Appointment of Acting International Co-Prosecutor

On 29 August 2009, the Supreme Council of Magistracy of Cambodia, upon the nomination of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, appointed, as an interim measure, Mr. William Smith (Australia) as the Acting International Co-Prosecutor at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.  His appointment shall be effective 1 September 2009.  This appointment has been made pending the decision on the permanent replacement for the current International Co-Prosecutor, Mr. Robert Petit, whose resignation takes effect on the same date. Two nominations for the permanent replacement have been forwarded by the Secretary-General to the Royal Government of Cambodia for a decision by the Supreme Council of Magistracy.  


William Smith (to the right) during ECCC proceedings on 15 July 2009.

Mr. Smith has been the international Deputy Co-Prosecutor of the ECCC for the last 3 years.  Between 1995 and 2006, Mr. Smith worked as a trial attorney, legal officer and analyst at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague. Prior to that, Mr. Smith practiced criminal law in South Australia as a defence barrister and solicitor as well as a prosecutor for the South Australian Police Department. Mr. Smith was educated at the University of Adelaide where he received a degree in law and arts.   He also obtained a masters in international law from Leiden University in the Netherlands.