John Ciorciari was quoted in a Phnom Penh Post article about the jurisdictional debate between the co-prosecutors of the Khmer Rouges trials. The debate centers on the UN-backed tribunal's authority to proceed with its third case (Case 003).
Co-prosecutor Chea Leang believes Case 003 falls outside the tribunal's jurisdiction while Andrew Cayley, the other prosecutor, doesn't believe the investigating judges have done their due diligence.
"If cases 003 and 004 are dismissed, the decision not to interview suspects will raise legitimate questions on whether the dismissals were pre-planned, especially if dismissals are justified by a lack of evidence," John Ciorciari told the Phnom Penh Post. "If the ECCC [Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia] does dismiss the cases, it will be important not to appear to dress up jurisdictional disputes in the guise of insufficient evidence."
John Ciorciari quoted in Phnom Penh Post about Khmer Rouge tribunal jurisdictional debate
May 12, 2011