Judiciary of Cambodia
This article is part of a series on the |
Politics of Cambodia |
---|
The Judiciary of Cambodia is independent from the rest of the government of Cambodia, as specified by the Cambodian
Courts and tribunals in Cambodia regularly face a lack of resources, both financial and human, a ferment of corruption and clientelism that eat away at the whole of society. The difficulty of access for the poorest also favors the resistance of traditional methods of conflict resolution, based on the intermediary of a person whose moral authority, unlike that of the judge, is not contested by neither of the two parties (village, district, pagoda chiefs, etc.), de facto creating a two-tier system, one, official, reserved for foreigners and urban elites, the other, informal, for the most part population.
History
Funan: a rudimentary system of Indian influence
Before the establishment of the Khmer Empire, it seems like the civilization of Funan had a rudimentary judiciary with probably a legal code of Indian origin. Trial by ordeal existed and innocence could be decided "if a suspect was not eaten after being thrown to the ubiquitous crocodiles."[1]
Khmer Empire: an extended judiciary network
In Khmer inscriptions of the tenth and eleventh century, there are indications of well established judiciary in the Angkorian Empire. From the texts, it can be interpreted that the king was personally involved but given the location of these inscriptions, it is likely that the courts were delegated to act on behalf of the ruler. According to Eileen Lustig, "sites with mentions of the royal service, courts, and court officials are distributed in much the same way as non-royal inscriptions, suggesting a relatively even administration of taxation and the law."[2]
The first written traces of laws are
Justice under the French Protectorate of Cambodia: the first attempts of codification
French colonization aimed to transform Cambodia, to guide the Khmer people towards the idea of progress as defined by the French protectorate.[5] The Protectorate saw the first real attempts at codification but these codes were often in contradiction with the laws enacted in metropolis or those which applied to the whole of French Indochina.[6] The opinions, orders and other decrees issued by the various legislative bodies were streamlined on 1 June 1940 by creating a hierarchy between them. At the highest level was now the Kram which derived from the sole monarch and had a general legislative scope; the Kret was also the work of the king, but covered the appointments, transfers and dismissals of senior officials. The Samrach related to a decision taken by the Council of Ministers. The Prakas came for their part from a minister and applied to his field of activity while the Deka had only a local value (province, district, commune...).[7]
Injustice under the Khmers Rouges
Codification continued after the independence, led by Cambodian lawyers trained at the Faculty of Law where courses were partly given by French professors in French.[8]
Under the regime of
Most of the players in the old judicial bodies did not survive this period and the restoration of institutions is still in progress.
Monarchy Restored
In 1992, the
At the same time, the law was profoundly overhauled by
The establishment in 2006 of the extraordinary chambers in the courts of Cambodia, a local jurisdiction with minority international participation responsible for judging the last leaders of the Khmers Rouges helped to accelerate the establishment of institutions closer to international standards.[10]
Surya Subedi, then rapporteur for the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights, noted in his report of August 2014 that progress could still be made.[14]
In fact, the assessment made in 2006 by Antoine Fontaine, project manager of the Embassy of France for legal cooperation with the Royal University of Law and Economics of Phnom Penh, showing that:
the path that leads to the rule of law is still a long time and Cambodia is barely beginning to borrow it
is still relevant years later.[13]
Structure
The main duties of the judiciary are to prosecute criminals, settle lawsuits, and, most importantly, protect the freedoms and rights of Cambodian citizens. However, in reality, the judicial branch in Cambodia is highly corrupt and often serves as a tool of the executive branch to silence civil society and its leaders.[15] Until 1997, Cambodia did not have a judicial branch of government despite the nation's Constitution requiring one.
Hierarchy of courts
The
The Court of Appeal (Sala Outor) sits in the capital. In the mid-2010s, two more instances opened in Battambang and Siem Reap. In addition to appeals against provincial court cases, it also judges administrative disputes at first instance. In addition to the institution in charge of this type of case, the court has four other chambers, specializing respectively in civil, criminal, commercial and investigation. Its decisions are rendered by a group of three magistrates; the attributions of the public ministry fall to the public prosecutor at the court of appeal.[16]
The
The highest court of judicial branch is the Supreme Council of the Magistracy. There are currently 17 justices on the Supreme Council.
Administrative acts
The administrative acts are organized according to a hierarchy inherited from the People's Republic of Kampuchea. At its top is the Kret, a decree signed by the king and countersigned by the prime minister and the minister concerned. It is in fact the act of promulgation of a Chhbap voted by parliament. Anukret is a sub-decree passed by the government and initialed by the prime minister and the minister responsible for its application. The Prakas are taken by a minister or the Governor of the central bank while the decision of sachkdei samrach is initiated by a member of the government (including the secretary of state) or the president of a public institution. An internal order called circulaire or sorachor is prescribed by a central administration for its local offices. Its purpose is to clarify a legal text by indicating the interpretation to be given to it or to define a policy in a given area. Finally, the Deka has a more limited scope and is the work of a provincial governor or a head of municipality.
People in the judiciary
Prosecutors
The
Judges
In 2003, Judge Kim Sathavy was in charge of establishing the first Royal School for Judges and Prosecutors to train a new generation of magistrates and legal clerks for Cambodia.[20] Since then, judges and prosecutors are recruited by a competition open to any law graduate and after having undergone training at the Royal School of Magistracy.
Lawyers
The lawyers are grouped in an order governed by the Kram of 22 and inspired by
References
- ISBN 978-1-74115-857-1.
- .
- OCLC 423574897.
- ^ Grégory Mikaelian, Le Kram sruk de Chey Chettha III : édition critique d'un code institutionnel khmer du 17e siècle (in French), Université Paris-Sorbonne, 1998, 309 p., p. 43-47
- ISBN 978-2-37928-058-0.
- OCLC 1342397.
- ^ Claude Gour, Hiérarchie des textes et respect de la légalité en droit public cambodgien, vol. IV, Annales de la faculté de droit et des sciences économiques de Phnom Penh (in French), 1962, p. 6
- OCLC 423574897.
- ISBN 978-2-916063-27-0.
- ^ a b c Holligan, Jennifer; Abdhulhak, Tarik (December 2013). "Overview of the Cambodian History, Governance and Legal Sources". GlobaLex. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
- ^ ISBN 978-2-36170-104-8.
- ISBN 978-2-36170-104-8.
- ^ OCLC 423574897.
- ^ a b Surya P. Subedi (2014). "Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia" (PDF). Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights ., Article 78
- ^ "Cambodia: Events of 2005". Essential Background: Overview of human rights issues in Cambodia. 31 December 2005.
{{cite book}}
:|website=
ignored (help) - ^ ISBN 978-2-36170-104-8.
- ^ a b Permanent Committee on Drafting the Constitution. "Article 134". Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia.
- ISBN 978-2-36170-104-8.
- ISBN 978-2-84654-193-0.
- Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
- ISBN 978-2-36170-104-8.