The long-awaited new international co-investigating judge was expected to arrive in Cambodia this morning, a source familiar with his travel plans said yesterday.

“He arrives tomorrow, the 10th,” a staffer at Judge Mark Harmon’s hotel who declined to give his name said.

Although the court would not disclose the precise day of Harmon’s arrival, spokesman Lars Olsen confirmed that “He is expected to... start work later this week.”

Harmon, appointed in July, arrives five months after the fiery departure of Swiss judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet, who said he had been stonewalled from his job due to political interference.

The Cambodian government refused to recognise Kasper-Ansermet’s UN appointment, and he and members of the national staff clashed over his efforts to push ahead with investigations on cases 003 and 004.

Sceptics have voiced doubts that Harmon will be able to proceed with substantive investigations, others have pointed to his confirmation by the Cambodian government as a ray of hope.