Open Society Justice Initiative Urges Release of Khmer Rouge Court Audit

NEW YORK—The Open Society Justice Initiative today called for the United Nations Development Program to make public the full audit report on personnel management at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. The court must take this opportunity to actively demonstrate its commitment to maintaining a corruption-free court, according to the Justice Initiative.

The United Nations Development Program, which oversees donor funds earmarked for the Cambodian side of the court, today released a summary of the audit, which was conducted earlier this year. That summary identifies significant challenges facing the court, including serious irregularities in the hiring and evaluation of Cambodian staff.

However, the summary fails to shed light on important questions about the audit, including whether (or how) auditors investigated allegations that Cambodian staff had to kick back portions of their salaries in exchange for their jobs. Only a public release of the full audit report will allow the public and donor states to identify which issues still need to be addressed in order to secure the integrity of the court.

"Regardless of the scope of the audit report, this is an important moment for the [court] to demonstrate its commitment to transparency and ability to sustain the trust of those who must help it succeed in its historic task," said Robert O. Varenik, acting executive director of the Justice Initiative. "The [court] introduced a code of conduct this week prohibiting staff from receiving or soliciting payments beyond their salaries, but further steps are needed to eliminate the possibility for corrupt practices to exist in the future."

"Anticorruption measures are a basic requirement for the integrity of any judicial institution and the best anti-corruption practices of other international courts should be adapted for use at the [court]," said Varenik.

The Justice Initiative also urged donors to recognize the important role they have to play in helping the court operate transparently, efficiently, and effectively by:

• Actively overseeing public monies spent by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia;
• Conditioning future funding on improvements in the court's operations, including targeted measures designed to combat corruption.

"The [court] has made great strides in the past few months with the adoption of the internal rules and two high profile arrests," said Varenik. "Now, it is up to the United Nations, donor states and the court to swiftly address transparency, management, and efficiency concerns to make sure that justice can be effectively delivered to the Cambodian people."