Hun Sen – (1998) Cambodian politician and the Prime Minister of Cambodia, President of the Cambodian People's Party

and Member of Parliament for Kandal.

Norodom Sihamoni - is the King of Cambodia. He became King on 14 October 2004, a week after the abdication of King
Norodom Sihanouk. He is the eldest son of King Sihanouk and Queen Norodom Monineath.

The Kingdom of Cambodia is a constitutional monarchy, guided by principles of liberal democracy and pluralism (Article 51 of the
Constitution). The country became a French protectorate in 1863 and a French colony in 1884. Cambodia gained independence from
France in 1953. It then went through several relatively short regimes, from constitutional monarchy (1953-1970) to republic (1970-
1975) to communism / dictatorship (1975-1979) to communism / socialism (1979-1991) before a constitutional monarchy was restored
in 1993.

Government Of Cambodia
The government of Cambodia is considered a constitutional monarchy, which
means that the monarch rules according to a written constitution. This document
sets forth the legal limits of power held by the monarch. In Cambodia, the Prime
Minister acts as head of government while the Monarch acts as head of state, a
symbol of national unity. The government is carried out by a Parliamentary system
and three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. This article
takes a closer look at each branch.
Executive Branch Of The Government Of Cambodia
The executive branch of government is headed by the Prime Minister. The
President and Vice President of the National Assembly, one of the houses of
Parliament, recommend a candidate for Prime Minister based on the political party
in power. The members of the National Assembly vote on the candidate and the
Monarch conducts the official appointment.
Once in office, the Prime Minister selects a Council of Ministers, who are the heads
of the various ministries and must answer to the Prime Minister. Some of the
Ministries that make up the executive branch of Cambodia include: Commerce,
Culture and Fine Arts, Health, Information, Mines and Energy, Planning, Tourism,
Water Resources and Meteorology, Women’s Affairs, Rural Development, and
Environment. The Prime Minister calls to order and leads the meetings of the
Council of Ministers to ensure each ministry is conducting its responsibilities
correctly.
The executive branch carries out the laws and regulations as decided by the
legislative branch.
Legislative Branch Of The Government Of Cambodia
The legislative branch of government of Cambodia consists of a bicameral
parliament: the National Assembly and the Senate. The National Assembly is made
up of 123 members, who are elected by the general population on the basis of
proportional representation. Each member serves a 5-year term. The Senate is
made up of 61 members. Of these individuals, 2 are appointed by the Monarch and
2 are elected by the National Assembly. The remaining members are elected by
special electors from lower levels of government. Senate members serve 6-year
terms.
The Cambodian People’s Party holds the majority of seats in both the National
Assembly (68 seats) and the Senate (43 seats). The second largest party
represented in the National Assembly is the Cambodia National Rescue Party (55
seats). In the Senate, it is the Sam Rainsy Party (11 seats). In order to serve in the
legislative branch, candidates must be at least 25 years old.
The role of the legislative branch is to pass laws. These laws are then sent to the
Monarch for final approval. The Monarch does not have the power to veto new laws.
Judicial Branch Of The Government Of Cambodia
The judicial branch is made up of various courts of laws, which act independently of
the rest of the government. This branch of government was mandated by the
Constitution of 1993, however, it was not established until 1997. The highest court
in Cambodia is the Supreme Council of the Magistracy, which is headed by 17
judges.
The primary responsibility of this branch is to ensure the law is enforced by
punishing criminals, negotiating disputes and lawsuits, and upholding the rights of
the citizens of Cambodia.
The Legal System of Cambodia
The Cambodian legal system is based largely on the French civil system, and is statute based. The Constitution is the
Supreme Law. The legal system has evolved from unwritten customary law, prevalent during Angkorian times, to
statutory law, under the French colonisation from 1863 to 1953 and up until 1975. Under the Khmer Rouge, from 1975
to 1979, the entire Cambodian legal system was destroyed. After the invasion of Cambodia by Vietnam in 1979, the
Cambodian legal framework was influenced by the Vietnamese system - in particular, contract law. During the presence
of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) from 1991 to 1993, a number of laws were enacted -
including criminal law, judicial law, and press law. As a result of foreign legal assistance to legal and judicial reform in the
country, the Cambodian system also absorbed some common law features. The current legal system is thus a hybrid
system of all these influences.

Sources of Cambodian law

The Cambodian legal system is a statutory law system, which means it is mostly based on written law passed by the
legislature. Sources of law in Cambodia can be classified into primary sources and secondary sources.

Primary sources include the formal laws issued by State authorities. International law is also an integral source of
Cambodian law: so the word 'law' in Cambodia can mean both domestic and international law.
Secondary sources include customs, traditions, doctrine and judicial decisions.

For a comprehensive explanation of the Cambodian legal system, see the open access book Introduction to Cambodian
Law ( Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, 2012). The book includes an excellent overview of the legal system, and chapters on
constitutional law, international law, civil and criminal procedure, labour, land, environmental, criminal and education
law, women and the law, and the rights of indigenous people.

The ‘weak’ pillars of society

Stuart White and Chhay Channyda | Publication date 10 September 2014 | 07:16 ICT
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The judiciary and law enforcement agencies are Cambodia’s weakest institutions, while the country’s executive
branch and civil society are its strongest, according to an expansive, landmark report released by Transparency
International Cambodia (TI) yesterday.

The ambitious study, called the National Integrity System Assessment (NISA), spends 233 pages rating the
“state of the governance system” by examining 13 institutions, or “pillars”, by way of expert interviews, the
examination of data (mostly from 2012 and 2013), and an extensive literary and legal review.

However, even the country’s two highest-scoring pillars – civil society and the executive, with 48 and 43 points
out of 100, respectively – failed to exceed a “moderate” ranking.

“The assessment reveals that overall, Cambodia has a weak integrity system,” the report reads. “It is not strong
enough to uphold the rule of law, ensure sustainable development, and a good quality of life for the population
at large.”
Cambodia’s judiciary scored a “very weak” 16 points in the assessment, which described the courts – excluding
military courts and the Khmer Rouge tribunal – as being beset by “political interference, understaffing,
inadequate training of staff, limited financial resources, and the absence of key laws”.

The judicial branch’s tiny budget, just 0.42 per cent of the national budget in 2013, demonstrates “a low
commitment to the rule of law” and “results in high levels of corruption and inefficiency”, the NISA continues.

UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Cambodia (UNOHCHR) head Wan-Hea Lee, who
spoke on a panel during the report’s launch yesterday, said that the judiciary was plagued by an “organic system
of corruption from top to bottom”.
TI RECOMMENDATIONS

THE JUDICIARY
• Provide salary incentives to judges tied to performance and integrity
• Implement a transparent and competitive process for recruitment of judges with an independent appointments body
• Ensure all courtrooms are open to the public
• Publish decisions of judges
• Introduce a course on the judiciary into high schools
- Review the three key judicial laws recently passed

ACCESS TO INFORMATION LAW

• Pass an access to information law that should include, among other provisions, an obligation for government bodies to publish and disseminate
essential information, clear procedures to access this information, a system to offer it free of charge or at minimal costs, and whistleblower protection
• Create an independent oversight body to ensure that the information law is properly implemented and followed

THE ANTI-CORRUPTION LAW

• Remove provisions that the ACU chairperson and vice-chairperson are appointed at the request of the premier
• Institute a public recruitment process for the hiring of ACU officials
• Guarantee whistleblower protection
• Require all adult children and spouses of officials to also declare their assets, and make asset declarations public
• Make ACU reports public

THE PUBLIC SECTOR

• Create an independent committee to govern public servants that sets out transparent standards for recruitment, promotions and salaries
• Educate Cambodians about the difference between the government, the public sector and the private sector
• Publish details of expenditure, procurement contracts and service fees at public agencies and ministries
• Ensure civil servants are paid adequately

Justice Ministry spokesman Chin Malin declined to comment on the contents of the report yesterday, but
maintained that the courts work closely with anti-corruption officials, and that “tough measures were taken on
judges, prosecutors and clerks who committed corruption”.

According to the NISA, however, the judiciary’s sub-score for accountability was zero.

Indeed, the report found that the country’s various anti-corruption entities were also “weak,” with a score of 34
out of 100.

Anti-Corruption Unit chief Om Yentieng yesterday slammed TI Cambodia for criticising the ACU while also
working with them under a memorandum of understanding.

“How can we be shaking hands with each other with one hand, while fighting each other with the other?… We
are both independent institutions. We are equal. Why do they need to always come out and give commands to
us?”

The Kingdom’s second-weakest pillar, the study found, was its law enforcement agencies – comprising the
National Police, military police and public prosecutors – which earned a score of 22. In the agencies, “low-level
corruption and bribery is commonplace, impeding public trust”, the report found.

“Moreover, excessive use of force by both the national police and Gendarmerie [military police], and the lack of
credible investigations into such cases, highlights the limited accountability of these agencies” despite the
existence of legal mechanisms regarding that accountability, the report says.
Khieu Sopheak, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, which oversees the Kingdom’s police, forcefully
decried what he characterised as condescension and imprecision in the NISA’s findings yesterday.

“Law enforcement officers are not their students, and TI is not our teacher who has to score us,” he said. "Please
be informed there are some individuals who are corrupt, but not [the ministry] as a whole.”

Sopheak went on to say that ministry employees make considerably less than those of TI.

The NISA, however, also mentions the inadequacy of police salaries, the lowest of which are “scarcely above
the international definition of extreme poverty”, and which prompt an endemic culture of bribe-taking.

But substantial gaps between legal frameworks and their implementation exist even in the highest-functioning
pillars of government, the NISA found.

For example, legally speaking, the independence of the Kingdom’s executive branch is unassailable, though it
can be checked by the National Assembly, which has the power to summons its members for questioning.

In reality, however, “it is closely linked to the ruling [party] and power-holders within the intra-elite patronage
system”, the NISA says.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan, who spoke to NISA researchers for the report, said yesterday that
the executive was taking steps to improve, and pointed to successful measures such as the government’s new
One Window Service Offices, which the NISA also referred to as a positive step towards transparency. “Any
issues that they’ve raised, that’s being resolved gradually,” he said.

The country’s strongest institution, according to the NISA, is its civil society sector, which scored a “moderate”
48 points on TI’s scale. However, even its capabilities are limited, and may be under threat from a draft Law on
Organizations and NGOs, which has the “potential to restrict civil society space”.

Though the concerns listed in the NISA are exhaustive – and often times, common knowledge – the government
has long deflected criticisms over corruption, regularly pointing out that even developed countries like the
United States struggle with the same problem. However, said the UNOHCHR’s Lee, such comparisons were
misleading.

“Every country in the world fights corruption in certain sectors, but not every country is one of the 20 most
corrupt in the world,” she said.

As recently as last month, Prime Minister Hun Sen said that some of the blame for corruption lay with the
businesses that paid the bribes, but TI executive director Preap Kol also called such deflections counter-
productive.

“If we get a diagnosis, and say, ‘No, I don’t have that disease,’ it isn’t helpful”.

Cambodian Justice System

The Cambodian judicial system is disturbingly inadequate and has been criticized for being weak, corrupt and
susceptible to political manipulation. Most Cambodians live with few rights and little recourse against injustices. The
American ambassador to Cambodia Joseph A. Mussomeli said: “The government in general tries to keep tight
control over the judiciary and anything that could have negative consequences.”
In the 1970s, nearly all the lawyers and judges were killed by the Khmer Rouge. In 1997, there were only 70 judges
in the entire country, and many of them were poorly trained. As of 2001, only 21 of Cambodia’s judges had finished
law school. Over time the rules of civil society began taking hold in Cambodia. People who were not paid their
wages found they could strike and people who had toxic waste on their property could seek legal help.
Courts are politically subservient, and the well-connected can do what they want. Suspects are routinely denied due
process; police use torture to secure confessions; judges make decisions based on bribes and favors; women
prisoners are released because they pretty; the rich routinely buy their freedom and use ownership and titles to
exploit the poor and take their land. Opposition MP Son Chhay told Australia radio in 2011: "We do not trust our
courts. We believe in many cases the court hardly investigates the case. Usually they just get evidence from the
police and then based on that they will give a verdict. Many cases are based on corruption and also the influence of
the government."
When there are laws they often exist only on paper. Enforcement is spotty, loopholes are easy to exploit, and
corruption and bribery to skirt them are common. The well connected can pretty much do whatever they want. A
surprisingly high number of criminals are set free after they are arrested because of “lack of evidence.” Many are
believed to have been released after the payment of bribes. Incompetence is also a problem. The Royalist Chao
Sambath received a 20-year death sentence after he was already dead.
The availability of guns in Cambodia contributes to an atmosphere of lawlessness that also benefits from inefficient
and corrupt law enforcement, and the immunity from prosecution usually enjoyed by people with wealth and
influence. Describing security in his country, one Cambodian truck driver said, "It's safe here, not like other places. If
you're caught stealing something here, they don't pit you in jail; they just kill you."
Cambodia’s law and justice institutions emerged from the conflict with low status and little capacity, with only a handful
of trained lawyers left in the country. Improvements since then have been gradual. There are still significant gaps in the
legal framework. Rent-seeking within the justice system is rife, with public opinion surveys regularly ranking the judiciary
as among the most corrupt institutions in the country. The Cambodian National Police has taken some visible measures
to reduce criminality within its ranks, but still act as a servant of the regime rather than the public. Both the judiciary and
the police are reported to support the political elite in ventures such as land seizure and illegal logging. The prison
system has proved to be the most open to reform, but is constrained by inadequate budgets, poor infrastructure and a
growing problem with overcrowding. Overall, international ranking systems put Cambodia in the bottom 20 per cent of
countries for rule of law. https://www.oecd.org/countries/cambodia/cambodia.pdf
***Cambodia Case Study EVALUATION OF AUSTRALIAN LAW AND JUSTICE ASSISTANCE

Cambodian Police History

1863-1883
Cambodia is under the French protectorate.

1884-1945
Before the establishment of the Cambodia National Police in 1945,
Khmer people with France did the policing to strengthen security and
social order.

1884
Phnom Penh police force was fully equipped with arms.

1885
Organization of police in Phnom Penh Port to improve the inspection
of ships coming through the port.

1896
Promulgation of the law on Sanitary Police, the law which was used
in France since 1822.

1897
Issuance of a regulation on Maritime Sanitary Police.

1905
Cambodian Maritime Police were established.

1912
River Police Brigade was established.

1925
Establishment of commune Patrols or Rural Police.

1931
1. Establishment of Provincial Patrols or Provincial Police.
2. Phnom Penh-Battambang Railway Police was established to suppress
crime and protect individual property as well as maintain the
order along the railway.

1945
The birth of the Cambodian National Police on May 16, 1945.
 A Decree made by Cambodia King Norodom Sihakmoni setting May 16,
1945 as the birth of the Cambodian National Police. He made the
decree on August 8, 2006.

1953
France transferred police institution to the Royal Government of
Cambodia on August 29, 1953 before gaining full Independence on
November 9, 1953.

Cambodian Police Academy

The Royal Krom dated October 6, 1959 established the Royal Police
Academy under the Ministry of National Security. One of the
responsibilities of the Royal Police Academy was to train new
recruits of high-ranking level, and provide a proficiency course to
the existing staff on laws, procedure and police professionalism so
that they could hold and perform their duties effectively.

The Royal Police Academy was changed to the Royal Police School.
Trainees from the school included inspectors and officers.

Cambodian Police Salary

Police Staff Sergeant typically receives about 118 US Dollar a month
in salary. Aside from the monthly salary, the staff sergeant also
receives a monthly ration of rice.

Khmer Rouge: Cambodia's years of brutality

 16 November 2018
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 Khmer Rouge Trials

Khmer Rouge duo begin genocide trial


Life terms sought in Cambodia trial


Closing statements at Cambodia court


'Remorse' from Khmer Rouge leader

In the four years that the Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia, it was responsible for one of the worst mass killings of the 20th
Century.

The brutal regime, in power from 1975-1979, claimed the lives of up to two million people.

Under the Marxist leader Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge tried to take Cambodia back to the Middle Ages, forcing millions of people
from the cities to work on communal farms in the countryside.

But this dramatic attempt at social engineering had a terrible cost.

Whole families died from execution, starvation, disease and overwork.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionPol Pot projected an image to the world of Cambodians thriving under his
radical leadership

Communist philosophy
The Khmer Rouge had its origins in the 1960s, as the armed wing of the Communist Party of Kampuchea - the name the
Communists used for Cambodia.

Based in remote jungle and mountain areas in the north-east of the country, the group initially made little headway.

But after a right-wing military coup toppled head of state Prince Norodom Sihanouk in 1970, the Khmer Rouge entered into a
political coalition with him and began to attract increasing support.

In a civil war that continued for nearly five years, it gradually increased its control in the countryside.

Khmer Rouge forces finally took over the capital, Phnom Penh, and therefore the nation as a whole in 1975.

Image
copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionThe Khmer Rouge drew influence from China's ruling Communist Party

During his time in the remote north-east, Pol Pot had been influenced by the surrounding hill tribes, who were self-sufficient in
their communal living, had no use for money and were "untainted" by Buddhism.

When he came to power, he and his henchmen quickly set about transforming Cambodia - now re-named Kampuchea - into
what they hoped would be an agrarian utopia.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionTuol Sleng was turned from a school to a prison, torture site and death camp

Declaring that the nation would start again at "Year Zero", Pol Pot isolated his people from the rest of the world and set about
emptying the cities, abolishing money, private property and religion, and setting up rural collectives.

Anyone thought to be an intellectual of any sort was killed. Often people were condemned for wearing glasses or knowing a
foreign language.

Ethnic Vietnamese and Cham Muslims in Cambodia were also targeted.

Hundreds of thousands of the educated middle-classes were tortured and executed in special centres.

The most notorious of these centres was the S-21 jail in Phnom Penh, Tuol Sleng, where as many as 17,000 men, women and
children were imprisoned during the regime's four years in power.

Hundreds of thousands of others died from disease, starvation or exhaustion as members of the Khmer Rouge - often just
teenagers themselves - forced people to do back-breaking work.

Opening up
The Khmer Rouge government was finally overthrown in 1979 by invading Vietnamese troops, after a series of violent border
confrontations.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionKaing Guek Eav - known as Duch - was jailed for life for his role in running
the Tuol Sleng prison

The higher echelons of the party retreated to remote areas of the country, where they remained active for a while but gradually
became less and less powerful.

In the years that followed, as Cambodia began the process of reopening to the international community, the full horrors of the
regime became apparent.

Survivors told their stories to shocked audiences, and in the 1980s the Hollywood movie The Killing Fields brought the plight
of the Khmer Rouge victims to worldwide attention.

Pol Pot was denounced by his former comrades in a show trial in July 1997, and sentenced to house arrest in his jungle home.

But less than a year later he was dead - denying the millions of people who were affected by this brutal regime the chance to
bring him to justice.
Image copyrightEPAImage captionKhieu Samphan was found guilty of genocide in November 2018

The UN helped establish a tribunal to try surviving Khmer Rouge leaders, beginning work in 2009.

Only three Khmer Rouge leaders have ever been sentenced.

Kaing Guek Eav - known as Duch - was jailed for life in 2012 for running the notorious Tuol Sleng prison.

In August 2014, Nuon Chea - considered Brother Number 2 to Pol Pot - and the regime's head of state Khieu Samphan were
jailed for life for crimes against humanity.

In November 2018, the tribunal also found them guilty of genocide over the attempted extermination of the Cham and
Vietnamese minorities.

It remains the first and only genocide conviction against the Khmer Rouge.

The General Department of the National Police is one of three general departments within the Ministry of the Interior.
The others are the General Inspectorate for Political, Administrative and Police Affairs and the General Department of
Administration. The ministry is headed by deputy prime minister Sar Kheng and the National Police by a Commissioner-
General with the rank of four-star general. (The current Commissioner-General is Neth Savoeun, a nephew by marriage
of prime minister Hun Sen; according to a US embassy cable released through WikiLeaks, he has a good reputation with
the embassy).[3]
The Cambodian National Police is divided into four autonomous units, headed collectively by the First Deputy Director of
National Police, and five central departments, each managed by a Chief of Department and Deputy Director:
 Four autonomous units:
o Interpol unit
o Headquarters unit
o Intervention unit
o Drug Enforcement unit
 Five central departments:
o Department of Border Control
o Public Order department
o Department of Justice
o Security department
o Central Department of Means (support office)
Border department[edit]
The border police department is divided into three sub-departments:
 Land border
 Marine border
 Logistics and technical
Public Order department[edit]
 Social security
 Defence
 Administration
 Public order
Judicial department[edit]
While the judicial police (the department in charge of most forms of criminal law enforcement) are meant to function
under the prosecutor-general's office, they receive orders from the national police commander,
meaning prosecutors lack control over the judicial police department. The judicial police force is divided into three sub-
departments:
 Criminal police
 Economic police
 Scientific and technical
Security department[edit]
The security police department is divided into four sub-departments:
 General information
 Anti-terrorism police
 Body-guards
 Foreigners
Central department of Means[edit]
 Personnel
 Pedagogy and training
 Logistics and material
Military police[edit]
Structure[edit]
The Military Police (Royal Gendarmerie) is a branch of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. The Gendarmerie consists of
10 battalion-sized units, each between 500-1000 officers. It has a strength of more than 7,000 deployed in all provinces,
with headquarters in Phnom Penh. The current commander is Lieutenant-General Sao Sokha, a former bodyguard and
personal advisor to prime minister Hun Sen. The Gendarmerie monitors all 24 provinces. The unit includes a mobile
team, consisting of six intervention units, an intervention vehicle battalion, a cavalry, and 4 infantry, with bases in
Phnom Penh. The Gendarmerie training school is located in Kambol commune, Kandal Province.
Duties[edit]
The Royal Gendarmerie is responsible for the maintenance of public order and internal security, including:
 Restoring peace and stability after a heavy disturbance
 Counter-terrorism
 Countering violent groups
 Suppressing prison riots
Its civil duties include providing security and public peace, investigating and preventing organized crime, terrorism and
other violent groups; protecting state and private property; helping and assisting civilians and other emergency forces in
a case of emergency, natural disaster, civil unrest and armed conflicts. These functions overlap between the
Gendarmerie and the national police.[4]
Its military duties include preserving and protecting national security, state, property, public peace, and public order,
and assisting other security forces in case of emergency, civil unrest, war; repressing riots; reinforcing martial law and
mobilization; fighting and apprehending suspected criminals, terrorists and other violent groups.
CONSOLIDATED