The Authority of the Co-Investigating Judges to Call for Witness Testimony

by David Scheffer and Michael Saliba
— 13 Oct, 2009

On October 7, 2009, the ECCC publicly released several letters issued by the Co- Investigating Judge Marcel Lemonde that were sent to six high ranking government officials summonsing them to the court to provide their testimony as witnesses in Case 002. Early indications suggest that the government is opposed to the requests from the Co-Investigating Judge. According to government spokesperson Khieu Kanharith, the government’s position is that only officials who volunteer are obliged to appear before the court, regardless of whether or not they are called as witnesses. He continued to say that foreign officials involved in the court could “pack their clothes and return home” if they were not satisfied with the decision. Furthermore, the Prime Minister recently argued that the government officials should not testify because they were involved in establishing the tribunal and therefore their testimony as “plaintiffs” could prejudice the court…

Cambodia Tribunal Monitor’s Trial Observer posts are written according to the personal observations and opinions of the writer and do not constitute a transcript of ECCC proceedings or the views of Cambodia Tribunal Monitor and/or its partners. Official court transcripts for the ECCC’s hearings may be accessed at the ECCC website.