The Phnom Penh Post

On his first visit to Cambodia, new international co-prosecutor Andrew Cayley described in an interview his past international tribunal experience, his prospects for getting along with the government and the legal theories underpinning the charges against regime leaders awaiting trial. 

Also recently:

December 17: A Khmer Rouge Rouge tribunal staffer  provided estimated death tolls for security centres and execution sites related to the ongoing investigation of five regime leaders, going far beyond what had previously been made public in a presentation (at a civil party forum) that the court later described as unauthorised.

An article appearing in the September 30 issue of the French newspaper Le Monde suggests that Im Chem, who served as chief of Preah Net Preah district in Banteay Meanchey province during Democratic Kampuchea, is among the five suspects named in introductory submissions filed by the prosecution last month.

The lede of the article -- written by Jacques Follorou and titled "An Ex-Khmer Rouge Claims the Right To Be Forgotten" -- states: "At first glance, it is difficult to picture that Im Chem, a slender-looking grandmother with high cheek bones, is among the five new people accused by the KR Tribunal in mid-September", according to an English translation available on KI Media. A subhead in the print edition describes Im Chem as "one of the accused". The article provides no evidence and cites no sources in support of this claim. 

UN court spokesman Lars Olsen on Sunday said the report was "pure speculation", adding: "The court cannot confirm anything at this point because the names have not been made public."

There have been no hearings this week, but there has been plenty of tribunal-related news concerning the prospect of additional prosecutions.

Prime Minister Hun Sen got the ball rolling on Monday when he repeated his claim that any more investigations would lead to civil war, this time saying the casualty count could reach up to 300,000.

As it turned out, William Smith, the acting international co-prosecutor, was that very day submitting formal requests for the investigations of five more suspects. One of the introductory submissions listed crimes that Smith said constituted  genocide. This charge was pursued in the prosecution's first introductory submission -- filed in July 2007 -- but was not brought against any of the five leaders currently in custody.

The tribunal announced yesterday that submissions  for additional investigations would be allowed to go forward after the Pre-Trial Chamber failed to resolve the nine-month dispute between the national and international co-prosecutors.

The opinions of the five judges, who were split along national and international lines, can be read at the end of this redacted version of the chamber's August 18 filing on the issue.

Though Prime Minister Hun Sen has previously warned that additional prosecutions could lead to civil war, the government had little to say on the move yesterday. Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan told the Post that the government would leave any decisions about additional prosecutions to the tribunal.

Departing international co-prosecutor Robert Petit's resignation went into effect yesterday, one day after the court publicised its decision to appoint one of his deputies, William Smith, to fill the role on an interim basis.

The Supreme Council of the Magistracy approved Smith's appointment as acting international co-prosecutor on August 29, according to a court statement.

His bio: "Mr. Smith has been the international Deputy Co-Prosecutor of the ECCC for the last 3 years.  Between 1995 and 2006, Mr. Smith worked as a trial attorney, legal officer and analyst at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague. Prior to that, Mr. Smith practiced criminal law in South Australia as a defence barrister and solicitor as well as a prosecutor for the South Australian Police Department. Mr. Smith was educated at the University of Adelaide where he received a degree in law and arts.   He also obtained a masters in international law from Leiden University in the Netherlands."

The court announced at yesterday’s press conference that neither nominee to replace international co-prosecutor Robert Petit would, if approved by the Supreme Council of the Magistracy, be able to begin work at the court by September 1, the day Petit’s resignation goes into effect.

Andrew Cayley said Thursday via email that he may have been nominated by the UN to replace outgoing international co-prosecutor Robert Petit, whose resignation goes into effect September 1.

"I understand that I may be one of two persons nominated by the Secretary-General, but I have had no formal confirmation of that," he wrote. "I understand that the matter now rests with the Cambodian Supreme Council of the Magistracy.  That is all I can say at this stage."

A UN court spokeswoman said Wednesday that the UN had forwarded a nomination to the Supreme Council of the Magistracy, though she declined to offer any information on the candidate.