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OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0887/01 1290948
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 090948Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6622
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 2208
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0381
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 0514
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 0531
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 3063
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 2139
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM  PRIORITY
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 1427

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PHNOM PENH 000887 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND S/WCI; GENEVA FOR RMA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/07/2016 
TAGS: PGOV KJUS PREL CB
SUBJECT: KRT JUDGES NAMED:  THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY 
 
 
Classified By: A/DCM Margaret B. McKean; Reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1.  (C)  Summary.  On May 7, the Cambodian Government 
announced the names of the Cambodian and international judges 
selected by the Supreme Council of the Magistracy and 
approved by the King.  The results are a mixed bag of good, 
middling, and poor choices.  Initial soundings within the 
diplomatic community suggest that, while some missions are 
unhappy over a few picks, no one at the moment is planning to 
issue a negative statement.  The Japanese Embassy met with PM 
Hun Sen on May 8, and aired concerns over some names on the 
list.  The EU did the same in a private May 8 meeting with 
Deputy Prime Minister Sok An.  The list symbolizes a missed 
opportunity for the RGC to put its best judicial face on the 
proceedings, but at least a few of the best candidates did 
make the cut.  Both American names are listed in the reserve 
categories.  End Summary. 
 
Judges Chosen:  A Mixed Bag 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C)  After months of waiting, the Cambodian government on 
May 4 issued a Royal Decree naming the Cambodian and 
international judges to the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.  The final 
decree follows very closely a list leaked to several NGOs in 
early April.  The names are as follows: 
 
Judges in the Trial Chamber 
 
Mr. Nil Nonn 
Mr. Thou Mony 
Mr. Ya Sokhan 
Ms. Silvia Cartwright (New Zealand) 
Mr. Jean-Marc Lavergne (France) 
 
Reserve:  Mr. You Ottara; Ms. Claudia Fenz (Austria) 
 
Judges in the Supreme Court Chamber 
 
H.E. Kong Srim 
Mr. Som Sereyvuth 
Mr. Sin Rith 
Mr. Ya Narin 
Mr. Motoo Noguchi (Japan) 
Ms. Agnieszka Klonowiecka-Milart (Poland) 
Mr. Chandra Nihal Jayasinghe (Sri Lanka) 
 
Reserve:  Mr Mong Monichariya; Mr. Martin Karopkin (U.S.) 
 
Co-Investigating Judges 
 
Mr. You Bun Leng 
Marcel Lemonde (France) 
 
Reserve:  Mr. Thong Ol; International (to be announced) 
 
Co-Prosecutors 
 
Ms. Chea Leang 
Mr. Robert Petit (Canada) 
 
Reserve:  H.E. Chuon Sun Leng; Mr. Paul Coffey (U.S.) 
 
Pre-Trial Chamber 
 
H.E. Prak Kimsan 
H.E. Ney Thol 
Mr. Huot Vuthy 
Mr. Rowan Downing (Australia) 
Ms. Katinka Lahuis (Netherlands) 
 
Reserve:  Mr. Pen Pichsaly; International -- none 
 
 
Note:  We have emailed separately to the desk on the 
unclassified system the same list of names with what bio 
 
SIPDIS 
information we know on each of them. 
 
Who's Who Among the Judges 
-------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C)  The best judges selected appear to be the 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000887  002 OF 003 
 
 
investigating judge -- You Bun Leng (who currently sits on 
the Appeals Court) and Supreme Chamber President Kong Srim 
(Deputy General Prosecutor of the Appeals Court).  Both were 
listed by the Open Society Justice Initiative as "best" picks 
among Cambodia's jurists.  You Ben Leng has received strong, 
favorable comments from a variety of NGOs and legal analysts. 
 The reserve prosecutor, Chuon Sun Leng is also a good pick, 
as is You Ottara -- the reserve judge for the trial chambers. 
 Chuon Sun Leng is the Deputy Prosecutor General of the 
Supreme Court while You Ottara is a Supreme Court judge.  Nil 
Nonn, President of the Trial Chamber was a good pick, albeit 
not a standout choice.  The UN Human Rights Office, however, 
gave Nil Nonn high marks for cooperation with their office on 
several cases of interest. Sin Rith, one of the choices for 
the Supreme Chamber, is considered a good selection.  Mong 
Monichariya, a reserve judge for the Supreme Chamber, is also 
highly thought of among NGOs.  While some of the best picks 
are on the Supreme Chamber, that chamber may see the least 
action since it is an appeals body.  (Note:  The Japanese 
Embassy was particularly irritated that as the Tribunal's 
larges donor, the Japanese nominee was chosen for the 
Supreme Chamber.  The Japanese had wanted him to play a more 
prominent role in the Trial Chamber.  End Note.) 
 
¶4.  (C)  In the bad ategory are included the other two 
judges in the Trial Chamber -- Thou Mony, an Appeals Court 
judge and Ya Sokhan.  Both are considered politically biased 
and not good picks.  Thou Mony was one of the Appeals Court 
judges who released Hun Sen's nephew in the appeals process 
after the young man was convicted in a high-profile car 
accident and a shooting incident that resulted in three 
deaths.  He also ruled on behalf of Ky Teck in connection 
with tQpasQear's controversial Bar Association elections 
that were highly criticized by Bar Association membership. 
The Bar Association still remains moribund and divided.  Ya 
Sokhan has been disciplined by the Supreme Council of the 
Magistracy (SCM) in 2005 and forcibly transferred to Bantey 
Meanchey.  Likewise, Huot Vuthy, one of the nominees for the 
Pre-Trial Chamber, was also disciplined by the SCM and a 
record placed in his personnel file.  Both men appear to have 
been sanctioned for holding detainees in jail beyond the 
allowed period.  Thong Ol (reserve investigating judge) is 
considered very close to the CPP and presided over 
independent radio producer Mam Sonando's defamation hearing 
that sent Sonando to prison. 
 
¶5.  (C)  In the ugly category is Ney Thol, the President of 
the Military Court who had presided over last year's 
political show trial of opposition parliamentarian Cheam 
Channy -- a procedure that was legally flawed and roundly 
criticized by the international community.  Helen Jarvis has 
countered criticism of Ney Thol's appointment by saying that 
military law will be relevant to the proceedings and 
therefore he is qualified to join the Tribunal.  Sean Vissoth 
has argued to us that Ney Thol has worked on the Ta Mok and 
Duch (two detainees implicated in the Khmer Rouge genocide) 
cases for the past 6-7 years.  Ney Thol is a member of the 
Pre-Trial Chamber, which will meet only to resolve 
differences between either the co-investigating judges or the 
co-prosecutors. While the pre-Trial Chamber has the potential 
to play an important role in deciding who will be prosecuted, 
respected Cambodian jurist Kim Sathavy suggested privately to 
us that the body might play a very limited role.  It is yet 
to be seen. 
 
¶6.  (C)  The Cambodian selection for prosecutor, Chea Leang, 
is a niece by marriage to one of Sok An's cousins.  Her 
nomination has raised questions of nepotism; Helen Jarvis has 
told us that the linkage to Sok An is not strong and 
dismissed any notion that her nomination was orchestrated by 
the DPM.  Margo Picken of the UN Human Rights Office tells us 
that she has been moderately cooperative with her office. 
Likewise, the Japanese Embassy, which has some legal advisors 
in Cambodia, believes that her appointment can be defended on 
the basis of merit. 
 
¶7.  (C)  The saving points are You Ben Leng as investigating 
judge - a key position; and Nil Nonn as President of the 
Trial Chamber.  The two other Cambodian judges within the 
Trial Chamber (Ya Sokhan and Thou Mony) are problematic. 
Margo Picken and others point to the strong international 
judges, particularly Dame Silvia Cartwright from New Zealand 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000887  003 OF 003 
 
 
as positive counterweights.  The Pre-Trial Chambers where Ney 
Thol and Huot Vuthy will be working is also weak. 
 
What Others are Saying 
---------------------- 
 
¶8.  (C)  Phnom Penh-based diplomats have privately expressed 
disappointment with the choice of Ney Thol, but also some 
relief that relatively good jurists were picked for some 
important jobs.  Margo Picken spoke for many in saying that 
it was not the best possible list, but also not the worst. 
The UN office here and the Canadian, German, French, British 
and Japanese embassies have all told us they do not intend to 
criticize the list publicly.  That said, visiting EU 
Ambassador Hamburger raised concerns about Ney Thol in a 
meeting with DPM Sok AN May 8 and received no clear reply 
except that the judges had met the criteria established in 
the 2004 agreement with the UN.  The Japanese Ambassador 
raised concerns regarding some the Cambodian judicial 
personnel with Prime Minister Hun Sen on May 8; Hun Sen 
reportedly said that the selection process would have to be 
addressed by the Minister of Justice, as the PM has remained 
independent of the matter.  (Comment:  This is a bit of 
dodge, given the PM's direct involvement in high profile 
legal decisions in the past.  End Comment.) 
 
¶9.  (C)  Comment.  While the judicial talent on hand in 
Cambodia is quite limited, many had hoped that the Cambodian 
government would use the KRT to turn a page on the country's 
troubled legal system and present the best possible face of 
the Cambodian judiciary -- one that would underscore the 
government's stated commitment to judicial independence and 
legal reform.  However, the list of judges falls short of 
Cambodia's judicial "dream team" and constitutes a missed 
opportunity to rebut critics who repeatedly decried the 
delays and lack of transparency in the selection process. 
The presence of jurists who presided in highly political 
cases -- especially Ney Thol who ruled in the widely 
condemned Cheam Channy case -- provides further grounds for 
suspicion of RGC commitment.  NGOs like LICADHO and ADHOC 
were not surprised by the list, saying the Tribunal has 
always been about RGC control.  The diplomatic community and 
the UN are unlikely to publicly criticize the list, even if 
they may express concerns privately.  In sum, the Cambodian 
judicial roster does not inspire the level of confidence in 
the proceedings that we would have liked to have had at this 
stage.  However, it is too soon to prejudge how things will 
play out once the Tribunal begins its work, when the dynamic 
between Cambodian an international jurists will likely set 
the tone for the proceedings.  End Comment. 
STORELLA