Justice Ministry to keep track of courts’ case lists

The Ministry of Justice yesterday held the first of what it said would be regular forums soliciting the input of civil society on judicial reforms, and promised a new measure that it maintained would streamline the courts’ workflow. Citing widespread frustration among citizens, Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana said that Cambodia’s courts would embrace government calls for reform in an effort to restore the public’s faith, and promised a new case management system that some observers dismissed as an unsubstantial concession. … From now on, he said, lower courts would be required to submit a list of all of their cases to the ministry, so officials would be better able to manage them and prevent delays. “We demand the courts list criminal and civil lawsuits to the Ministry of Justice, from the filing of the complaint . . . to the resolution of the offence, to make it easy for us to examine each case,” Vong Vathana said. Cambodian courts are perennial targets of accusations of nepotism, bribe-taking and general ineptitude, but Chan Sotheavy, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Justice, said that the new system – which is to be built into a website next year – would be a good step forward. …

 Sen David
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/justice-ministry-keep-track-courts%E2%80%99-case-lists