CAMBODIAN SENATE TO DEBATE KHMER ROUGE TRIAL LAW

a senior Cambodian official said Cambodian senators are set to debate - and approve - long-awaited legislation early next week to try former leaders of the Khmer Rouge genocide.
"The Senate will debate the Khmer Rouge draft law on Monday, July 23," Ouk Bunchoeun, chairman of the Senate´s legislative committee, told Reuters. "I believe (the legislation) will be passed in one morning."
Cambodia´s National Assembly cast a near-unanimous vote on July 11 to approve the legislation, which would create a special tribunal for former leaders of the radical Communist group, blamed for an estimated 1.7 million deaths during its 1975-79 "killing fields" regime.
Legislation for the trial, which would include both Cambodian and U.N.-appointed judges and prosecutors, 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.
The Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia (1993) at Art. 32 states: "All people have the right to life, freedom and personal security. There shall be no capital punishment." Cambodia abolished the death penalty in 1989 and it was dropped under the country´s 1993 Constitution drawn up in the wake of UN-run elections, which restored democracy after decades of conflict. The maximum punishment was thus changed to life imprisonment.
Once passed by the Senate, the new law must be approved by the Constitutional Council and signed by the king.
"There are no big problems, only one small article to amend and we agreed in principle on the law last time it came before the Senate," Ouk Bunchoeun said.
If the U.N. approves of the law, a memorandum of understanding will be signed with the Cambodian government and the tribunal can move forward.
Prime Minister Hun Sen said recently the law could be signed by the king as early as next month and a trial could begin by the end of the year.