The
International Court of Justice only tries cases between states, not crimes committed by individuals. The Extraordinary
Chambers are part of the Cambodian court system. However, they have special features as a “mixed tribunal”. The majority of the staff will be Cambodian. They will have Cambodian judges and foreign judges, Cambodian prosecutors and defence lawyers and foreign prosecutors and defence lawyers. They will use Cambodian law and
international law. Mixed tribunals have recently been used in other countries including the Special Court of Sierra Leone and the Serious Crimes Panel in East Timor, but each has its own structure. The mixed tribunal model is seen as a way to provide full national participation and involvement in the trials while at the same time ensuring international standards and participation. These trials will not be a remote process far away in The Hague in Europe. They will be held in Cambodia, conducted mainly in Khmer, will be open to participation by Cambodian people and be reported on local television, radio and newspapers. It is estimated that the Extraordinary Chambers may cost around $60 million over three years – around $20 million per year - but the budget has not yet been finalized. This sounds a lot of money but it compares favorably to the cost of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Both the Cambodian Government and foreign countries will pay for the court. Other UN members have said they will make intentional contributions to pay for the UN’s expenses and to help the Cambodian government to meet its expenses. This special funding is additional funding that should not interfere with or reduce other donor funds that have been committed to Cambodia.
In view of the above, it is evident that History indicates that it is very complicated to put people on trial while a war is still in progress. Cambodia first moved toward the UN for support to demeanor a trial in 1997. Since the civil war derelict in 1998, the Royal Government and the UN have worked in a group towards implementing a new type of mixed national-international committee. It has taken some time to work out the details of this new style of court. In 1999 the Cambodian Government set a Task Force to get ready for the trials and seek advice from the UN. The contemplation with the UN were long and it is true to say that there were some misunderstandings and differences of judgment before both sides urbanized in 2003 on the details of intercontinental interest.