The ECCC in Action, 2003–2018

Abstract

This chapter first describes the protracted process of setting up the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) after 2003 and the problems of corruption that were encountered. I then examine each of the ECCC’s cases, with a focus on their political implications. In Case 001 and Case 002, the defendants, Kaing Geuk Eav, Khieu Samphan, and Nuon Chea, were convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Cases 003 and 004, on the other hand, have been consistently opposed by the Cambodian government. The ECCC is in the process of dropping these cases but it must be done using the correct procedural language. The conflicts that existed between the UN Secretariat and the Cambodian government during the negotiation period recurred during the operation of the ECCC.