Salvaging Judicial Independence: The Need for a Principled Completion Plan for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

The Khmer Rouge Tribunal, formally known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), is beginning to plan for the completion of its operations.

This report focuses on how to ensure that the court fulfills its core mandate of bringing to justice the people most responsible for war crimes. The report addresses the cases pending before the ECCC, the goals of a completion plan, and the principal options under consideration for completing the court's work.

The Justice Initiative recommends that, in assembling a completion plan for the ECCC, the court's staff, the UN, and the government of Cambodia should conduct a transparent planning process that is open to input from victims' groups, court monitors, and NGOs, among others. Under the current circumstances, as described in this report, the most reasonable completion plan for the court should include completion by the ECCC—in its current hybrid configuration—of all four cases currently before the court. The Justice Initiative also recommends that the court conduct the trials of Case 002 and Cases 003/004 simultaneously.