TY - JOUR
T1 - Trading a theatre for military headquarters
T2 - Locating the Khmer Rouge Tribunal
AU - Gidley, Rebecca
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - The Khmer Rouge Tribunal, more formally known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), is a United Nations (UN)-sponsored judicial mechanism based at the headquarters of the Cambodian military. This article examines how the decision to base the ECCC at this location was made. In order to do so it draws on a significant quantity of internal documents from the UN Office of Legal Affairs that relate to the negotiations establishing the ECCC. An earlier trial, the 1979 People’s Revolutionary Tribunal, had been held in central Phnom Penh at Chaktomuk Theatre, and this symbolic venue was initially proposed as the home for the ECCC. However, the Cambodian government proposed the current site that is part of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces headquarters, to which the UN agreed. The headquarters are located on the outskirts of the city, and this has hindered public accessibility and positive symbolism and is instead an indication of the level of control the Cambodian government has been able to exert over the Tribunal.
AB - The Khmer Rouge Tribunal, more formally known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), is a United Nations (UN)-sponsored judicial mechanism based at the headquarters of the Cambodian military. This article examines how the decision to base the ECCC at this location was made. In order to do so it draws on a significant quantity of internal documents from the UN Office of Legal Affairs that relate to the negotiations establishing the ECCC. An earlier trial, the 1979 People’s Revolutionary Tribunal, had been held in central Phnom Penh at Chaktomuk Theatre, and this symbolic venue was initially proposed as the home for the ECCC. However, the Cambodian government proposed the current site that is part of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces headquarters, to which the UN agreed. The headquarters are located on the outskirts of the city, and this has hindered public accessibility and positive symbolism and is instead an indication of the level of control the Cambodian government has been able to exert over the Tribunal.
KW - Cambodia
KW - Extraordinary chambers in the courts of Cambodia
KW - Khmer rouge tribunal
KW - Transitional justice
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85052558008&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1355/cs40-2e
DO - 10.1355/cs40-2e
M3 - Article
SN - 0129-797X
VL - 40
SP - 279
EP - 300
JO - Contemporary Southeast Asia
JF - Contemporary Southeast Asia
IS - 2
ER -