Departing international co-prosecutor Robert Petit's resignation went into effect yesterday, one day after the court publicised its decision to appoint one of his deputies, William Smith, to fill the role on an interim basis.

The Supreme Council of the Magistracy approved Smith's appointment as acting international co-prosecutor on August 29, according to a court statement.

His bio: "Mr. Smith has been the international Deputy Co-Prosecutor of the ECCC for the last 3 years.  Between 1995 and 2006, Mr. Smith worked as a trial attorney, legal officer and analyst at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague. Prior to that, Mr. Smith practiced criminal law in South Australia as a defence barrister and solicitor as well as a prosecutor for the South Australian Police Department. Mr. Smith was educated at the University of Adelaide where he received a degree in law and arts.   He also obtained a masters in international law from Leiden University in the Netherlands."

Smith did not appear in court on Monday or Tuesday of this week. The prosecution was instead represented by Anees Ahmed and Vincent de Wilde.

The court has yet to provide any information on the names of two nominees to  replace Petit permanently. According to the statement: "Two nominations for the permanent replacement have been forwarded by the [UN] Secretary-General to the Royal Government of Cambodia for a decision by the Supreme Council of Magistracy. "