Justice Minister Koeut Rith in the second meeting of the National Authority for Alternative Dispute Resolution on January 24. NADR
Minister of Justice Koeut Rith has called on the judiciary to ensure that legal proceedings arising from fatal road accidents are expedited as quickly as possible, in order to avoid additional suffering by victims’ families.
He stressed that those who cause tragic accidents cannot be cleared by compensation, noting that the Code of Criminal Procedure will be amended to accelerate asset seizing to help victims.
While addressing the January 24 opening of a seminar on effective communication for justice ministry spokespersons and information officers, he warned that in some cases, families were not only bereft at the loss of their loved ones, but sometimes unable to pay for funeral expenses.
He highlighted that some cases have taken years to be resolved.
“People may not remember victims of road accidents but they remember injustice that the victim family suffer at our [court] stage. What they remember the most is this second suffering. People across the country would say the cases are deliberately delayed because victim sides have no money to bribe,” he said.
He added that judges, prosecutors and all judicial officials shall not allow any delays in traffic accidents, as delayed court proceedings cause undue problems for victims. They must push the cases along, to deliver justice as quickly as possible.
“While it is true that securing compensation for the victims of accidents is a priority, we must remember that the perpetrators cannot be allowed to go free just because they have paid. This cannot be allowed to happen as it could spark public outcry and could also make them undeterred to the law because they believe they can get away with it after paying compensation. This cannot be accepted,” he said.
Am Sam Ath, operations director at rights group LICADHO, believed that the minister’s remarks were intended to prevent anyone from purposefully delaying court proceedings. He welcomed the comments, noting that traffic accidents and their aftermath have recently become a major source of public concern.
“Leaving a case unresolved and postponing the proceedings for too long does a grave injustice to the victims and their families. The fact that it has occurred before may be one of the reasons why some drivers appear to be negligent in their responsibilities,” he said.
He added that paying compensation to have a case ended is also a major issue, as it has set a bad example, with an impact that is still being felt.
“Such cases have become common recently, with people feeling they have no choice but to accept payment and withdraw complaints. This is a cruel form of social injustice,” he said.
He also believes that many fatal accidents were due to people driving under the influence of alcohol, noting that Cambodia has yet to introduce legal measures to control the sale and consumption of alcohol.
“As civil society, we urge the government to expedite the process of approving a law on alcohol control as soon as possible,” he said.
Koeut Rith offered an insight into possible new legislation.
“We will amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to make it more efficient. If necessary, we will initiate civil proceedings to seize property from perpetrators, in order to deliver compensation as quickly as possible. We do not wish to see victims’ families suffer twice,” he said.
