THE KHMER Rouge tribunal has adopted rule changes that will allow for more expansive reparations awards to recognised civil parties.

In a statement on Friday, the court said it recognised that the previous system for reparations awards was “unlikely to yield significant tangible results for Civil Parties”.

The court’s old rules required the cost of reparation awards to be borne by the accused, though as all five Khmer Rouge figures currently held by the court have been deemed indigent, the scope for such awards was extremely limited.

“The Rules and Procedure Committee sought to address these limitations by proposing additional reparations avenues that may instead utilize external resources or third party funding in support of reparations, or otherwise provide more effective forms of redress,” the statement said.

An additional proposal to allow the court to make non-binding recommendations to the Cambodian government was deemed outside the scope of the court’s authority.

As part of July’s judgment against former Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, the court’s Trial Chamber granted a pair of reparations requests from civil parties: It printed the names of accepted civil parties in the verdict and pledged to collect and publish all statements of apology made by Duch during the proceedings.

These awards were criticised as unimaginative by civil party lawyers, some of whom have appealed against the court’s decision.

Chum Mey, a prominent civil party and one of the few survivors of Tuol Sleng, said he hoped to see the court grant a common reparations award in its second case.

“We want stupas to be built at a pagoda so that we can hold ceremonies there,” he said.