Corruption at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

February 28th, 2009 • Conflict, ICL, UN

I’ve been meaning to share this link for a while. James Bair interned at the ECCC in 2007 and in shares his thoughts on Court. Spoiler: he thinks they need to be shut down. Corruption, government interference and manipulation mean the trials are mostly cosmetic and won’t be real justice.

I’ve previously written about the problems with international tribunals such as the ICTR being too ‘internationalised’, serving the international community at the expense of victims and effected communities. However, what James’ posts shows is the danger of bad local involvement and how beneficial a truly independent, international institution can be. The Cambodian government has wide powers over the work of the ECCC, making it difficult to do its work properly and independently. This has currently meant, for example, that the only people being prosecuted are those the government is comfortable being put in front of the Court.

Hypothetically, the ICC is meant to be something of a remedy to this problems of interference and partiality. Whether or not it will be used in this way remains to be seen.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Related posts:

1. Cambodia and Middle Class Development
2. Corruption and Development
3. How to get a job in Chambers at the ICTR
4. Fighting corruption by dropping the debt
5. Time to tackle "second wave" of corruption

Trackback URI.