The Court Management Section (CMS) is a core function within the Office of Administration. It coordinates and provides effective and efficient services to Judicial Offices and Chambers. The Court Management Section can be described as the “engine room” of the court whose main role is to ensure that the Judicial Organs receive the logistical and administrative support they need for the judicial process to run smoothly. The CMS works with various other sections and offices throughout the ECCC to fulfill its mandate.
The Court Management Section consists of both national and international staff working together and is headed by Chief of CMS.
The role of the Chief of CMS is to coordinate and to maintain smooth and efficient working relationship with the judges of each Chamber, the Co-investigating Judges, the Co-prosecutors, as well as the Chief of the Defense Support Section, the Chief of the Victims Support Section and other court officials. The Chief of CMS is assisted in the discharge of his duties by the Case File Officer and the Court Officer.
The Court Management Section is divided into several units, which are:
- Audio Visual Unit (AVU): AVU ensures that all proceedings and interviews are digitally recorded in a format that can be archived for subsequent review by judges or lawyers at any stage should a legal point or legal arguments arise.
- Detention Facility Liaison Unit (DLU): This Unit is responsible for coordinating and liaising between the ECCC and the Chief of the Detention Facility, as well as any authorized national or international agency, authority and organization. The Unit ensures the rights of the detainees are respected at all times, in accordance with ECCC Internal Rules and international standards. It also ensures that any matter pertaining to the welfare, health and conditions of detention of the detained persons is promptly reported and that appropriate action is taken.
- Interpretation and Translation Unit (ITU): National and international translators work side by side to ensure that all court documents are translated into each of the three working languages (Khmer, English and French). Interpreters provide simultaneous interpretation of meetings and court proceedings, ensuring that every word spoken is interpreted into each of the three working languages and that all parties understand what is being said at any given time.
- Front Office (FO): the Case File Officer and the Court Officer provide logistic and administrative support to the Judicial Offices and the Parties. The Case File Officer is mainly responsible for receiving documents and managing the case files in coordination with Greffiers. The Court Officer acts as a coordination/liaison point between the Parties and the Chambers and other participants in the proceedings, ensuring that all practical arrangements are in place for court sessions to proceed smoothly.
- Records Archives Unit (RAU): This Unit is responsible, in co-ordination with the Administrative Greffier, for the processing, cataloguing, managing, distribution, and security of all judicial documents and exhibits. The Unit maintains the judicial records of proceedings before the ECCC and provides access to these records to authorized court staff, in accordance with activities of the court, and as directed by the Chamber seized of each case file. The Library, attached to RAU, provides all Judicial Organs, lawyers and other court users with centralized access to legal literature and research material including books, journals, the internet and various on-line legal databases. Some of the books in the library have been donated by donor states and individuals. It is hoped that upon the completion of the mandate of the ECCC these books will be donated to an institution in Cambodia.
- Transcription Unit (TU): Transcription Unit (TU): This Unit is responsible for the production of verbatim transcripts (written records) of all court proceedings in each of the three working languages. The key mission of the Unit is the timely delivery of high quality transcripts to the Chambers and the Parties. Those transcripts are then catalogued and stored to form part of the official court archive. Additionally, the Unit provides assistance to the Office of Co-Investigating Judges’ field missions and interviews. The Unit comprises international and national components.
- Witness and Expert Support Unit (WESU): The main purpose of this Unit is to provide witnesses, experts and victims participating in ECCC proceedings with those services needed to ensure a safe and supportive environment. WESU has three primary areas of responsibility: 1) Witness and Expert Logistics and Operations; 2) Witness Support, and 3) Witness Protection.