Representatives from government institutions and universities gathered at the ECCC on 11 July 2012 to receive the Appeal Judgement in Case 001. Case 001 concerned Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, former chairman of S-21, and was concluded on 3 February 2012 with the Appeal Judgement of the Supreme Court Chamber which sentenced Duch to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. The Appeal Judgement distribution ceremony was led by Acting Director of the Office of Administration of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) Tony Kranh.
In his welcoming remarks, Mr. Kranh reflected on the establishment of the court and the mandate of the ECCC, as well as the evolution of other international criminal tribunals. He highlighted the unique aspects of the ECCC as a hybrid court and explained the court’s achievements including the completion of Case 001 and the ongoing trial of Khmer Rouge senior leaders in Case 002. Mr. Kranh noted that there have been more than 150,000 visitors to the court. “This enormous number of participants has broken a world record for the most number of people ever participating in an international criminal court”, he said.
A brief question and answer session was held following his remarks. Many people in the audience participated in the session, posing questions relating to the final sentence of Duch in Case 001 and the health status of Defendant Ieng Thirith, as well as the progress of Case 003. Hang Kim-Hourn, student from Mekong University, told court staff that he was pleased to receive the summary of the Final Judgment. He explained, “It will help me to better understand the history of Democratic Kampuchea, as I am of the younger generation and I do not know much about the regime.” At the close of the ceremony Judgement books were distributed to representatives from government institutions, universities, and libraries.
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The summary of the Judgement was distributed to all 380 people who attended the event. The ECCC Public Affairs Section has printed 5,000 copies of the Appeal Judgement and 15,000 copies of the summary of the Appeal Judgement in Khmer language, and 1,600 copies of the Appeal Judgement in English. These copies will be distributed across Cambodia to universities, libraries, law students, domestic courts and national and local government institutions. If you represent an institution which would like copies of the Appeal Judgement and/or the summary of the Appeal Judgement, please send a request to the Public Affairs Section at pas@eccc.gov.kh.