Court Allows Challenges to Civil Party Applications

  • by Michael Saliba, J.D. (Northwestern Law '09), Consultant to the Center for International Human Rights, Northwestern University School of Law
  • — 26 Aug, 2009

The court in the trial of Kaing Guek Eav (alias Duch) decided to hear defense challenges to civil party applications. Pursuant to the Internal Rules, a civil party must demonstrate a personal physical, material, or psychological injury sustained as a direct consequence of the crimes of the accused. This typically involves establishing a family link between the civil party and a victim of Tuol Sleng prison (S-21). Accordingly, the majority of defense challenges were based on a lack of documentary evidence to prove that the victim was detained and executed at S-21 and a lack of documentary evidence to prove that the civil party was related to the victim in the manner alleged. The defense also argued that a civil party application cannot be based on friendship to a victim of S-21. Before reaching the substance of these challenges, all the parties made preliminary remarks…

Read more: ctm_blog_8-26-2009

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