in attendance. Thus, the majority of defendants were deprived of the right to examine all the witnesses brought against them.
CJR noted that the provincial courts, including the model court in Kandal, were better at upholding the law and ensuring that felony defendants were assisted by legal counsel. CJR also made the positive finding that among juvenile defendants charged with felonies, over nine in ten had representation at trial.
Analysis and recommendations are included in the full text of the CJR Law Review, available below. Two thousand copies will be distributed free of charge to the Ministry of Justice, Council of Legal and Judicial Reform, Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia, judges, judicial police, media, the pubic and donors. This study was made possible with the generous support of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
CJR is pleased to be the twenty second member to join the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC). CHRAC was founded in 1994, and many CJR staff now continue their long established relationship working with the coalition through other organizations. CJR has actively contributed to CHRAC’s recent work, from advising on public outreach activities by the E.C.C.C. (Khmer Rouge Tribunal) to land rights. We look forward to growing this partnership.
Cambodian and Overseas Interns Contribute to CJR
CJR welcomes eight Cambodian and seven international interns to its offices this summer. Interns will learn about the functions of a human rights NGO in the Cambodian context. They will contribute to a variety of substantive long term projects and publications, assist with field work, and attend conferences and seminars. CJR had over three dozen applications from prospective summer interns from all over the world. Congratulations, we are happy to have you on board. To read more about our interns, visit The Team.
Cambodian Interns
International Interns
Son Monirath, Royal University of Law and Economics
Sun Dany, Royal University of Law and Economics
Men Vuth, Royal University of Law and Economics
Loun Sreytouch, Royal University of Phnom Penh
Luy Vibol, Royal University of Phnom Penh
Soeng Sothea, Royal University of Law and Economics
Ngoun Srey Gneb, Vanda Accounting Institute
Ven Lonn, Royal University of Law and Economics
Laura Goodwin, Fletcher School, Tufts University (USA)
Alex Weber, Stanford University School of Law (USA)
Laura Wilson, George Washington University (USA)
Della Sentilles, University of Texas in Austin Law School (USA)
Renney Lochtefeld, Richmond American International University (UK)
Charles Weikel, University of Michigan School of Law (USA)
Joanna Kristina Kyriazis, University of Toronto Law School (Canada)
Anlong Veng Public Forum at Ta Mok's Historic House
On Friday, 9 April 2010, CJR will host a public forum in Anlong Veng, Oddar Meanchey Province. Please read the below resources for more information. Following the forum we will post photos and a radio broadcast on the event.
Germany 's von Ow family has donated to the Khmer Rouge Victims Association of Cambodia (AKRVC) two pieces of original artwork created in the Khao I Dang Refugee Camp on the Thai-Cambodian border in 1980. The works - one pen and ink drawing and one acrylic painting
- depict the horrors of life under the Khmer Rouge and are an important link to understanding the impact of trauma on Cambodians.
The pieces are signed by Cambodian art teacher, Pich Savoeun, who gave the works as a gift to the late Meinrad von Ow, while he was backpacking through Southeast Asia and visited the camp. More than thirty years later, von Ow's daughter, Bettina, an architect in Germany, came to Cambodia to return these treasured pieces of art to the Khmer people.
As the AKRVC builds its capacity, the von Ow family requested that CJR serve as trustee of the works. CJR will coordinate the process by which these pieces are conserved by art-care professionals in Cambodia and will oversee their careful and deliberate use for educational purposes. CJR has made copies of these images available to the public through its website, it will use copies as discussion prompts in public forums, and the artwork may even be featured in a permanent exhibit at a community learning center.
CJR is in the process of acquiring more information on these works. With assistance from the von Ow family, we hope to collect observations Mr. von Ow may have made about Cambodia in his travel journal. Also, we are working with local organizations to see whether we may be able to locate artist Pich Savoeun. Please contact info@cjr-cambodia.org if you have any information on this person.
CJR co-director, Mr. Daravuth SENG, exuberantly remarked, "As an artist and former refugee at Khao I Dang myself, the return of this art to Cambodia has great personal relevance for me. Art has a unique way of resonating with people of all backgrounds, and enabling us to recognize our common humanity. This must have been part of the message communicated between Mr. Savoeun and Mr. von Ow; CJR is honored to preserve and perpetuate this message."
In reflection, Ms. Bettina noted, "We, the family, are so happy because this is where we think the artwork belongs. I think this is what my father would have wanted".
Battambang Public Forum at KR Killing Site
CJR held a day long public forum at former Khmer Rouge killing site, Wat Samroung Khnong on 12 February 2010. The public forum, entitled “Moving from the Killing Fields to the Healing, Living Fields,” drew two hundred participants including Buddhist monks, students, local government officials and villagers of all ages.
Wat Samroung, a site included in the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia’s (ECCC) scope of investigation for Case 002, has special meaning for the residents of Ek Phnom. Sadly, the beautiful wat is, in addition to being an architectural heritage site, a place where over 10,000 people
were imprisoned and killed by the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979. Today a nearly 20 meter high memorial stupa, adorned with carvings portraying life under the Khmer Rouge and crowned with preserved human remains, stands on the grounds.
At the public forum discussion was facilitated both in small groups and two plenary sessions led by senior CJR staff. The forum featured a local historian’s summary of Wat Samroung’s history, and presentations on the ECCC, dealing with trauma, and transitional justice. Small group discussion focused on how to build a legacy of justice and memory in the community.
The forum was preceded by a Buddhist ceremony that CJR organized with the Wat Samroung monks and an afternoon of fun educational activities to engage the local community in an informal meet-and-greet with staff. Radios were awarded as prizes so that participants can tune-in to hear CJR’s weekly shows on 93.5 and 104 FM.
CJR staff also administered a individual questionnaires to deepen the organization’s understanding of whether sustained outreach efforts in Battambang have worked and to evaluate the future needs of beneficiaries. This public forum and ongoing outreach in Battambang has been made possible by the generous support of the German Development Service (DED).
CJR's head of the Voice of Justice and Reconciliation (VJR) Radio Program, Ms. CHAP Chandina, or, "the Golden Voice of Cambodia," as her fan's dubbed her, has been honored with a sponsored invitation to a conference on radio development in Bangalore, India. The 2nd AMARC Asia-Pacific Regional Conference, "Voice for Sustainable and Sound Future" is organized by the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters and will be held 20-23 February 2010.
AMARC describes that the conference aims to "provide a collective and creative platform for policy
discussion and advocacy...[It will] address the challenges of the community broadcasting sector...[and, as a forum for] capacity building and knowledge sharing, will contribute to advancing radio techniques, content management, as well as participatory approaches to management in the community radio sector".
Ms. Chandina notes exuberantly, that at the conference she "hope[s] that I will gain from the good experiences and lessons learned shared by other countries' [participant representatives] on how to establish community radio and improve the quality of radio productions to make them more effective... I will take note of all of the best practices to implement an improved plan for VJR and to increase our relationships with other radio stations, especially in the rural areas. I am excited to build a network, especially among Asian women, to address radio broadcasting and its challenges".
International Co-director, Mr. Daravuth SENG, says " I am thrilled to have Ms. Chandina engage in this important professional development activity, however I am not surprised. CJR staff have a track record of being recognized both nationally and internationally for their contributions to justice and reconciliation. Since opening our doors just six months ago, our staff have taken advantage of opportunities to deepen their knowledge through programs for which they have been honored with sponsored invitations to learn in Germany, Sweden, South Africa, the Philippines, and Japan."
Mr. IM Sophea, CJR's National Co-director adds, "they broaden their skills on these trips, make connections with other organizations, are empowered, and return to CJR more confident and full of new ideas that lead to better programing. We are proud".
CJR Court Monitoring Manager selected by Cambodian Bar Assoc. as rep. to Japanese Bar at program in Tokyo
A testament to her expertise in civil procedure and civil code, on 19 January 2010, Ms. CHOU Vineath, CJR’s Cambodian Courts Monitoring Program Manager, was selected by the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia (BAKC) to participate in a week-long conference in Tokyo led by the Bar Association of Japan. While in Tokyo, she will monitor the trial proceedings of criminal and civil cases, visit a prison, and engage in dialogue with staff at Japanese human rights non-governmental organizations. Ms. Vineath is eager to share what she learns about the new Code of Civil Procedure and the new Civil Code with Cambodian lawyers and to apply her deepened knowledge to her work at CJR.
With CJR support, first Khmer Rouge Victims Association of Cambodia formally established
Over three years of collaboration between survivors and CJR's staff rendered, on 24 December 2009, the Ministry of the Interior's (MOI) historic recognition of the first actively functioning Association of Khmer Rouge Victims in Cambodia (AKRVC). CJR's director of the board, Ms. Theary C. SENG, the first civil party in the ECCC and Mr. SOK Leang, CJR's advocacy and outreach manager, have been key to the association's formation and organization. AKRVC works in partnership with the only other MOI-recognized victims' organization (based in France) and has an inclusive approach to working with victims from all backgrounds. Many AKRVC members began their involvement with the ECCC through public forums facilitated by current CJR staff starting in 2006 and via civil party seminars
beginning in 2007. These activities engaged victims from all twenty-four provinces of Cambodia and were generously funded by Diakonia, German Development Service and the MacArthur Foundation. CJR is committed to continuing our support of AKRVC and to building the capacity of its members. To learn more about AKRVC, visit their website.
CJR staff advocate for Khmer Rouge victims at ECCC's Victims Unit National Forum
On 17 and 18 December 2009 CJR staff including advocacy and outreach manager, SOK Leang, advocacy and outreach intern, SOENG Sothea and psycho-social support specialist, OM Chariya attended the ECCC's Victims Unit National Forum for Civil Party Applicants. The forum, designed to reach up to 400 civil party applicants coming from 15 provinces, was held in the public gallery of the ECCC's main courtroom. As described by the ECCC, the main goals of the forum were to:
a) Keep civil party applicants updated about their applications and the progress of the case, and solicit their feedback and/or recommendations; and
b) Provide applicants with an opportunity to meet with their lawyers, or, if they do not yet have legal representation, to meet some of the available lawyers offering specialized services and expertise.
Guests and speakers at the forum included key court officials, civil party lawyers, a Case 001 civil party and representatives from intermediary organizations who provide outreach to victims. The ECCC's Victims Unit plans further regional forums for civil party applicants and complainants throughout 2010 and CJR will remain heavily involved in this process.
CJR's national conference on Khmer Rouge victims' participation in the ECCC and beyond: Moving from the Killing Fields to the Living, Healing Fields
On 11 December 2009 CJR hosted a national conference on victims' participation in the ECCC (the Khmer Rouge Tribunal) and beyond. Over 250 participants engaged in more than two hours of discussion on issues of reconciliation, the speed of proceedings at the ECCC, the nature of justice as retributive versus restorative, transparency in the court, the role of the Cambodian government in supporting the court, reparations, and the work of civil society in supporting victims in legacy projects after the ECCC's mandate has expired.
Victims led the open forum style dialogue at the conference, which was held at Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia and entitled, “Moving Forward, Together: From Killing Fields to Healing, Living Fields.” Other participants included Buddhist monks, ECCC officials, academics, students and members of civil society and the media.
The conference was dedicated almost entirely to the extended question-answer session between members of the audience and panelists including representatives of the newly forming Victims' Association, MOM Sokly and BOU Meng, S-21 survivor, VAN Nath, ECCC co-investigating judge Marcel LEMONDE, ECCC chief of the Victims Unit, Dr. Helen JARVIS, senior assistant prosecutor at the ECCC Office of Co-Prosecutors, Anees AMHED, ECCC chief of public affairs, REACH Sambath, chief of the ECCC's Witness/Expert Support Unit, Wendy LOBWEIN, President of Genocide Watch and author of the ECCC's internal rules, Dr. Gregory STANTON, and President of ADHOC, THUN Saray. Opening and closing remarks were made by CJR's co-directors, IM Sophea and Darauth SENG and the conference was moderated by CJR's board director and civil party, Theary SENG.
