최근 크메르루즈특별재판소(ECCC)의 상황에 대한 고찰

Abstract

A resolution on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, including a very strong action which encourages to refer the highest leader to the International Criminal Court, was recently passed in the UN General Assembly two years in a row. Moreover, Korea enacted the North Korean Human Rights Act on March 3, 2016. Those facts show that the interest on human rights of North Korea is domestically and internationally increasing than ever before. Now, international community’s interest on the human rights of North Korea goes beyond encouraging to improve human rights and goes forward issues of transitional justice. Many researchers have usually discussed Nazi-dictatorship, the East-European communism and South Africa related to the research on transitional justice. We, however, need to have an interest on transitional justice in Cambodia led by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia(ECCC), which took the form of hybrid courts with the UN and the Cambodia because it would be beneficial for us to expand the scope of the discussion in the light of political and social importance of transitional justice happened in the Asia region. The ECCC has dealt with total four cases until now. The Supreme Court Chamber sentenced in Case 001 Kaing Guek Eav, the former Chairman of the Khmer Rouge S-21 Security Center in Phnom Penh, to life imprisonment on February 3, 2012. Moreover, the Trial Chamber sentenced in Case 002/01 Nuon Chea, former Chairman of the Democratic Kampuchea National Assembly, and Khieu Samphan, former Head of State of Democratic Kampuchea, to life imprisonment on August 7, 2014. Now, the case is under the process of the Supreme Court Chamber. Furthermore, Case 003 and Case 004 concerning the level of commander and high officials in Khmer Rouge are proceeding under the Trial Chamber. There are some criticisms on process delays and narrow scope of punishment related to achievement of the ECCC, but considering the Cambodia’s political and social limit going through complicated courses of the civil war and compromise, we can positively evaluate the fact that transitional justice is accomplishing in that manner despite of the limitation. Especially, it should be noted that victims have officially participated in the trial procedure through Civil Party system and the Trial Chamber in Case 002/01 decided to endorse various reparation projects such as the construction of a memorial and a exhibition, education project and inclusion within Cambodian school curriculum, not just monetary compensation. Above facts would be important issues to decide trial procedure and the chamber’s scope of authority in a course of enacting special acts related to hereafter transitional justice. Thus, we have to keep focusing progress of the ECCC related to human scope, scope of criminal responsibility, the victim’s position and the chamber of transitional justice after the Unification because the Cambodia’s case can be minimal and judicial justice which leads to agree with various conflicting opinions based on political situations at the time of Korean unification.