* Gerald V. May III is an Executive Editor of the Boston College International & Comparative Law Review.
1 See Letter from the Co-Prime Ministers of Cambodia to the United Nations Secretary General (June 21, 1997), http://www.ngoforum.org.kh/aboutcambodia/Resource_Files/ Tribunal/letter_from_co-prime_ministers.htm.
2 See Chronology of a Khmer Rouge Genocide Tribunal, 1994–2001, Cambodian Genocide Project (on file with author).
3 The revision involved replacing the death penalty—which was prohibited by the 1993 Cambodian Constitution—with life imprisonment as the maximum penalty. See Cambodia Const. art. 32.
4 Statement from the Royal Government of Cambodia in Response to the Announcement of U.N. Pullout from Negotiations on the Khmer Rouge Trial (Feb. 12, 2002) (quoting U.N. Under Secretary General Hans Corell) [hereinafter Statement from the Royal Government]. As the U.N.’s chief legal counsel, Hans Corell has been the point person for the organization’s negotiations with Cambodian authorities.
5 See Cambodia to Resume UN Tribunal Talks, BBC News, Aug. 22 2002, at http://news. bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2209063.stm. The General Assembly resolution providing such a mandate is discussed in Part V.
6 See Ben Kiernan, The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power, and Genocide in Cambodia Under the Khmer Rouge, 1975–1979, at 55 (1996).
7 See id. at 44–59, 148, 167, 294.
8 See id. at 329; see also id. at 167–68, 174, 179, 181, 188; Seth Mydans, Researchers Put Together Story of the Khmer Rouge, N.Y. Times, Sept. 15, 2002, at 18.
9 See Kiernan, supra note 6, at 235–36, 241, 243.
10 Id. at 336.
11 See id. at 173, 336.
12 See id. at 460–63; Stephen P. Marks, Elusive Justice for the Victims of the Khmer Rouge, 52 J. Int’l Aff. 691, 695 (1999).
13 See Kiernan, supra note 6, at 336, 369–76.
14 See generally Stephen Heder & Brian Tittemore, Seven Candidates for Prosecution: Accountability for the Crimes of the Khmer Rouge, War Crimes Research Office, Washington College of Law (2001), http://www.globalpolicy.org/intljustice/general/2001/0716 cmb2.htm.
15 See id. (Executive Summary); David Chandler, Killing Fields, at http://www.cybercam-bodia.com/dachs/killings/killing.html.
16 See Press Release, War Crimes Research Office, American University Washington College of Law, (July 16, 2001), http://www.bigpond.com.kh/users/dccam.genocide/7_ candidates_for_prosecution.htm.
17 Id.
18 See id.
19 Suzannah Linton, New Approaches to International Justice in Cambodia and East Timor, 845 Int’l Rev. of the Red Cross 93, 94 (2002).
20 See id.
21 See Law on the Establishment of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia for the Prosecution of Crimes Committed During the Period of Democratic Kampuchea (Council of Jurists trans., Sept. 6, 2001), art. 14 [hereinafter Tribunal Law]. As contemplated by the tribunal law, the Extraordinary Chambers consist of a trial court, an appeals court, and a supreme court sitting within the regular Cambodian court system in Phnom Penh. Id.
22 See Linton, supra note 19, at 94.
23 See Tribunal Law, supra note 21, arts. 16, 20, 23.
24 Id. art. 23.
25 Id.
26 Id. art. 16.
27 Compare id. art. 20, with id. art. 23.
28 See Tribunal Law, supra note 21, art. 46.
29 Id.
30 Id.
31 Id.
32 Compare id. arts. 4, 5, 29, with Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, entered into force Jan. 12, 1951, 78 U.N.T.S. 277, arts. II, III [hereinafter Genocide Convention], and Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, U.N. Doc. A/CONF.183/9*, arts. 6, 7, 25, 28 [hereinafter ICC Statute], and Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, arts. 4, 5, 7, May 25, 1993, 32 I.L.M. 1192 (1993) [hereinafter ICTY Statute].
33 Compare Tribunal Law, supra note 21, art. 4, with Genocide Convention, supra note 32, arts. II, III.
34 Compare Tribunal Law, supra note 21, art. 4, with ICC Statute, supra note 32, art. 6, and ICTY Statute, supra note 32, art. 4.
33 Compare Tribunal Law, supra note 21, art. 5, with ICTY Statute, supra note 32, art. 5, and ICC Statute, supra note 32, art. 7.
34 Compare Tribunal Law, supra note 21, art. 29, with ICTY Statute, supra note 32, art. 7, and ICC Statute, supra note 32, arts. 25, 28.
35 See Statement from the Royal Government, supra note 4.
36 See id.; Daryl A. Mundis, New Mechanisms for the Enforcement of International Humanitarian Law, 95 Am. J. Int’l L. 934, 941–42 (2001).
37 See generally Statement from the Royal Government, supra note 4; Mundis, supra note 38, at 941–42.
38 See Statement from the Royal Government, supra note 4.
39 Id.
40 See id.; see also Allen Myers, KR Trials: UN’s Story Does Not Add Up, Phnom Penh Post, Mar. 1–14, 2002. See generally Tribunal Memorandum of Understanding Between the United Nations and the Royal Government of Cambodia, reprinted in Phnom Penh Post, Oct. 27–Nov. 9, 2000.
41 See Statement from the Royal Government, supra note 4; Myers, supra note 42.
42 See Statement from the Royal Government, supra note 4; Myers, supra note 42.
43 See Mundis, supra note 38, at 941; Draft Law on the Establishment of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia for the Prosecution of Crimes Committed During the Period of Democratic Kampuchea (Jan. 2000), art. 24 (on file with author) [hereinafter U.N. Draft Statute].
44 See Mundis, supra note 38, at n.74.
45 See id. at 941.
46 See Tribunal Law, supra note 21, art. 24; Mundis, supra note 38, at 941.
47 See Tribunal Law, supra note 21, art. 24.
48 See Mundis, supra note 38, at 941.
49 See U.N. Draft Statute, supra note 45, art. 33; Mundis, supra note 38, at 941.
50 See Tribunal Law, supra note 21, art. 33.
51 See generally id. arts. 9, 14, 20, 23, 33, 35.
52 See id. arts. 9, 14, 20, 23.
53 Id. art. 35.
54 See id. art. 33.
55 See Mundis, supra note 38, at n.76.
56 Id.
57 Compare Tribunal Law, supra note 21, arts. 12, 21, 27, with U.N. Draft Statute, supra note 45, arts. 12, 21, 27.
58 See Tribunal Law, supra note 21, arts. 11, 18, 26.
59 See id.
60 Id. art. 46.
61 See Thomas Hammarberg, Efforts to Establish a Tribunal Against KR Leaders: Discussions Between the Cambodian Government and the U.N., Phnom Penh Post, Sept. 14–17, 2002, at 24.
62 See Mundis, supra note 38, at n.75. Article 27 of the 1993 Constitution vests the King with the power to grant immunities from prosecution. Cambodia Const. art. 27.
63 See Tribunal Law, supra note 21, art. 40.
64 See Hammarberg, supra note 63, at 24.
65 See Bora Touch, Been Pardoned, but Can Justice Still Stalk Ieng Sary?, Khmer Institute (2002), available at http://www.khmerinstitute.org/articles/art03c.html; Susan Berfield, Forget the Killing Fields? The Khmer Rouge Defectors Can Only Wish, Asiaweek.com, Jan. 8, 1999, at http://www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/99/0108/nat6.html.
66 See Touch, supra note 67.
67 See Berfield, supra note 67.
68 See Touch, supra note 67.
69 Id.
70 See id.
71 See Wrangling Continues on Make-Up of Former Khmer Rouge Tribunal, Asia Pacific Transcripts (Mar. 2, 2000) (on file with author).
72 See Marks, supra note 12, at 699.
73 Bora Touch, Why Chhouk Rin’s Acquittal Is Illegal, Phnom Penh Post, Aug. 4–17, 2000, at 2 [hereinafter Chhouk Rin Acquittal]; see Law on the Outlawing of the “Democratic Kampuchea” Group, reprinted in Phnom Penh Post, July 15–28, 1994, at 3.
74 See Touch, supra note 67.
75 See Chhouk Rin Acquittal, supra note 75.
76 See id.
77 See Kimina Lyall, Life Term for Chhouk Rin After Appeal, The Weekend Australian, Sept. 7, 2002, at 15.
78 See id. Sary formally broke ranks with the KR leadership in 1996 and now resides in the Northwest territory of Pailin.
79 G.A. Res. 57/228, U.N. GAOR 3d Comm., 57th Sess., � 1, U.N. Doc. A/RES/57/228 (2002).
80 Report of the Secretary General on Khmer Rouge Trials, U.N. General Assembly, 57th Sess., Agenda Item 109(b), �� 9, 19, U.N. Doc. A/57/769, (2003) [hereinafter Secretary General’s Report].
81 UN and Cambodia Agree on Court, BBC News World Ed., Mar. 17, 2003, at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2855877.stm; UN and Cambodia Sign Court Deal, BBC News, June 6, 2003, at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2968080.stm. The text of the draft agreement is attached to the Secretary General’s Report.
82 Secretary General’s Report, supra note 82, � 53. Cambodia completed national elections in late July 2003 and will not have a new government in place until fall 2003. Even once the new government is formed, there is a real possibility that the Cambodian parliament will reject the draft agreement, as it may view certain provisions as an unacceptable assertions of foreign control over the tribunal process. Daniel K. Donovan, Joint U.N.-Cambodia Efforts to Establish a Khmer Rouge Tribunal, 44 Harv. Int’l L.J. 551, 567 (2003).
83 Secretary General’s Report, supra note 82, �� 28, 29.
84 Id. � 21.
85 Id. �� 28, 29.
86 Id. �� 30, 51. This Note does not address the details of the draft agreement, which allow for more U.N. control over certain aspects of the tribunal. At this juncture, the most salient features of the draft agreement are its informal nonbinding status, the Secretary General’s continued opposition to the supermajority chamber structure, and the U.N.’s reservation of a unilateral right of withdrawal.
87 See Statement from the Royal Government, supra note 4.