Lawyer now a ‘monk’

Choung Choungy, a lawyer for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, has his head shaved at the party’s headquarters in Phnom Penh yesterday. Photo by: Heng Chivoan

Friday, 06 January 2012
Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

Cambodian Bar Association president Chiv Songhak said that Choung Choungy could be penalised or dismissed from the Bar Association if he was found to have breached its code.

A lawyer for the Sam Rainsy Party yesterday began his meditation for justice campaign at the opposition party’s headquarters in the capital’s Meanchey district, after a Buddhist layman shaved his head and blessed him.

Dressed in white, the lawyer began meditating in the morning between placards calling on the Justice Ministry, prosecutors, lawyers and the Bar Association to defend justice.

“Lawyer Choung Choungy is focusing on clear sightedness, keeping silent and seeking tolerance and truth through meditation to liberate people from danger and obstacles,” layman Hing Phirom said.

“He is doing it for the nation.”

Trial of alleged senior leaders provides ECCC with opportunity for positive judicial legacy

Media Comment – Phnom Penh, 27 June

Trial of alleged senior leaders provides ECCC with opportunity for positive judicial legacy

As the first hearing in the trial of Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Khieu Samphan and Ieng Thirith comes to end, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) would like to take this opportunity to call on the judges of the trial chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) to ensure that this case provides a positive example to judges of the domestic courts in terms of procedure and fair trial rights.

Concerns as to political interference and corruption continue to undermine the ECCC. Nevertheless, the proceedings throughout the first trial conducted at the tribunal – that of Kaing Guek Eav – were widely regarded by commentators as a positive example for the national judiciary. It is hoped that this example is replicated throughout the proceedings in Case 002 – a much more complicated case, involving as it does numerous accused and a complex set of alleged crimes. For example when the judges of the trial chamber come to consider witness lists this week, it is essential that they do so independently of any political pressure.

Commenting on Case 002’s potential to offer a positive legacy example to the judges of the national courts, CCHR President Ou Virak commented:

“While the first day of trial was certainly an opportunity for us all to consider what we lost during the Khmer Rouge years, it is important that we now cast a critical eye over the proceedings throughout the trial. The court’s reputation has taken a number hits as a result of its failure to address questions of corruption and political interference. The trial however offers the judges of the trial chamber the chance to provide the judges of the domestic courts with a positive example in terms of procedure and fair trial rights. This week when the judges consider the list of witnesses that will appear before them throughout the trial I hope that they make their considerations free from any political considerations or demands. If there are people in positions of political power who hold information that is relevant to this case, it is of utmost importance that they are summonsed to testify. A failure on the part of the judges to ensure the participation of such figures will undermine the integrity of the trial as well as the legitimacy of the justice the tribunal seeks to dispense.”

For more information contact:

Ou Virak, CCHR President

Telephone: +855 12 40 40 51

Email: ouvirak@cchrcambodia.org

Please find this media comment attached in PDF. A Khmer version will follow shortly.

Thanks and regards

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The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) is a non-aligned, independent, non-governmental organization that works to promote and protect democracy and respect for human rights throughout Cambodia. For more information, please visit www.cchrcambodia.org.

CCHR 2nd Newsletter​: Justice for Women - An analysis of women’s fair trial rights in Cambodia

Dear all,

Today CCHR has the great pleasure of issuing the second ' trial monitoring and the promotion of fair trials' newsletter to celebrate Women Rights Day. The theme of this months newsletter is: Justice for Women - An analysis of women’s fair trial rights in Cambodia.

A MESSAGE FROM CCHR PRESIDENT ON WOMEN RIGHTS DAY":

“It is with great pleasure that I join in the celebration of International Women’s Rights day. It is important that the world recognises the rights of all women to equality in every facet of our society.

I welcome Cambodia’s commitment to women’s rights through its ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which came into force on 12 January 2011. Ratification of the CEDAW Optional Protocol means that individuals and groups who believe their rights have been violated can now submit complaints to the UN Committee dealing with women’s rights, subject to certain conditions. Individuals and groups now have an additional means of seeking redress for violations of women’s rights.

It is important to acknowledge that women, particularly young women and girls, remain discriminated against on a massive scale. This includes discrimination within the legal system. With a view to addressing discrimination and promoting equality within the Cambodian justice system, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), as part of its Trial Monitoring Project, has monitored a number of issues regarding women rights in trials in Cambodia. Issue Two of the Trial Monitoring & the Promotion of Fair Trials newsletter entitled: ‘Justice for women: An analysis of women’s fair trial rights in Cambodia’ looks at some of these issues.”

Ou Virak, President of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR)

Please find attached newsletter in Khmer and English.

Thanks and kind regards,

CCHR

Cambodia's Scale of Justice

7th March, 2009
Opinion by Khmerization

“In Cambodia of today, people win court cases not because they deserve to win. People win court cases based on how much money they can bribe the judges, regardless of whether they are on the right or the wrong side of the laws.”

Cambodia’s justice has been suffering image problems since the formal inception of the Cambodian judiciary. From one regime to the next, Cambodia’s justice system, and its tarnished image, remained virtually unchanged. And after the 1970 coup d’etat that toppled Sihanouk’s royalist regime and the installation of the Khmer Republican regime of Marshall Lon Nol, Cambodian judicial and justice system has suffered incessant political interferences. But the level of political interferences in the judiciary has never been on a scale seen today.

Political and legal pundits are dumbstruck about the level of injustice that has been practising in the Cambodian courts today. The high level of injustice comes about in large part due to the economic factor of the judges because of very low pay which lead them to practise corruption. But the main factor leading to rampant corruption and injustice is mainly due to the condonation of corruption and impunity tolerated by the government. As a result, justice has become too expensive for many ordinary Cambodians.

The scale of justice in today's Cambodia is tilting toward the rich and the powerful at the expense of the poor. In Cambodia of today, people win court cases not because they deserve to win. People win court cases based on how much money they can bribe the judges, regardless of whether they are on the right or the wrong side of the laws. The more people are willing to bribe the judges, the more chances they will be assured of winning. This is why nowadays, the poor people have lost confidence in the justice system and resort to take matter into their own hands. Regardless of what purpose it was originally designed for, the Cambodian justice system has effectively become the tool for the rich and the powerful to oppress the poor.

Corruption has made justice in Cambodia unreachable by the have-nots, but it served the rich and the powerful well because of the money and the political powers they wield. But the political interferences in the judicial system have made it virtually impossible for those who are on the opposite side of politics to the government to obtain justice. Crimes perpetrated against opposition figures by government agents have never been resolved. On the contrary, crimes perpetrated against supporters of government, whether the perpetrators are from the opposition or elsewhere, have always resulted in the wrong convictions of opposition supporters.

Case in point: The recent lifting of Mr. Sam Rainsy’s parliamentary is a gross injustice and a blatant proof of high level of political interferences in the judiciary. The Cambodian People’s Party-controlled judiciary failed to take action on Mr. Sam Rainsy’s lawsuit against the National Election Committee (NEC) for electoral frauds. On the contrary, the court took action against Mr. Sam Rainsy, following lawsuit lodged by the NEC for failing to pay fines, which resulted in his parliamentary immunity being lifted.

The lifting of Mr. Sam Rainsy’s parliamentary immunity is illegal for many reasons. First, Mr. Sam Rainsy has not been allowed to exhaust all avenues of appeals. He was still appealing to the High Court when the Permanent Committee of the Parliament hurriedly lifted his immunity in contravention of the constitution. The Cambodian constitution stipulates that only the full session of the parliament can decide on such a matter. Secondly, Mr. Sam Rainsy had paid the fines on the same day as when his parliamentary immunity has been lifted. And immediately after the payment of the fines, the NEC, the plaintiff against Mr. Sam Rainsy, withdrew the lawsuit against Mr. Sam Rainsy. Mr. Sam Rainsy immediately wrote to the president of the National Assembly requesting for his immunity to be re-instated. As a matter of fact, without political interferences, the matter is considered finished. But due to political interferences, up until today, nearly two weeks after the fines have been paid, Mr. Sam Rainsy is still without his parliamentary immunity.

Mr. Sam Rainsy’s case, if not for any political motivation, can be resolved in split seconds. Cambodia has more urgent and pressing issues for the government, especially Prime Minister Hun Sen, to deal with. Political pundits and observers put the blames squarely on the government, Prime Minister Hun Sen in particular, for artificially creating a lot of trivial issues for itself to be occupied within a deliberate attempt to divert public attention from the more pressing issues of unemployment, global financial crisis, crimes and border issues.

For the sake of Cambodia and her suffering people, Cambodian political leaders, Prime Minister Hun Sen and Mr. Sam Rainsy in particular, should set aside their political differences and unite in one force to work together in helping to tackle urgent issues facing the Cambodian nation today. Border issues, political, economic and social ills should be on top of their agenda. Internal infighting, as is always the case, has brought havoc and destruction. Internal infighting against one’s own fellow countrymen, even against those who are from the opposite side of politics, is effectively a national suicide.

To sum up, in order to make Cambodian justice system a clean and just system, the judges have to be paid well and severe punishments of judges who are involved in corruption must be applied. But more importantly, political entities must stop interfering with the courts’ works and the courts and judges must be made to be neutral and truly independent of politics.