Enter the Defence

The ECCC 'Principle Defender' Rupert Skilbeck made himself known to the local NGO and legal community in a conference held at the Sunway Hotel in Phnom Penh on Monday. Under the theme of 'Rights of the Accused', Skilbeck and other speaker gave a hint of the strong voice the defence is going to have in this process.

Skilbeck was openly critical of the recently released Internal Rules (see post below) and highlighted many areas which he felt needed to be revised. Some of the highlights from the meeting;

• Trials in Absentia: Currently not permitted, Skilbeck wants them to be allowed
• Disqualification of Judges: Currently no provision for this, Skilbeck wants it included
• Protection of Witnesses: Skilbeck wants this highlighted and strengthened
• The Detention Center: Skilbeck says it needs to be drastically improved and enlarged
• Forgien Lawyers: Will they get to argue cases before the court? Skilbeck insists they should
• Defence Lawyers: Who gets to choose them. The Cambodian Bar wants to be in control of this, while the Principle Defender wants to create his own list.

Lots of issues here. Particularly interesting is his criticism of the Detention Center as not meeting international standards, something that was highlighted in yesterday's press.

Overall though it is a pretty good sign that someone working inside the court can be so openly critical about its rules and regulations.

Full Article from AFP here:

Witness protection 'insufficient' for Khmer Rouge trials

November 13, 2006
Agence France Presse

Phnom Penh - Not enough had been done to ensure the protection of witnesses called before Cambodia's Khmer Rouge tribunal, lawyers warned Monday, adding the trials of former regime leaders could be jeopardised. "We are concerned," said Rupert Skilbeck of the tribunal's Defence Office, which was established to ensure the rights of defendants. "Compared to other tribunals, it's miniscule ... you have to get this right," he said, calling witnesses protection "insufficient".

"If witnesses are killed or intimidated, you won't have a fair trial," he said, speaking at a meeting on the challenges faced by the defence.

Potentially hundreds of people could be called to court as Cambodia tries former regime leaders, accused of one of the 20th century's worst genocides. Up to two million people died of starvation, overwork, or were executed during the 1975-79 rule of the Khmer Rouge, which turned Cambodia into a vast collective farm between 1975 and 1979 in its drive for an agrarian utopia, forcing millions into the countryside.

A three-year, joint UN-Cambodian tribunal got underway in July, with co-prosecutors expected to hand up the names of potential defendants to an investigating judge by the end of the year.

Trials are expected to start in mid-2007.

A top genocide researcher said earlier this year likely witnesses had gone into hiding amid protection fears. Under the current arrangement, witnesses will come under the protection of Cambodian police, who critics point out have a history of corruption and brutality.

"The setup of witness protection as currently envisaged will be wholly inadequate," said lawyer Richard Rogers in a report. "Relying on a police force that has a reputation for corruption and incompetence would place the lives of the witnesses at risk," he said.