Justice and Judicial Corruption

Justice in Cambodia is again in jeopardy after the recent publication of a scathing audit of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). The audit-prepared by the UN Development Program (UNDP), which administers $6.4 for the tribunal-accused Cambodian officials on the ECCC of improper recruitment, unwarranted salary increases, and general mismanagement of court operations. The auditors’ conclusion was blunt: if the tribunal fails to enact appropriate reforms, the UNDP should consider pulling out. Cambodian officials have acknowledged “mistakes” but argue that those mistakes do not warrant scrapping the trials altogether. After a decade of arduous negotiations, international officials are also not eager to return to the bargaining table and defer justice once again.