ASEAN Law Resources: Cambodia

A. Legislature

Parliament of Cambodia
The Cambodian parliament is a bicameral legislature and consists of:

• The National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia
• The Senate of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

B. Laws

Cambodia Annotated Code of Criminal Procedure
Produced by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Cambodia, together with several partners, for use by those working in the criminal justice system.

Constitutional Council of Cambodia
One of the roles of the Council is to interpret the Constitution and the laws adopted by the National Assembly. Basic texts of the Council are published on this website.

Labour Laws & Regulations
The Arbitration Council provides a dispute settlement framework for the adjudication of labour disputes. It publishes a collection of labour regulations from the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training and other relevant ministries. Laws are available in Khmer, English and French.

Laws and Regulations
Unofficial English translations of various Cambodian laws and regulations published by the Council for the Development of Cambodia.

Legal Documents
Laws and regulations of Cambodia are made available in Khmer and selectively, in English (unofficial translations), by Open Development Cambodia.

C. Treaties

IHL Databases: Treaties and States Parties - Cambodia
International humanitarian treaties to which Cambodia is a party. Published by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

International Investment Agreements Navigator : Cambodia
Investment agreements that Cambodia is a party to. Published on the Investment Policy Hub, UNCTAD.

United Nations Treaties Series Online
To obtain a listing of UN treaties to which Cambodia is a party, select Cambodia as a participant from the menu and click Search.

Note: Cambodian court judgments are not publicly published, except for the decisions of the Arbitration Council and Constitutional Council.

Arbitration Council
The Council provides a dispute settlement framework for the adjudication of labour disputes. Useful resources include:

• official arbitral awards in Khmer. English versions, where provided, are unofficial translations.
• Arbitration Council Digest in English (2003-7)

Constitutional Council of Cambodia
Decisions of the Constitutional Council from 2003. Click on the DECISION tab on the top menu bar for decisions from various years (2003 -)

Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC)
The government of Cambodia and the UN created the ECCC to bring to trial senior leaders and those most responsible for crimes committed during the Khmer Rouge regime. The court is more commonly referred to as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal or Cambodia Tribunal. Decisions of the court and related court documents are available through this website.

ICC Legal Tools Database
Decisions of the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) are available via this database which is maintained by the International Criminal Court.

Judiciary
A summary of the Cambodian judicial system published by the Council of ASEAN Chief Justices.

Khmer Rouge Trial Monitor
Updates on the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. Project of the Asian International Justice Initiative.

Cases in international courts/tribunals:

Cambodia Power Company v. Kingdom of Cambodia (ICSID Case No. ARB/09/18)
Case before the ICSID Tribunal.

Temple of Preah Vihear (Cambodia v. Thailand)
1961 and 1962 ICJ judgments on the issue of sovereignty over the region of the Temple of Preah Vihear.

A. Open access journals

Cambodian Yearbook of Comparative Legal Studies
Yearbook by the Cambodian Society of Comparative Law (with support from USAID). Only Vol 1, 2010 is available on the Khmer Library website.

B. Papers
Justice Versus Corruption: Challenges to the Independence of the Judiciary in Cambodia
A delegation from the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute was convened to undertake an in-depth examination of the Cambodian judiciary in the light of three newly passed judicial laws. This report documents the findings of the delegation that visited Phnom Penh in April 2015. 

Rule of Law (Occasional Papers on Democratic Development)
Paper published by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in 2009.

Business and Human Rights Handbook for Cambodia 2021 
Part I on Human Rights Frameworks: The Law and Policies for Responsible Business Conduct was written by Prof Radu Mares, Prof Kenneth Paul Charman and Soy Kimsan, and published by The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law.

Cambodian Center for Human Rights
Information on the human rights situation in Cambodia and about CCHR’s work in promoting human rights and democracy.

Cambodian Genocide Program
Resources relating to the Cambodian genocide published by the Genocide Studies Programme at Yale University’s MacMillan Center.

Human Rights Watch : Cambodia
Reports and news about the human rights situation in Cambodia.

United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner : Cambodia
Contains United Nations resolutions on human rights in Cambodia adopted by the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, and various other reports.

United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner : Countries & Territories : Cambodia
Includes reports of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, and reports of the Secretary General on the role and achievements of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in assisting the Government and people of Cambodia in the promotion and protection of human rights.

Business and Human Rights Handbook for Cambodia 2021 
Part I on Human Rights Frameworks: The Law and Policies for Responsible Business Conduct was written by Prof Radu Mares, Prof Kenneth Paul Charman and Soy Kimsan, and published by The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law.

Cambodian Constitutional Law (2016)
Book edited by Hor Peng, Kong Phallack & Jörg Menzel which provides a detailed analysis of the Cambodian Constitution.

Introduction to Cambodian Law (2012)
Book edited by Hor Peng, Kong Phallack and Jorg Menzel. Provides excellent overview of the legal system, and includes chapters on alternative dispute resolution, criminal law, family law, intellectual property rights and rights of indigenous peoples.

This section contains a selection of the more current books on Cambodian law, featuring mainly writings on the Khmer Rouge trials. Unless otherwise stated, books are located in the Law Library.

For more books, search the library catalogue, LINC:

      Online: ebook