SINGAPORE, 24 June 2011 (Monday) - After more than three decades of impunity, the senior leaders of the notorious Khmer Rouge regime are finally being brought to book at the United Nations-backed Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). They will be charged under both Cambodian and international law for serious crimes including crimes against humanity, genocide and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions.
There has not been a war crimes trial of this magnitude held in Asia in recent memory.
SMU Law Professor: Pioneering International Litigation
A group of lawyers, led by Singapore Management University (SMU) Assistant Professor of Law Mahdev Mohan , has succeeded in pressing the case of survivors of the Cambodian genocide who are determined to have their day in court at the upcoming trials.
The legal team seeks justice for the Khmer Krom, a minority group targeted for elimination by the Khmer Rouge when relations between Cambodia and Vietnam became strained in the 1970s and Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot turned against Vietnam.
Last year, at the conclusion of a three-year investigation into the crimes of the Khmer Rouge leaders, the court did not include the crimes against the Khmer Krom. Former senior Khmer Rouge leaders were charged for genocide against Cambodia's Cham Muslim and ethnic Vietnamese minorities but were not charged for their actions against the Khmer Krom.
This omission stemmed in part from the prosecution's exclusion of the Khmer Krom from its investigation, which left the tribunal's judges unable to pursue such charges, despite compelling evidence of mass killing and forced displacement of tens of thousands of Khmer Krom throughout Cambodia.
With the help of Professor Mohan and his team, Khmer Krom survivors submitted extensive evidence of the atrocities they had suffered and detailed prison sites and mass graves. These efforts have paid off.
‘A Small Taste of Victory'
On 13 June 2010, the court's co-prosecutor Andrew Cayley reached out to Khmer Krom survivors. Meeting for the first time with nearly 200 of them in Pursat Province, on the grounds of a pagoda where Khmer Krom had been executed, Mr Cayley acknowledged the need to bring before the court the atrocities committed against the Khmer Krom people.
On June 16 2011, a year after his visit to Pursat Province, Mr Cayley filed a supplementary submission which adds additional crimes to a new case at the court - Case 004 - including crimes committed against the Khmer Krom. The submission was based primarily on evidence submitted by Professor Mohan's legal team on behalf of their clients.
As a result, 83 Khmer Krom survivors will now have the opportunity to participate in the next trial of the four senior Khmer Rouge leaders (known as Case 002), which begins on Monday, 27 June 2011. Their evidence could also become the centre-piece of Case 004.
Commenting on the positive turn of events, Professor Mohan said: “We are encouraged by this development. This is a small taste of victory for us – even before the commencement of the trial.”
Professor Mohan's legal team includes members of Access to Justice Asia LLP, a non-profit organization comprising lawyers and consultants dedicated to assisting underserved communities. It also includes Legal Aid of Cambodia's lawyers Chanrith Ang and Sam Sokong. All will be working together with the prosecution in the upcoming trial.
Working with Yale Law School
Professor Mohan has also brought on board human rights expert and Yale University Clinical Professor, Laurel Fletcher.
“Our goal is to work with SMU to ensure that the harm suffered by the Khmer Krom as a distinctive group is acknowledged, documented, and redressed through this justice process,” said Professor Fletcher.
Soon, a team of students from SMU School of Law's Asian Peace-building and Rule of Law programme (APRL) will work with Yale University's Allard K. Lowenstien International Human Rights Clinic to analyze witness evidence , conduct complex research, draft legal submissions and support Professor Mohan's litigation before the court.
SMU Students: ‘Putting Law School into Practice'
This is the first time that students from a Singapore law school will be assisting with an international war crimes trial.
Miss Chong Hui Ying, a third year student from SMU's School of Law and an APRL researcher, finds the undertaking an important and worthwhile one because it impacts people's lives.
Said Miss Chong: “ The Khmer Rouge Trials are important to the peace and reconciliation process within the Cambodian community. We intend to vigorously represent Cambodian victims' interests and work to ensure that they have their day in court.”
“Being part of a war crimes case is an exciting opportunity that has enriched my experience studying law at SMU. I'm inspired by the work of our team of lawyers and hope to stay involved in the field of human rights,” she added.
Long Road to Justice
As the team heads for Cambodia on Monday, Professor Mohan moderates rising expectations, saying that there is still some way to go, particularly as Mr Cayley's call for further investigations comes at a time when the court is under intense fire for not fulfilling its mandate.
Nevertheless, the legal team remains determined to ensure that the court hears evidence of the crimes committed against the Khmer Krom.
Said Professor Mohan: “Our clients' evidence bridges a missing link in the evidence that the court currently has and sheds light on why the Pol Pot regime killed Khmers. After all that they have endured, the Khmer Krom's evidence should be presented, not swept under the carpet.
He added: “ The Khmer Rouge trials look set to be a significant milestone in Cambodia's transitional justice record. However their legacy will depend on the ability of the ECCC to deliver justice for Cambodian survivors , overcome political interference and ensure due process.”
About the SMU Asian Peace-building and Rule of Law programme
The Asian Peace-building and Rule of Law programme (APRL) at the Singapore Management University allows SMU students to apply the skills learned in the classroom to public-interest litigation in the court room. It gives students the chance to analyze witness evidence, conduct research, and draft legal submissions. In addition to the Khmer Rouge Tribunal project, students will also work on cutting edge legal issues relating to human rights, corporate governance and the rule of law. SMU feels that it is important to nurture a new generation of lawyers who understand how the law relates to society, and how to apply their skills both in Singapore and on the world stage.
About the SMU School of Law
Officially approved on 5 January 2007, the School of Law proudly welcomed its first batch of 116 participants in August 2007.
SMU's undergraduate law programme aims to mold participants into excellent lawyers who will contribute significantly to society. The objective is to produce law graduates who have contextualized legal expertise and the ability to think across disciplines and geographical borders. In terms of pedagogy, SMU's seminar-style learning will be put to good effect to nurture participants who are confident, articulate and analytically agile.
The Law School will offer a 4-year full-time LLB programme, a 5-year double-degree programme which combines law with SMU's existing non-law programmes in Accountancy, Business, Economics, Information Systems and Social Sciences and more recently, a 12-month LLM (Master of Laws) Law programme.
The School of Law has also launched a full-time graduate programme called the Juris Doctor (J.D.) Programme. It follows the same academic calendar/grading scheme as the LL.B programme and can be completed within 3 years. However the programme may be accelerated in some cases for completion within 2 years.
The School of Law faculty comprises a collegial team with postgraduate degrees from renowned universities worldwide such as Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol and London.
About Access to Justice Asia LLP
Established in 2008, Access to Justice Asia LLP (AJA) comprises lawyers, writers and consultants dedicated to assisting underserved communities and post-conflict countries move forward from conflict and mass atrocity. AJA provides bespoke strategic consultancy and pro bono services on a wide array of matters, including rule of law and good governance, institutional capacity building, diversity management, and oral history documentation. In collaboration with Singapore Management University School of Law , AJA established the Asian Peace-building and Rule of Law (APRL) programme in 2010 as a platform for academic experts to conduct policy-relevant research on good governance.