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Judiciary Reform – 1998

During 1998, the court system was virtually powerless. The judiciary was subject to political pressure.¹

On March 19, 1998, the Cambodian parliament passed legislation that created the Constitutional Council as the country’s supreme judicial body. The nine-member council is mandated to interpret Cambodia’s constitution and its laws.² The body’s two eldest members, Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum and Son Sann, boycotted the meeting of the Constitutional Council, claiming many of their colleagues were illegally appointed and that the body was stacked in favor of strongman Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). The CPP, which effectively controlled Cambodia’s judiciary, would now also control the Constitutional Council.³ Judiciary reform did not take place.

1. “Human Rights Watch World Report 1999 — Cambodia,” Human Rights Watch 1999, accessed July 20, 2010, http://www.hrw.org/legacy/worldreport99/asia/cambodia.html.
2. “Cambodian parliament passes law establishing supreme judicial body,” Deutsche Presse-Agentur, March 19, 1998.
3. “Cambodia’s top judicial body finally convenes despite boycott,” Deutsche Presse-Agentur, June 15, 1998.