Law and judiciary

The Labour Ministry said last week it was drafting a minimum wage law that would expand beyond the garment industry and cover all workers, a proposal that drew cautious praise from union leaders and advocates, along with a healthy dose of scepticism. ...

The Ministry of Environment on Thursday issued its first prakas on safe battery management, laying out specific guidelines on the collection, storage, treatment, delivery and disposal of batteries by households and businesses alike. ...

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday decided to proceed with charges of “forging public documents” and “incitement” against former opposition senator Hong Sok Hour and said a verdict would be announced on November 7. ...

The CNRP said on Tuesday it would join today’s meeting of the National Assembly’s agenda-setting permanent committee in hopes of pushing ahead with proposed amendments to a trio of contentious laws on judicial independence. ...

Cambodia ranked 112 out of 113 countries surveyed globally and dead last in the East Asia and Pacific region when it comes to the perceived rule of law, a new report released today states. ...

After her third UN fact-finding mission to Cambodia, special rapporteur Rhona Smith issued a searing review of the human rights situation in the country, stating that the days of the government evoking the troubles of the past century as an excuse for its present shortcomings ...

In an effort to improve the governance of the Kingdom’s mining industry, with a focus on increasing revenue generation, the government has approved 11 articles largely concerning export permits for mined resources. A September 22 sub-decree signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen, but released by the ...

The Justice Ministry is investigating accusations that surrogacy services are being offered in the Kingdom as rumors spread online. Minister of Justice Ang Vong Vathana said yesterday at a three-day workshop launching the “Explanatory Note of Domestic Adoption,” he was unsure if the rumors pertained to ...

Well-known timber trafficker Heng Samneang was charged on Sunday with illegal logging and interfering with the work of public officials, according to a Phnom Penh Municipal Court officer, days after she allegedly tried to retrieve some of her ill-gotten timber with the help of a ...

Twelve years after being ousted as president of the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia (BAKC) amid a bitter dispute with the prime minister’s attorney, human rights lawyer Suon Visal has been voted back into the lawyer association’s top position. ...

Military police said they arrested a well-known timber trafficker in Stung Treng province on Thursday after she and a group of stick-wielding thugs attempted to retrieve a pile of wood officers had seized a day earlier. ...

Visiting U.N. envoy Rhona Smith on Tuesday offered to help Cambodia draft its first laws on surrogacy, a ministry spokesman said. The special rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia, who arrived on Monday for a 10-day visit, met with Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana to discuss ...

Three men were detained in Tbong Khmum province on Saturday afternoon for smuggling civets and snakes in the back of a Toyota SUV, possibly with the intention of selling them in neighboring Vietnam. ...

Opposition members of the National Assembly may soon have their pay and expenses docked if they continue their months-long boycott of the sessions. The Parliamentary Permanent Committee is thinking of amending the National Assembly’s internal regulations to include disciplinary articles concerning members who boycott sessions, including ...

Ten pro-government unions on Friday released statements in support of Cambodia’s recently passed Trade Union Law, just days after two independent unions held a meeting to discuss hoped-for changes to the contentious legislation. The independent unions met last week to compile a list of amendments to ...

Almost 30 people were killed and nearly 140 injured in traffic accidents over the five-day Pchum Ben holiday weekend, showing a slight decrease compared with previous years. National deputy police chief Kirth Chantharith said yesterday there were 75 traffic accidents from Wednesday to Sunday which caused ...

China has signed an agreement to assist the Kingdom with judicial reforms and to share expertise in overhauling such systems, though one international expert yesterday cautioned that China shouldn’t be considered “a model for justice reform in Cambodia”. ...

The Cambodian Youth Party (CYP) is urging the public to join a mass demonstration on October 10 against Vietnam, due to what they say is a continued encroachment by the neighboring country on Cambodian territory through two settlements currently under construction. In an announcement sent out ...

From now on, only certain sub-decrees will need to be pored over by the cabinet before they are signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen, the premier told a session of the cabinet on Friday morning, although failing to specify what the selection criteria would be. Mr. ...

It has been five months since the government updated the country on how far along they were with the demarcation process along the border with Vietnam. Yet Prime Minister Hun Sen has an entirely different focus: the border posts slowly being replaced. In a directive sent out ...

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is willing to offer assistance in future prison building projects, and in the preparation of prison management policies that are in line with international standards, the National Police website said on Tuesday. According to the website, the ICRC ...

Police have arrested at least five suspects over the past two days in connection to agrenade attack that rattled a Phnom Penh neighbourhood two weeks ago, injuring four people, but officials yesterday remained tight-lipped as to the suspects’ identities and motives. ...

Environmental campaigner and Areng Valley community leader Ven Vorn lost his appeal against his one-year suspended sentence for “collecting forest products without permission” yesterday at the Appeals Court. Judge Kim Danny did not give reasons why the court decided to uphold the March ruling of the ...

The Ministry of Social Affairs yesterday confirmed it would construct a new national facility to rehabilitate child offenders. The news follows a meeting last Thursday when spokesman Touch Channy told attendees that the new centre to detain juvenile offenders would be built following the recent adoption ...