The judges in the long-delayed Cambodian genocide trials began meeting on Monday to see if they could resolve issues that have been plaguing the court for the last six months. With constant problems arising from almost every meeting, it seems less and less likely that the suspects will ever be tried.
Speaking on behalf of her U.N.-appointed colleagues, Judge Sylvia Cartwright from New Zealand expressed optimism that the rules can be adopted.
“We know that if the internal rules are adopted in their present draft form, we have a foundation from which it may be possible to ensure a free, fair and transparent trial,” she said.
She and Kong Srim are co-chairing the plenary session.
As I’ve written about in the past, the biggest problem with these constant delays is the aging defendants, many of whom are dying.