Khmer Rouge Tribunal

Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

Chambres extraordinaires au sein des tribunaux cambodgiens (French)

អង្គជំនុំជម្រះវិសាមញ្ញក្នុងតុលាការកម្ពុជា (Khmer)
Emblem of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal
Map
Established1997
Dissolved2022
JurisdictionSupreme Court of Cambodia
LocationPhnom Penh
Authorised byParliamentary Act
Websitewww.eccc.gov.kh/en Edit this at Wikidata
President
CurrentlyJudge Kong Srim
The tribunal's main building with the court room

The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC; French: Chambres extraordinaires au sein des tribunaux cambodgiens (CETC); Khmer: អង្គជំនុំជម្រះវិសាមញ្ញក្នុងតុលាការកម្ពុជា), commonly known as the Cambodia Tribunal or Khmer Rouge Tribunal (សាលាក្ដីខ្មែរក្រហម), was a court established to try the senior leaders and the most responsible members of the Khmer Rouge for alleged violations of international law and serious crimes perpetrated during the Cambodian genocide. Although it was a national court, it was established as part of an agreement between the Royal Government of Cambodia and the United Nations, and its members included both local and foreign judges. It was considered a hybrid court, as the ECCC was created by the government in conjunction with the UN, but remained independent of them, with trials being held in Cambodia using Cambodian and international staff. The Cambodian court invited international participation in order to apply international standards.[1]

The remit of the Extraordinary Chambers extended to serious violations of Cambodian penal law, international humanitarian law and custom, and violation of international conventions recognized by Cambodia, committed during the period between 17 April 1975 and 6 January 1979. This includes crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. The chief purpose of the tribunal as identified by the Extraordinary Chambers was to provide justice to the Cambodian people who were victims of the Khmer Rouge regime's policies between April 1975 and January 1979. However, rehabilitative victim support and media outreach for the purpose of national education were also outlined as primary goals of the commission.[2]

Upon the denial of Khieu Samphan's appeal, and with no other living senior members of the Khmer Rouge to indict, the tribunal concluded in December 2022, with three convictions in all.[3][4]

  1. ^ "Introduction to the ECCC". Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  2. ^ "Why are we having trials now? How will the Khmer Rouge Trials benefit the people of Cambodia?". Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  3. ^ "Cambodia: UN-backed tribunal ends with conviction upheld for last living Khmer Rouge leader | UN News". news.un.org. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  4. ^ Mydans, Seth (22 September 2022). "16 Years, 3 Convictions: The Khmer Rouge Trials Come to an End". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 24 January 2023.