On Friday last week, four international interns with the Supreme Court Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) presented their research papers on the work of the court.
Similar research is a requirement for all ECCC interns. Once their dissertations are completed, they are presented to Cambodian law students.
In this way, their work serves to advance the knowledge of the Kingdom’s legal scholars.
Three French and one Australian intern delivered their presentations.
Thelma Liaud compared the ECCC’s hybrid model with other international courts, while Lilou Cecchi explored the challenges faced by the court, and its overall effect on the Kingdom’s population.
Their fellow Frenchwoman Maeva Chedecal prepared a case study that compared the historic Argentine military regime with the Khmer Rouge, while Australian intern Madeline Bishop examined the successes and failures of the ECCC in prosecuting sexual violence.
Phan Theoun, legal officer for the ECCC’s Supreme Court Chamber, explained that the intern’s presentations are provided in conjunction with law school curriculums.
“The skills and knowledge gained by law students will be also used in the regular Cambodian courts,” he added.
The intern’s work will be kept on record at the ECCC Resource Centre and posted online, so that future interns and law students will be able to access their valuable research.
Theoun noted that the programme also contributes to intergenerational dialogue, educating the younger generation about the history of the Khmer Rouge regime.
“The ECCC’s achievements are a means and an end in themselves to achieve sustainable peace and national reconciliation. The provision of education to the younger generations deters and guarantees non-recurrence of the atrocities and human rights violations [that took place],” he said.
He added that the core functions of the ECCC are to exchange experiences, transfer knowledge and disseminate information, as defined in the addendum reached by the UN and the government of Cambodia.
As part of its mission, the ECCC also offers internship opportunities to Cambodian undergraduate students of year two and above in non-legal fields, including information and communications technology (ICT), media and communication, and Khmer Rouge history.