Phnom Penh, Nov. 25 (AP): Organisers of the Khmer Rouge genocide trials today said they have been unable to agree on the judicial rules that will govern proceedings, but they still expect to convene the long-awaited tribunal in mid-2007.
The Cambodian and international judicial officials who will conduct the tribunal met last week to discuss the 110 draft rules that will govern proceedings but encountered "substantive disagreement about several key issues," the officials said in a joint statement.
Hopes to adopt the rules within a week were "far too ambitious," the statement said. It gave no indication of when meetings would reconvene.
The tribunal was created by a 2003 agreement between Cambodia and the United Nations after years of difficult negotiations to try to seek justice for crimes committed when the Khmer Rouge held power from 1975-79.
The radical policies of the now-defunct communist group led to the deaths of some 1.7 million people from execution, overwork, disease and malnutrition.
Prosecutors are expected to indict about 10 defendants, including the few surviving top Khmer Rouge leaders.
The current disagreements centered on how to integrate Cambodian law with international standards and how the special tribunal will operate within the Cambodian court structure, under which the tribunal was established, the statement said.
The 110 draft rules under consideration cover every phase of the proceedings - preliminary investigations, judicial investigations, the trial and appeals. They also delineate the roles of all parties, including prosecutors, defence attorneys and defendants, the statement said.
The Cambodian and international judicial officials who will conduct the tribunal met last week to discuss the 110 draft rules that will govern proceedings but encountered "substantive disagreement about several key issues," the officials said in a joint statement.
Hopes to adopt the rules within a week were "far too ambitious," the statement said. It gave no indication of when meetings would reconvene.
The tribunal was created by a 2003 agreement between Cambodia and the United Nations after years of difficult negotiations to try to seek justice for crimes committed when the Khmer Rouge held power from 1975-79.
The radical policies of the now-defunct communist group led to the deaths of some 1.7 million people from execution, overwork, disease and malnutrition.
Prosecutors are expected to indict about 10 defendants, including the few surviving top Khmer Rouge leaders.
The current disagreements centered on how to integrate Cambodian law with international standards and how the special tribunal will operate within the Cambodian court structure, under which the tribunal was established, the statement said.
The 110 draft rules under consideration cover every phase of the proceedings - preliminary investigations, judicial investigations, the trial and appeals. They also delineate the roles of all parties, including prosecutors, defence attorneys and defendants, the statement said.
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