After leading the legal team that won the widely condemned dissolution of the CNRP at the Supreme Court in November, Ky Tech, lawyer for the Council of Ministers and Prime Minister Hun Sen, has been given a rank equivalent to minister just weeks after he was inducted into the CPP’s Central Committee.

Tech has filed a slew of defamation cases against ex-opposition leader Sam Rainsy on behalf of Hun Sen, and represented the Interior Ministry in its legal effort to disband his Cambodia National Rescue Party.

A royal decree, signed on February 3 by acting head of state Say Chhum, elevated the lawyer to the rank of minister.

Cambodian People’s Party spokesman Sok Eysan said that the promotion reflects Tech’s achievements for the people, including the CNRP’s dissolution. “When he manages to win the case, he should be promoted like this. He won all the cases and those are his achievements,” Eysan said.

However, former CNRP lawmaker Ou Chanrath said Tech’s achievements were not based on his legal expertise, but on the fact that the courts are beholden to his clients.