Killean, Rachel --- "Pursuing retributive and reparative justice within Cambodia" [2017] ELECD 792; in Lawther, Cheryl; Moffett, Luke; Jacobs, Dov (eds), "Research Handbook on Transitional Justice" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017) 466

Book Title: Research Handbook on Transitional Justice

Editor(s): Lawther, Cheryl; Moffett, Luke; Jacobs, Dov

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781781955307

Section: Chapter 23

Section Title: Pursuing retributive and reparative justice within Cambodia

Author(s): Killean, Rachel

Number of pages: 22

Abstract/Description:

This chapter seeks to provide an overview of the transitional justice mechanisms through which successive Cambodian governments have sought to address the crimes of the Khmer Rouge, a radical communist movement which seized power in 1975. It examines two transitional justice mechanisms: the People’s Revolutionary Tribunal and the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (‘ECCC’). Both mechanisms have predominantly pursued retributive justice as a means of addressing the past, through their focus on the criminal prosecution of those deemed most responsible for the Khmer Rouge regime’s crimes. However, it appears that the ECCC has also sought to incorporate more reparative forms of justice through its incorporation of victim participation, reparations and other non-judicial measures. This chapter will examine the extent to which the mechanisms have successfully pursued these justice goals, before concluding with some tentative observations on the extent to which the two mechanisms have successfully aided Cambodia’s transition from its violent past. Cambodia; retributive justice; reparative justice; People’s Revolutionary Tribunal; Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia