Database looks at court flaws
Nearly half of defendants lack legal representation, 80 per cent are held in pretrial detention, and a sizeable chunk confess before they get a hearing, according to an online public database released yesterday by the Cambodia Center for Human Rights.
The database reveals numerous infringements on fair-trial proceedings. Based on information from proceedings in 2,558 criminal court cases in four courts throughout the country – Banteay Meanchey, Kandal and Ratanakkiri provincial courts, as well as the Phnom Penh Municipal Court – the database provides an unprecedented look at the judicial system writ large.
Of 3,360 suspects, 1,114 confessed before trial, while 1,441 lacked representation. ...
The database bears out Sam Oeun’s reasoning. In 1,425 out of the 2,258 cases, the judge failed to explain what the right to legal representation means, and in 475 cases failed to inform the accused of the right to a lawyer. ...
Laignee Barron and Chhay Channyda
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/database-looks-court-flaws
