The Politicisation of Hybrid Courts: Observations from the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

Tomas Hamilton; Michael Phillip Ramsden

doi:10.1163/15718123-01402005

The Politicisation of Hybrid Courts: Observations from the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

Tomas Hamilton, Michael Phillip Ramsden

Laws

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)

385 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The use of ‘hybrid’ tribunals as a means to secure accountability for international crimes seeks to combine national ownership over the trials whilst providing a framework for the inclusion of international standards and personnel in the proceedings. The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) represents one such hybrid experiment. Yet the ECCC has faced recurring allegations of political interference. These allegations are substantial and even if not always verifiable at least create an appearance of impropriety. The failure of the ECCC and United Nations to adequately address these allegations derived from a hybrid model that failed to provide sufficient safeguards against interference. The international community agreed on a solution to secure accountability with awareness that the trials were likely to be politically tainted. As such, the experiment in Cambodia provides a cautionary tale for the future design of hybrid tribunals.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	115-147
Number of pages	33
Journal	International criminal law review
Volume	14
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1163/15718123-01402005
Publication status	Published - 2014

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1163/15718123-01402005

Hamilton & Ramsden, ECCC Political Interference, 2014Submitted manuscript, 394 KB

http://ssrn.com/abstract=2581406

Cite this

@article{b1478fe7f55a4ebdbda9334101bca804,

title = "The Politicisation of Hybrid Courts: Observations from the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia",

abstract = "The use of {\textquoteleft}hybrid{\textquoteright} tribunals as a means to secure accountability for international crimes seeks to combine national ownership over the trials whilst providing a framework for the inclusion of international standards and personnel in the proceedings. The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) represents one such hybrid experiment. Yet the ECCC has faced recurring allegations of political interference. These allegations are substantial and even if not always verifiable at least create an appearance of impropriety. The failure of the ECCC and United Nations to adequately address these allegations derived from a hybrid model that failed to provide sufficient safeguards against interference. The international community agreed on a solution to secure accountability with awareness that the trials were likely to be politically tainted. As such, the experiment in Cambodia provides a cautionary tale for the future design of hybrid tribunals.",

author = "Tomas Hamilton and Ramsden, {Michael Phillip}",

year = "2014",

doi = "10.1163/15718123-01402005",

language = "English",

volume = "14",

pages = "115--147",

journal = "International criminal law review",

issn = "1567-536X",

publisher = "Martinus Nijhoff Publishers",

number = "1",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - The Politicisation of Hybrid Courts

T2 - Observations from the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

AU - Hamilton, Tomas

AU - Ramsden, Michael Phillip

PY - 2014

Y1 - 2014

N2 - The use of ‘hybrid’ tribunals as a means to secure accountability for international crimes seeks to combine national ownership over the trials whilst providing a framework for the inclusion of international standards and personnel in the proceedings. The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) represents one such hybrid experiment. Yet the ECCC has faced recurring allegations of political interference. These allegations are substantial and even if not always verifiable at least create an appearance of impropriety. The failure of the ECCC and United Nations to adequately address these allegations derived from a hybrid model that failed to provide sufficient safeguards against interference. The international community agreed on a solution to secure accountability with awareness that the trials were likely to be politically tainted. As such, the experiment in Cambodia provides a cautionary tale for the future design of hybrid tribunals.

AB - The use of ‘hybrid’ tribunals as a means to secure accountability for international crimes seeks to combine national ownership over the trials whilst providing a framework for the inclusion of international standards and personnel in the proceedings. The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) represents one such hybrid experiment. Yet the ECCC has faced recurring allegations of political interference. These allegations are substantial and even if not always verifiable at least create an appearance of impropriety. The failure of the ECCC and United Nations to adequately address these allegations derived from a hybrid model that failed to provide sufficient safeguards against interference. The international community agreed on a solution to secure accountability with awareness that the trials were likely to be politically tainted. As such, the experiment in Cambodia provides a cautionary tale for the future design of hybrid tribunals.

U2 - 10.1163/15718123-01402005

DO - 10.1163/15718123-01402005

M3 - Article

SN - 1567-536X

VL - 14

SP - 115

EP - 147

JO - International criminal law review

JF - International criminal law review

IS - 1

ER -

The Politicisation of Hybrid Courts: Observations from the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

Abstract

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this