The international judges of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) on Tuesday issued a letter to inform the Cambodian judges of their decision not to hold a judicial plenary session to adopt the internal rules of the court in April 2007.
The letter, signed by all the international judges of the ECCC, notes that two weeks have passed since the ECCC's Review Committee issued a statement asking for the Cambodian Bar to reconsider its position over fees imposed on foreign lawyers.
The letter states that the international judges were "saddened that at the time of writing, the Cambodian Bar had not reconsidered its position."
With the fee issue still unresolved and not enough time remaining to fix their schedules or accommodate previous commitments, an April 30 plenary is no longer possible for the international judges, said the letter.
The international judges believe the Cambodian Bar's proposed first year fee of 4,900 U.S. dollars would create a prohibitive entry cost and was not in line with accepted practice at the international level.
The proposed fee would severely limit the number of foreign lawyers able to appear before the ECCC and would allow the accused to argue that they have not been afforded the right to have counsel of their choice, in breach of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, said the letter.
Further, it said, such a fee would exclude many lawyers that are volunteering to represent victims for free, as they would be left significantly out of pocket for offering their services pro- bono.
The international judges are aware of ongoing discussions between the Cambodian Bar and the ECCC's Defense Support Section and express hope that these discussions will lead to an acceptable solution.
As a result, they are willing to allow for a short period to establish whether they may then be in a position to call a plenary session at a later date.
However, the international judges wish to emphasize that the window of opportunity is closing quickly and they simply cannot allow for endless delays.
The international judges will re-examine the situation, and any proposals from the Cambodian Bar, during the last week of April 2007.
If at that time no progress has been made, they will propose organizing the whole process of participation of foreign lawyers from registration to discipline without the assistance of the Cambodian Bar Association, in line with established practice in other international and hybrid tribunals, said the letter.
The ECCC was jointly designed by Cambodia and the United Nations to try former Democratic Kampuchea leaders believed to be responsible for the death of some 1.7 million people between 1975 and 1979.
The United Nations and Cambodia agreed on the current tribunal framework in 2003 after six years of talks.
Source: Xinhua
The letter, signed by all the international judges of the ECCC, notes that two weeks have passed since the ECCC's Review Committee issued a statement asking for the Cambodian Bar to reconsider its position over fees imposed on foreign lawyers.
The letter states that the international judges were "saddened that at the time of writing, the Cambodian Bar had not reconsidered its position."
With the fee issue still unresolved and not enough time remaining to fix their schedules or accommodate previous commitments, an April 30 plenary is no longer possible for the international judges, said the letter.
The international judges believe the Cambodian Bar's proposed first year fee of 4,900 U.S. dollars would create a prohibitive entry cost and was not in line with accepted practice at the international level.
The proposed fee would severely limit the number of foreign lawyers able to appear before the ECCC and would allow the accused to argue that they have not been afforded the right to have counsel of their choice, in breach of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, said the letter.
Further, it said, such a fee would exclude many lawyers that are volunteering to represent victims for free, as they would be left significantly out of pocket for offering their services pro- bono.
The international judges are aware of ongoing discussions between the Cambodian Bar and the ECCC's Defense Support Section and express hope that these discussions will lead to an acceptable solution.
As a result, they are willing to allow for a short period to establish whether they may then be in a position to call a plenary session at a later date.
However, the international judges wish to emphasize that the window of opportunity is closing quickly and they simply cannot allow for endless delays.
The international judges will re-examine the situation, and any proposals from the Cambodian Bar, during the last week of April 2007.
If at that time no progress has been made, they will propose organizing the whole process of participation of foreign lawyers from registration to discipline without the assistance of the Cambodian Bar Association, in line with established practice in other international and hybrid tribunals, said the letter.
The ECCC was jointly designed by Cambodia and the United Nations to try former Democratic Kampuchea leaders believed to be responsible for the death of some 1.7 million people between 1975 and 1979.
The United Nations and Cambodia agreed on the current tribunal framework in 2003 after six years of talks.
Source: Xinhua
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