Justice delayed or too late for justice? The Khmer Rouge Tribunal and the Cambodian "genocide" 1975-79

During the rule of the so called "Khmer Rouge" under their leader "Pol Pot" in Cambodia from April 1975 to January 1979, hundreds of thousands of people were killed and millions died, resulting in the loss of probably about a quarter of the population. The crimes of the Khmer Rouge have not been prosecuted effectively on a national or international level, but in July 2006 a special court, officially called the "Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC),"was established to address these crimes. This "Khmer Rouge Tribunal" is a hybrid court organized in cooperation between the Kingdom of Cambodia and the United Nations. It has an unprecedented structure and has to work in a difficult legal and political environment. Among the important questions to be addressed by the court are the qualification of the crimes of the Khmer Rouge as "genocide,"not only in general but also legal meanings of the term. Currently it appears impossible to predict the outcome of this court, but it presents the last opportunity to bring at least some of the remaining leaders of the Khmer Rouge to justice.