By Chun Sakada, VOA KhmerOriginal report from Phnom Penh
19 December 2008
Defense lawyers for jailed Khmer Rouge leader Ieng Sary have accused the Pre-Trial Chamber of the tribunal of interfering in the administrative work of the courts, following a denial of their thesis on certain legal theories.
The defense had written their thesis to exclude from trials topics such as Joint Criminal Enterprise, which can hold conspiring parties guilty for crimes committed by one, and other legal principles.
"We wrote our thesis and requested intervention and the denial of the implementation of charges under Joint Criminal Enterprise, which affects the interest of our client because it is not in Cambodian law," sad Ang Udom, a lawyer for Ieng Sary.
Ieng Sary was foreign affairs minister of the regime and faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role.
"We brought our thesis to the tribunal for a decision, but the tribunal turned it back to us without a hearing," he said. "It's not right to deny our thesis and proposal."
The defense has now sent a letter to the courts, claiming the Pre-Trial Chambers' decision not to consider the thesis was interference in administrative work.
"If someone complains about a case to the court, the court receives the complaint," he said. "Whatever the court decides, the court should issue a verdict."
However, tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath said the chamber was within its rights to turn away the treatise.
Ang Udom issued a letter to the courts Thursday claiming he would launch the paper on his own Web site.
"If the court does not publish our thesis, we will post it on our Web site," he said. "If the court permits."
Reach Sambath said the team had a right to launch a Web site, but the Khmer Rouge tribunal Web site is officially recognized.
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