The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia: Developing the law on sexual violence?

Abstract

Widespread sexual violence was a feature of Democratic Kampuchea, whether during forced marriages, as an instrument of torture, or as a systematic feature of Khmer Rouge policy, with rape often the precursor to execution. Since it was established, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (eccc) has secured a single conviction of sexual violence. This article draws on the eccc’s jurisprudence and decisions of other international criminal tribunals to argue that, to date, the eccc has made little contribution to the development of the legal framework surrounding sexual violence. However, there remain several possibilities for it to do so.