INTRODUCTION
I. CREATION OF THE ECCC
1. Following an official request for assistance by the Kingdom of Cambodia on 21 June 1997,1 the United Nations and the Royal Government of Cambodia signed an Agreement on 6 June 2003 with a view to the trial of senior leaders of Democratic Kampuchea and those most responsible for the national and international crimes committed in Democratic Kampuchea between 17 April 1975 and 6 January 1979 ("ECCC Agreement").2
2. The ECCC was established within the Cambodian judicial system following the promulgation of the "Law on the Establishment of Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia for the Prosecution of Crimes Committed During the Period of Democratic Kampuchea" ("ECCC Law"). It was officially inaugurated on 3 July 2006.
II. PROCEDURAL BACKROUND
3. On 10 July 2006, the Co-Prosecutors initiated a preliminary investigation into the crimes that may have been committed by the leaders of Democratic Kampuchea and those most responsible, during the period from 17 April 1975 and 6 January 1979. On 18 July 2007, they filed an Introductory Submission pursuant to Internal Rule 53 containing allegations against five suspects (Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith, Khieu Samphan and Kaing Guek Eav alias Duch)4 for alleged criminal acts committed in numerous locations. The Case File was then transferred to the Office of the Co-Investigating Judges (OCIJ) to undertake a judicial investigation under Internal Rule 55.
4. On 31 July 2007, Duch was detained by order of the Co-Investigating Judges and transferred to the ECCC Detention Centre. In the course of the judicial investigation he was charged with crimes against humanity and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949.5
5. On 19 September 2007, the Co-Investigating Judges ordered the separation of the Case File concerning Duch's responsibility in respect to S-21.[1]
Conventions of 12 August 1949, genocide and crimes under the 1956 Penal Code of Cambodia.[2]
7. On 14 November 2007, Ieng Sary was detained by order of the Co-Investigating Judges and transferred to the ECCC detention facility. In the course of the judicial investigation he was charged with crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, genocide and crimes under the 1956 Penal Code of Cambodia.
8. On 14 November 2007, Ieng Thirith was detained by order of the Co-Investigating Judges and transferred to the ECCC detention facility. In the course of the judicial investigation she was charged with crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, genocide and violations of the 1956 Penal Code of Cambodia.
9. On 19 November 2007, Khieu Samphan was detained by order of the Co-Investigating Judges and transferred to the ECCC detention facility. In the course of the judicial investigation he was charged with crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of12 August 1949, genocide and violations of the 1956 Penal Code of Cambodia .10
10. In the course of the judicial investigation, the Victims Support Section submitted 4,128 Civil Party applications to the Co-Investigating Judges. Later, one hundred and four (104) Civil Party applicants requested to change their mode of participation to that of complainants; 11 applicants withdrew their applications; 19 duplicate Civil Party applications were found to have been filed; and 6 Civil Party applications were re-submitted at the victims' request. Accordingly, the Co-Investigating Judges have issued orders in respect of the admissibility of a total of 3,988 applications pursuant to Internal Rules 23 and 23 bis[3]. In so doing, they noted that 18 applicants had deceased after having filed their application.
12. 2,123 Civil Parties were admitted by the Co-Investigating Judges[4]. Certain applications were declared inadmissible, essentially for the reason that the victims had suffered harm that was not directly related to the factual circumstances set out in the Introductory and Supplementary Submissions. All of the inadmissible applications were, however, kept on the Case File in the form of Complaints, where they join the 4,151 victims' complaints already placed on the Case File by the Co-Prosecutors. Thus, there are 6,274 Complaints at the disposal of the parties, for their information. This figure is provisional, as a number of the Co-Investigating Judge's admissibility orders are under appeal.
13. On 14 January 2010, the Co-Investigating Judges informed the parties that they considered the judicial investigation had been concluded.[5] The parties then filed a number of requests under Internal Rule 66(1). The Co-Investigating Judges undertook the action requested, or rejected the requests by issuing Rule 66(2) orders. On 15 July 2010, the Pre-Trial Chamber advised that it had disposed of all the appeals filed with the Pre-Trial Chamber against orders by the Co-Investigating Judges.[6] By order dated 19 July 2010, the Case File was transferred to the Office of the Co-Prosecutors (OCP) for the purpose of their final submission under Internal Rule 66(4).[7]
14. On 16 August 2010, the Co-Prosecutors filed their Final Submission, in which they requested the Co-Investigating Judges to indict Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith and Khieu Samphan and send them for trial for genocide, crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and crimes under the 1956 Penal Code of Cambodia.[8]
15. In an Additional Submission filed the same day, the Co-Prosecutors requested the Co- Investigating Judges to issue a dismissal order in respect of Duch.[9] The Co-Investigating Judges issued a separate order on this issue on 14 September 2010.[10]
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17. In addition to the documents the Prosecutors filed in support of their Introductory Submission, the records on the Case File include: 46 written records of interview of the Charged Persons, more than 1,000 written records of interview of witnesses and civil parties, 36 site identification reports, one demographic expert report, numerous medical expertise reports, and more than 11,600 substantive documents placed on the Case File by the Co- Investigating Judges, the Co-Prosecutors, the Charged Persons, the Civil Parties and their lawyers, representing a total of more than 350,000 pages, including 223,000 pages relating to the facts of the cause.
[1] Also on 19 September 2007, Nuon Chea was detained by order of the Co-Investigating
[3] Nearly 40% of the applicants live in the provinces of Kampot, Kampong Cham, Kandal and
Kampong Speu. In addition to those in Cambodia, 133 applicants reside abroad, mainly in the
United States and France. More than 60% of all the Civil Party applicants are women. Half of
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