Some 30 years after the Khmer Rouge was removed from power, bringing to an end the four-year reign of terror in Cambodia, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) has ruled on important issues relating to the ageing alleged perpetrators of those crimes. Most notably, these issues have concerned the provisional detention of “Duch”, the former warden of the notorious Tuol Sleng prison, and Nuon Chea, the party’s ideologue, better known as “Brother No. 2”.

In this commentary by Cedric Ryngaert of Utrecht and Leuven Universities, the author explores other recent legal developments at the ECCC. He focuses on the ground-breaking role of victims in the proceedings before the ‘internationalised’ court as well as the decision on the disqualification of Judge Ney Thol, still a member of the Cambodian People’s Party and officer in the Royal Armed Forces of Cambodia.

Read the commentary by Cedric Ryngaert