Cambodian lawmakers approved legislation paving the...

Cambodian lawmakers approved legislation paving the way for a long-awaited trial of former leaders of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime.
"Today we passed the Khmer Rouge draft law to establish extraordinary chambers to try the Khmer Rouge leaders," National Assembly President Prince Norodom Ranariddh said in parliament after the vote, which was near-unanimous.
The new legislation on a tribunal must now be approved by the Senate, the Constitutional Council and be ratified by the king.
After that process is complete, the United Nations is expected to examine the law to determine if it complies with its agreement with Cambodia.Cambodia and the United Nations agreed in April 2000 on a special formula to try former Khmer Rouge leaders - blamed for an estimated 1.7 million deaths during their 1975-79 "killing fields" regime.
Legislation to create the special tribunal, which would include both Cambodian and U.N.-appointed prosecutors and judges, was on the verge of approval by King Norodom Sihanouk in February, but was kicked back to the government by Prime Minister Hun Sen who wanted all references to the death penalty removed.