Judicial draft laws still unseen: rights groups

11 March 2014
The Phnom Penh Post
Civil society / Government / Judiciary and courts / Law and judiciary / Law making process / Laws and regulations / Legal and judicial reform / Ministries and other national bodies / Ministry of Justice / Social development
Cambodian Center for Human Rights / Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee / CCHR / Hun Sen / Law on the Amendment of the Supreme Council of Magistracy / Law on the Organization and Functioning of the Courts / Law on the Status of Judges and Prosecutors / Ministry of Justice / National Assembly / Ou Virak / Sam Prachea Manith

Two civil society organisations are calling on Prime Minister Hun Sen to publish three long-gestating draft laws on judicial reform to allow ample time for “genuine, inclusive and meaningful participation in the drafting process”. Hun Sen said in a speech last Wednesday that the three laws – the Law on the Organization and Functioning of the Courts, the Law on the Amendment of the Supreme Council of Magistracy and the Law on the Status of Judges and Prosecutors – were in the final stages of drafting, and would hopefully be implemented by mid-year. However, the Ministry of Justice has been tight-lipped on the specifics of those laws, and the Cambodian Center for Human Rights and the NGO umbrella group Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee said in an open letter, dated March 7 and released yesterday, that they “are seriously concerned by the opacity surrounding the draft legislations”. …

 Stuart White
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/judicial-draft-laws-still-unseen-rights-groups