MISSION OF THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE TO
PREVENT AND COMBAT CORRUPTION IN
THE KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA
Santepheap Kim∗
The Ministry of Justice is the judicial headquarters of the Royal Government ofCambodia and comprises criminal and civil sectors.
Corruption is a criminal offence in Cambodia. In principle, a crime cannot be
considered an offence unless it is stipulated in the law. Based on its mission, the Ministryof Justice has contributed to preventing criminal offences, including corruption, throughvarious mechanisms as follows.
I. BUILDING AND ORGANIZATION OF LAWIn order to ensure the prevention of corruption, the Ministry of Justice hasorganized and built some crucial laws as follows:
A. Penal CodeA new penal code of the Kingdom of Cambodia was adopted by the National
Assembly on 12 October 2009 and by the Senate on 17 November 2009, and waspromulgated on 30 November 2009. The Ministry of Justice has organized this Penal Codein order to respond to the actual situation of Cambodia, which requires a clear, completeand well-organized Penal Code to safely combat the new offences arising in society, andother modern crimes. The Penal Code is a legal article assembling all criminal provisions,classified into accurate structures to ensure consistency, smoothness and coherence. To
enable this code to become an important legal tool it is not only convenient for court
officials and other legal enforcement officials to use and understand in-depth, but also
helps people to have a clear understanding of their own rights and limits. In particular,
they may be aware of prohibited activities [for which people can be] convicted as criminaloffences. In order to ensure the legal principles of the criminal law, the organization of thisPenal Code has been compiled in detail with discussion from Cambodian legal experts andFrench technical experts to determine general policy and the types of each offence∗Ph.D. Deputy Director General of the Technical General Directorate, Ministry Justice, Kingdom ofCambodia.

1- 118 -comprehensively and specifically, in order to avoid any devastating activities frompunishment on society.
This Penal Code also specifies various offences related to bribery and corruption.
These offences include:
Bribery by employee
Bribery of employee
Bribery by governor
Inappropriate bid
Bribery committed by judge
Bribery of judge
Bribery of witness to provide fake testimony
Bribery of witness
Bribery of translator
Bribery by businesspeople
Bribery of businesspeople
Offence of inactive influential trade
Illegal exploitation of interests
Intentional destruction and dishonest embezzlement
Bribery
Destruction and embezzlement
Intimidation
Destruction and embezzlement, etc.
B. Code of Criminal Procedure
The Code of Criminal Procedure was adopted on 7 June 2007 by the National
Assembly, and on 24 July 2007 by the Senate. It was promulgated on 10 August 2007. The
Code of Criminal Procedure is a key legal article and a key means for the criminal court.
The Ministry of Justice has organized and compiled this Code of Criminal Procedure withthe aim of ensuring the sustainability of the institution in accordance with the traditions
and laws of the Kingdom of Cambodia and to provide the investigating judges with amajor role in the stages of investigation and the finding of evidence. This Code clearlystipulates principles to ensure effectiveness in the search for offenders, accusation, trialand for respect of individual freedoms, for all criminal offences, including the offences ofbribery and corruption.

2- 119 -C. Anti-Corruption Law
The Anti-Corruption Law was promulgated on 17 April 2010 and is now actively
being enforced. The purpose of the organization of this law is to promote the effectivenessof all services, to strengthen governance and the rule of law in leading or governing theState as well as to maintain justice that is a necessary basis for the development of society
and poverty reduction. This law aims to combat corruption by means of providing
education, prevention and enforcement of the Anti-Corruption Law, as stipulated in thePenal Code and in this law.
The Ministry of Justice has shared numerous comments on the Anti-Corruption
Law so this law is an effective means of ensuring the suppression of corruption in allforms, sectors and levels across the Kingdom of Cambodia.
II. EDUCATION AND DISSEMINATION OF LAW
In the current society of Cambodia, awareness of the rule of law ensureseffectiveness in implementation. Most societies in the modern era face challenges inunderstanding and disseminating the law in order to lead, govern and ensure social
security to establish safety and trust in the investment sector as well as in national andinternational trade operations.
In view of the necessity and importance of education and dissemination of law toensure effectiveness in law enforcement and to raise awareness among people, as well as
participation to prevent corruption in society, the Ministry of Justice, the headquarters of
the Royal Government in this field, has organized, compiled and published the two codes– the Penal Code and the Civil Code – for distribution to legal professionals, courts andlaw enforcement officials to extensively implement it. Moreover, we have organized many
training courses for law enforcement officials (Judicial Police, judges, prosecutors, clerksof the court and attorneys-at-law), to ensure a better understanding of what corruption iswhile fulfilling their roles and duties and so that they can clearly see the elements ofcorruption in order to ensure accurate investigations and search for evidence for the
successful and fair conviction of offenders.
III. LEGAL ENFORCEMENT
To contribute to fighting corruption in Cambodian society, the Ministry has
actively participated as a driving force to promote the accurate and fair implementation ofthe Anti-Corruption Law.

3- 120 -According to Article 29 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Minister of Justiceis fully entitled to file a defamation complaint with the Prosecutor-General to the Appeal
Court or Deputy Prosecutor to the Phnom Penh Court of First Instance over any offence
that he has identified and could issue an injunction through written instruction to theProsecutor-General or Prosecutor to indict or reach a conclusion as per the view of theminister. Therefore, whenever corruption occurs, regardless of any individual or form, theMinister of Justice deserves the right to sue for defamation or [issue an] injunction to theProsecutor-General or Prosecutor to accuse that person in order to authorize theinvestigating judges to undertake investigation.
The Prosecution Institution at the Provincial/Municipal Courts of First Instance is
the institution to ensure the State’s public order; meaning that it acts in bringing a chargeof the offence of corruption and reaching a conclusion for the courts to enforce the law.
The offence of corruption is a special offence requiring institutions and the Judicial Police,in particular the anti-corruption unit, to enforce this law and to build up the case forforwarding it to the prosecution institution. Hence, if any sign of corruption has been
identified, prosecutors are entitled to conduct their preliminary investigation and to reachconclusions about the case to be forwarded to the investigating judge for further inquiry.
In case that a prosecutor finds that any ruling or order is inappropriate, he or she has theright to lodge an appeal to the Appeal Court. The Supreme Court is the final tribunal toexamine and make a judgment on all corruption case files or criminal case files.
So far, we have actively enforced this Anti-Corruption Law regardless of any
person, rank, complexion or race. Typically, a high-ranking official who has committed an
act of corruption is subsequently convicted under the law and some other legal
enforcement officials have also committed corruption. Thus, this reflects the real efforts
and commitment of the Royal Government of Cambodia to fight against corruption.

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