News

Twelve judges and five prosecutors were verbally “disciplined” yesterday during a meeting of the Supreme Council of Magistracy presided over by King Norodom Sihamoni. Sam Prachea Manith, spokesman for the council, declined to name the people singled out. “This is for a small mistake that they forgot ...

Phnom Penh Municipal Court deputy prosecutor Meas Chan Piseth will next week replace Banteay Meanchey Provincial Prosecutor Phan Vannarath, who is taking a position in the Ministry of Justice at the end of a nearly five-year term in office.     ...

Three newcomers officially took up their positions at the Constitutional Council yesterday, the body announced. Im Chhun Lim, former minister of land management, officially began his tenure as head of the council after being appointed by the Supreme Council of Magistracy and voted chief by ...

Judge and prosecutors were called to a two-day workshop to address the sector’s pervasive ethics challenges, but legal experts said change could not occur until there were concrete rules, instead of vague moral guidelines. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday has proposed the Supreme Council of Magistracy to take urgent measure on a judge responsible for releasing parents of fugitive Thong Sarath on bail. ...

The chief judge at Phnom Penh Municipal Court has replaced, in a shake-up at the behest of Prime Minister Hun Sen, as the court pursues an ongoing murder investigation. Hours after Hun Sen’s order, the chief of Phnom Penh’s court, Ang Maldey, was fired and ...

The National Assembly yesterday appointed a ruling Cambodian People’s Party stalwart to fill the final seat of the judicial body that oversees the Kingdom’s judges and prosecutors and whose political independence is already a target of criticism. A majority of 66 parliamentarians voted Ith Rady, an ...

Three widely condemned laws concerning the operation of the Kingdom’s judiciary were officially signed into effect by King Norodom Sihamoni last month, according to recent copies of the Royal Book. ...

A 100-page set of guidelines for the legal protection of the rights of women and children was launched by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in Phnom Penh on Thursday in a bid to address shortfalls in how the judicial system handles cases such as rape, ...

Three constitutionally mandated judicial laws would adversely affect the independence of the courts if they are passed in their current draft state, legal experts warned on Friday. Draft versions of the Law on the Organization and Functioning of the Supreme Council of the Magistracy, the Law ...

The Council of Ministers of Cambodia on Friday passed three draft laws, designed to strengthen the country’s longtime-criticized judicial system, according to a government media statement. The green light was given during a weekly cabinet meeting, which was chaired by Prime Minister Hun Sen. ...

With new laws in the pipeline to reform the judiciary, the Supreme Council of Magistracy has announced a reshuffling of judges and court staff, with 78 officials promoted or transferred, according to a royal decree signed April 6. The job changes, which include senior judges and ...

Twenty judges and prosecutors may soon find themselves pulling up stakes and tackling new jurisdictions, according to a draft list detailing a wide-ranging judicial reshuffling obtained by thePost yesterday. In the proposed shake-up, Phnom Penh Municipal Court president Chiv Keng will be moved into a position as ...

The long-awaited draft law on the Supreme Council of Magistracy continues the practice of secret votes and gives Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana key powers, according to excerpts from the document, but it would reduce the position of King Norodom Sihamoni if passed in its ...

A new draft law on the Status of Judges and Prosecutors does not prohibit the judiciary from affiliation with political parties and allows Supreme Court judges and prosecutors to work beyond the mandatory retirement age of 60, when all other judges will be expected to ...

Three judicial reform draft laws will be submitted to the Council of Ministers last this month, justice officials said Wednesday. The draft laws deal with the functions of the courts and the conduct of judges and prosecutors, as well as an oversight body called the Supreme ...

Over 100 families, who live in Kampong Chhnang, filed complaints against a provincial court judge and his group for allegedly threatening to shoot them in land disputes. The residents sued San Sophat, a judge at Kampong Chhnang Provincial Court, his bodyguard, and Hem Dara, a lawyer, ...

Cambodia is preparing three long-awaited laws aimed at restoring its widely criticized judicial system. However, two of the three draft laws obtained by VOA Khmer still need a lot more improvement, according to legal experts. The laws focus on codifying court jurisdiction, laying out guidelines for ...

The Ministry of Justice is moving ahead with plans to expand the Appeal Court system around the country as part of inter-ministerial talks that began on Monday on the subject of judicial reform. The talks, which are expected to wrap up today, focus on a long-awaited ...

The Cambodian government has privately pledged that it will pass the long-awaited “three fundamental laws” aimed at reforming the judiciary during the first session of parliament in early 2014, UN rights envoy Surya Subedi said. The laws – which focus on codifying the court’s jurisdiction, laying ...

A father whose three children were badly beaten by employees of a rubber plantation has accused a Ratanakkiri Provincial Court judge of threatening to send two sons, aged 14 and 21, to jail unless they accept $1,000 in compensation and drop the assault complaint. Ry Saron ...

The European Union’s ambassador to Cambodia raised issues of judicial reform, land reform and the upcoming national elections in a meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday morning. The European Commission’s directorate-general for trade is currently reviewing a report by the U.N.’s human rights envoy ...

The court system is still “chronically underfunded” and laws on its management are almost 20 years overdue, the U.N. human rights envoy Surya Subedi said yesterday. One year ago, during his sixth mission to Cambodia, Mr. Subedi described reform in the courts as moving at a ...