Cambodia, UN clash over appointing foreign judge

PHNOM PENH - Cambodia and the United Nations have failed to agree on the appointment of a foreign judge to the Khmer Rouge tribunal, prompting the UN to express its concern over the future of the hybrid court.

On Thursday last week, Cambodia notified UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of the decision not to appoint  Judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet as international co-investigating judge of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). Kasper-Ansermet is currently the reserve international co-investigating judge.

"This is a matter of serious concern," Ban’s spokesman said Friday, stating that the decision was a breach of the 2003 agreement that set up the court, which states that the person appointed to fill such a vacancy must be the reserve international co-investigating judge.

The vacancy on the ECCC resulted from the resignation in October of international co-investigating judge Siegfried Blunk, who cited attempted interference by government officials in the court’s proceedings. source

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