Recent Developments at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia: November 2016

On November 23, 2016, the Supreme Court Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts in Cambodia (ECCC) affirmed the life sentence convictions given to Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan by the lower Trial Chamber in August, 2014. However, the Supreme Court was severely critical of some aspects of the handling of the trial of the two surviving senior Khmer Rouge leaders by the lower court. This paper summarizes and analyzes the judgment.

The two men remain on trial on a second set of charges arising from their role in genocide and crimes against humanity committed by the Khmer Rouge regime that ruled Cambodia from April 1975 until it was ousted from power by the Vietnamese invasion of December 1978. 

The Open Society Justice Initiative has been monitoring the ECCC tribunal since it began operations in 2007 as part of its efforts to promote international justice and accountability for atrocity crimes.