Recent Developments at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

This 13-page report by the Open Society Justice Initiative describes and assesses recent developments at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), the court established to try surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge.

The developments described in the report include several major steps for the fledgling court, including:

• The ECCC's first public hearing, on the pretrial detention of Kaing Guek Eav (also known as Duch), who commanded the infamous Khmer Rouge torture center, Toul Sleng;
• The arrest of Khieu Samphan, who served as head of state during the Khmer Rouge era, following his release from hospital;
• The arrest, filing of charges against, and detention of Khmer Rouge couple Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith—the first married couple to be charged before a contemporary war crimes court; and
• The appeal by Nuon Chea, the second most senior Khmer Rouge official after Pol Pot, of his order of provisional detention.

In addition, the report addresses some of the court's pressing challenges. Regarding the ECCC's anticipated 2008 fundraising drive—which is the subject of a separate Justice Initiative report—the Justice Initiative renews its recommendation that states condition further funding on the ECCC's adoption of effective measures to address concerns that include:

• Inadequate transparency, particularly regarding hearings on provisional detention and appeals hearings, which are presumptively closed to the public;
• Administrative divisions and corruption allegations, translation backlogs, human resource management issues, and failure to begin renovations needed to ready the principal courtroom for trial proceedings.

Recent Developments at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia: December 2007 is the latest in a series of monthly reports offering up-to-the-minute news and analysis directly from Phnom Penh.