Defendants not informed of rights in cambodian appeal court cases: study

23 June 2014
Radio Free Asia
Constitution and rights / Government / Human rights / Judiciary and courts / Law and judiciary / Legal and judicial reform / Social development
Brad Adams / Cambodian Center for Human Rights / Cambodian People's Party / CCHR / Court of Appeal / Fair Trial Rights in Cambodia: Monitoring at the Court of Appeal / Human Rights Watch / Hun Sen / Law on Statute of Judges and Prosecutor / Law on the Organization and Functioning of the Courts / Law on the Organization and Functioning the Supreme Council of Magistracy / Piseth Duch / Supreme Council of the Magistracy

Judges in Cambodia’s Court of Appeal fail to inform defendants of their rights and a high number of hearings do not even have the defendants or their lawyers present, according to a study by a local rights group. In addition, the quality of evidence presented at the hearing is very poor and threatens the right to be convicted beyond reasonable doubt, and shows that judgments are, in the majority of cases, not based on law or evidence, the Phnom Penh-based Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) said in its study of more than 200 cases. The findings point to additional concerns in Cambodia’s judiciary, whose functioning has already “been among the major human rights concerns in Cambodia for some time,” the CCHR said in a report. …

 Richard Finney
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/rights-06232014173104.html