Supreme Council of Magistracy announces 11 new appointees
AFTER a vote over the weekend, Minister of Justice Ang Vong Vathana declared the formal recognition of four members of the Supreme Council of Magistracy.
Chay Chan Daravann was voted into office by the Appeal and Supreme Court judges; Seng Bun Kheang by prosecutors at the Appeal and Supreme Court and prosecutors serving in the Ministry of Justice; Iv Borin by judges from municipal and provincial courts across the country; and Srea Rattanak by prosecutors at municipal and provincial courts nationwide.
In the declaration, the minister said the four were selected through a vote on Saturday and Sunday.
Seven others have already been selected and are pending a royal decree from King Norodom Sihamoni to officially serve in the new mandate in mid-November.
‘Highly committed’
Among them are the justice minister, the Supreme Court president and the General Prosecutor of the Supreme Court. The three were automatically appointed according to the law, said Supreme Council of Magistracy secretary-general Sam Prochea Meanith.
Meanith told The Post on Tuesday that the four others had been appointed by the National Assembly, the Senate, the Constitutional Council and the Minister of Justice.
“The mandate of the Supreme Council of the Magistracy is five years. Its first mandate was elected on November 13, 2014, so it will end on November 13 this year,” he said, adding that two of the 11 members were newly elected for the new mandate.
Rattanak, one of the two new members, told The Post on Tuesday that he was happy to be elected and vowed to perform as he had declared in front of his voters.
“I’m determined to carry out my duties in the Supreme Council of the Magistracy to the best of my abilities like all the others. I’m highly committed to serving in the role I will be assigned,” he said.
According to the Law on the Organisation and Function of the Supreme Council of Magistracy, the body is presided over the King and aims to ensure the independence of the court in line with the Constitution. Its 11 members are to be appointed and elected for a five-year term.
Political analyst Lao Mong Hay said the appointment and election of new members at the Supreme Council of Magistracy was made according to legal procedure.
However, he said its new mandate would do little to ensure the court’s independence as its members were from the ruling party who control the whole institution through the Ministry of Justice.
“Despite the Supreme Council of the Magistracy having a new component, I don’t find that it can ensure the independence of the judicial institution . . . we are largely lacking in the issue of independent courts that can dispense justice for a party in court disputes,” he said.
For the institution to be independent, Mong Hay said the leadership had to understand the advantage of having independent courts to dispense justice for the accused, while the institution should also be free from political influence.