Unofficial Translation
Speech by His Excellency Dr. SOK AN, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister in charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers and Co-chairman of the Council for Legal and Judicial Reform at the Inauguration of the Building and Database/Case Management System of the Court of Appeal and the General Prosecutor Office attached to the Court of Appeal
Phnom Penh, 10 October 2012
- H.E. Dith Munty, President of Supreme Court and Co-chairman of the Council for Legal and Judicial Reform,
- H.E. Ang Vong Vathana, Minister of Justice,
- H.E. Prum Sokha, Secretary of State, Ministry of Interior,
- H.E. You Bunleng, President of the Court of Appeal,
- H.E. Ouk Savuth, General Prosecutor attached to the Court of Appeal,
- H.E. Penny Richards, Ambassador of Australia to the Kingdom of Cambodia,
- Ms. Marie-Dominique Parent, Acting Representative of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Kingdom of Cambodia,
- National and International Guests, Scouts, Red Cross Youth, and beloved Students,
- Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen!
It is my great pleasure to be here today with Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen as well students at the “Inauguration of the Building and Database/Case Management System of the Court of Appeal and the General Prosecutor Office attached to the Court of Appeal”. Taking this opportunity, I wish to highly appreciate and value great efforts made by the management and staff at all levels of the Court of Appeal and the General Prosecutor Office attached to the Court of Appeal in contributing to this outstanding achievement for the sake of better performing services and more effective court proceedings. Meanwhile, I would like to deeply thank the Government and People of Australia for providing both financial and technical assistance to the Court of Appeal and the General Prosecutor Office attached to the Court of Appeal through Cambodia Criminal Justice Assistance Project (CCJAP), aiming at a better and successful implementation of legal and judicial reform strategy.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen!
Today’s gathering is an important event which reflects a further improvement of judicial system in Cambodia. These achievements have been realized, thanks to a strong support and commitment of the Royal Government of Cambodia under the wise leadership of Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen - Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, and the Council for Legal and Judicial Reform, as well as national and international communities.
As we all are aware, physical infrastructure and human resources in Cambodia were totally destroyed by Pol Pot genocidal regime. After a victory on 7 January 1979, we have been working, on the one hand, to rehabilitate and develop the country from our bare hands, and on the other, to prevent the return of the genocidal regime, during the time when Cambodia was under strict embargoes. Everything has been reconstructed, including legal frameworks, which are indispensable to ensure the protection of rights, freedom, and benefits for people in our society.
Having seen such importance, the Royal Government of Cambodia has paid high attention to legal and judicial reform since the first legislature of the National Assembly. As a matter of fact, through a collaboration with various development partners, the Council for Legal and Judicial Reform has prepared action plans for implementing the legal and judicial reform in order to promote independence and neutrality of the court system; also to promote social justice towards reducing corruption in order to eliminate the culture of impunity to promote culture of peace, respect of laws and the rule of law. The Royal Government of Cambodia has also paid close attention to the development of physical infrastructure for the judiciary in order to respond to actual needs, as well as to improve the effectiveness of the judiciary work.
According to the report of H.E. You Bunleng, President of the Court of Appeal, this new building is a significant achievement to fulfill certain needs of the Court of Appeal such as offices, courtrooms, lawyer rooms, waiting rooms, case storages, and other necessary equipments, to facilitate the implementation of its duties more effectively.
Meanwhile, the initiative to organize a database/case management system is ideal to gather information in order to facilitate the management, review and monitor activities of judges and prosecutors in the court proceedings, as well as to disseminate information of cases to relevant people much faster. It also signifies the transparency of dispute resolutions. With close cooperation with the Government of Australia through CCJAP, the case database has been established at the Court of Appeal, and this system is considered a model for the courts at all levels throughout the country.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen!
As a co-chair of the Council for Legal and Judicial Reform, I would like to take this opportunity to elaborate on the objectives and activities, being implemented by the Government, with respect to the legal and judicial reform in Cambodia. The strategic goal is to further strengthen law implementation and the court system with adequate capability to be a credible one, upholding the principles of the separation of powers in order to promote the economic development and to contribute to the building and strengthening of the rule of law.
To this end, we should be determined to successfully implement several key elements: (i) better access to justice, (ii) modernization of legal framework in response to the developments of the country, and (iii) establishment of an independent and efficient court system.
The access to justice refers to the people’s rights to justice, meaning a justice-providing mechanism is established close to the people, with capable staff adhering to professional ethics. This mechanism does not only refer to court system. The settlement of the disputes outside the court system is also a vital mechanism. The Royal Government has paid high attention to the development of physical infrastructure within the court. Currently, each of the 24 provinces-municipalities has its own court.
The Royal Government has been building and renovating courts of first instance in some provinces. Through CCJAP, four courts of first instance in Kandal, Kampong Cham, Banteay Mean Chey, and Phnom Penh were built as the model courts. Today, the new building of the Court of Appeal and the General Prosecutor Office attached to the Court of Appeal is being inaugurated, under the assistance of the Australian Government through this Project.
Besides court system, other mechanisms for dispute settlements have been established including labor disputes resolved by the Arbitration Council, and land disputes by Cadastral Commission and National Commission for Resolving Land Issues. Service Center for Justice at certain districts and other commissions for resolving minor issues at certain communes are set up as pilot projects to facilitate the justice-seeking process for local people to foster social harmony.
Along with the development of physical infrastructure, the Royal Government also focuses on human resource development in order to enable the court system to perform better. To date, the Royal Academy for Judicial Professions has trained 5 batches of judges and prosecutors, totaling 290. The Royal School for Greffier has provided training to 143 greffiers, and provides short training courses for the 550 court clerks. The Center for Lawyer Training has trained 644 lawyers.
To enhance capacity of judge students, the Royal School for Magistracy has established a close relationship with certain well-known Legal and Judicial Professional Schools such as French National School of the Judiciary; Russian Academy of Justice; Judicial Research and Training Institute of the Republic of Korea, and Supreme Council of Notary of France. The Royal School for Magistracy has also been cooperating with other development partners, mainly Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and United Nation Commission on International Trade Law in Asia Pacific (UNCITRAL RCAP).
With a view to encouraging judges and prosecutors to perform their duties with a high professional ethic, the Supreme Council of Magistracy enacted in 2007 a code of ethics for judges and prosecutors to be implemented in all Cambodian courts. Also, the Royal Academy for Judicial Professions has also incorporated this code into the training curriculum for the judges. On 11 September 2012, with request from Co-chairs of the Council for Legal and Judicial Reform, the Government issued a sub-decree to amend the sub-decree on the improvement of work efficiency of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Council of Magistracy in order to further strengthen the implementation of the code of ethics for judges and prosecutors.
Furthermore, in order for people to better understand the judicial service, the Council for Legal and Judicial Reform has cooperated with judiciary-related institutions, preparing the 3rd compendium of public service on services related to judiciary and arbitration.
Excellencies, Ladies, and Gentlemen!
While a priority is given to the access to justice, the Royal Government is committed to modernizing the legal framework. The modernization of the legal framework refers to the formulation of laws to meet the essential social needs and context, with adherence to the constitution. To date, more than 400 laws have been passed, amongst which four fundamental codes are closely related to court procedure, namely Civil Code, Code of Civil Procedure, Criminal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure. The Royal Government has also been working on drafting additional important laws to ensure socio-economic development and maintain security, order, safety, and harmony for our people. For instance, the draft law on organization of court and prosecution institutions will be discussed at the inter-ministerial meeting at the Office of the Council of Ministers next week. In order to improve a more effective court procedure, this draft law includes the creation of different specialized divisions, namely court administration at all court levels, Chambers for Commercial Disputes, and Chambers for Labor and Social Affairs Dispute. Other chambers will also be established in the near future.
Furthermore, the court system functions well only if the justice is served within the legal framework and existing legal procedures. Courts at all levels in Cambodia have been further strengthening their legal procedures in all aspects and stages, including the implementation framework through court complaint system and structure. In order for the Cambodian court system to better function, we also have regularly assigned the duties and tasks of the legal professions in the judiciary system. In this sense, training programs have been organized to train judges, prosecutors and court clerks to strictly adhere to the four main qualities: self-motivation, loyalty, professionalism, and culture of service.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen!
Once again, I would like to express my appreciation to the leadership and officials of the Court of Appeal and the General Prosecutor Office attached to the Court of Appeal for overcoming difficulties and challenges to achieve these significant achievements. This also reflects great efforts in strengthening justice in Cambodia. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the development partners, particularly the Australian Government who always attaches great importance to the field of judiciary, through its cooperation with judiciary-related institutions.
As co-chair of the Council for Legal and Judicial Reform, I firmly believe that the Court of Appeal and the General Prosecutor Office attached to the Court of Appeal will double its efforts in performing their noble tasks to better provide justice to people.
I would like to call on all relevant ministries and judiciary-related institutions to properly perform their duties with high sense of responsibility in order for the judicial institutions to be fully trusted by the society, as it is a prerequisite to ensure sustainable and equitable socio-economic development.
In conclusion, I wish all Venerable Monks, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, good health, success and happiness.
I now declare the Inauguration of the Building and Database/Case Management System of the Court of Appeal and the General Prosecutor Office attached to the Court of Appeal.
Thank you!