Phnom Penh: Fully committed to the fight against impunity, France has supported the work of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) since its establishment in 2006 and will continue to support its quest for justice and the consolidation of peace and rule of law in Cambodia.
In this context, France has just made a contribution of €200,000 to the 2022 budget of the international component of the ECCC, which brings the total amount of its aid to the ECCC to €6.9 million since their creation.
This new contribution was announced during the meeting of the ECCC’s Friends Group held this morning at the Résidence de France under the co-chairmanship of HE Jacques Pellet, Ambassador of France to Cambodia, and HE Masahiro Mikami, Ambassador of Japan to Cambodia. This was the Group’s first face-to-face meeting since the outbreak of the pandemic.
This meeting was an opportunity to discuss with the Administration of the ECCC and the many participating embassies the latest judicial decisions taken by the ECCC, their provisional judicial calendar, and the impact of Covid-19 on the activities of the ECCC.
As the ECCC’s term is due to end by the end of the year with the latest decision of the ECCC Supreme Court Chamber in Case 002/02 regarding former President of Democratic Kampuchea, KHIEU Samphân, all the participants nourished the reflections on the next exercise of the residual functions of the ECCC. These residual functions could include the management of files, the enhancement of archives, the preservation of the memory of atrocities committed, the review of judgments, the protection of victims and witnesses, and the execution of sentences.
In this regard, Mr. Jacques Pellet welcomed the recent entry into force of the Addendum to the Agreement between the United Nations and the Royal Government of Cambodia concerning the prosecution under Cambodian law of crimes committed during the period of Democratic Kampuchea on the Transitional Arrangements and the Completion of Work of the Extraordinary Chambers.
Also, the work of collecting case law is extremely important, both for Cambodia and for international jurisdictions. It is essential that the ECCC, under the strong influence of continental law, be able to share its work with the international community. the experience of the ECCC must be able to serve the young Special Criminal Court of Bangui, which is also a hybrid court made up of national and international magistrates and also located in a French-speaking country.
Source: Ambassade de France au Cambodge
