• Politics

Judge Retirement Age Postponed

• By Teng Yalirozy
• and Lay Sopheavotey
• April 10, 2023 4:06 PM

PHNOM PENH – Judges and prosecutors of the Appeal Court who reach retirement age can now decide to extend their career by five years. While the move aims to solve the alleged shortage of judges and prosecutors, social commentators criticize the measure, suggesting that new magistrates should be recruited instead.

As per a Royal Decree signed on April 8, the retirement age for judges and prosecutors of the Appeal Court can now be extended on request to “address the immediate problem of the shortage of judges and prosecutors.” The measure also applies to the Prosecutor General attached to the Appeal Court.

The decision aims to ensure the sustainability of the operation of the judiciary and the prosecution, the document reads.

While judges and prosecutors generally retire at the age of 60, the new measure could allow those who wish to extend their careers to continue their work normally.

The People's Centre for Development and Peace President Yong Kim Eng said the argument of a shortage of judges and prosecutors is unfounded as there are so many law graduates. If the Appeal Court lacks magistrates, the number of licensed judges and prosecutors should be increased, he added.

“At this stage, it does not make sense that we keep talking about a shortage [of judges and prosecutors], because so many students graduate from law school every year, and some even study abroad,” Kim Eng pointed out.

Around 18,400 undergraduate law students were enrolled in the 2019–2020 academic year, representing about 7 percent of Cambodia’s undergraduate students in that same academic year.

Keeping postponing the retirement age of judges only discourages students who aspire to become judges and prosecutors to enroll in the judicial system, Kim Eng said.

Justice Ministry Spokesperson Chin Malin said that not all law graduates can be judges and prosecutors. They have to take an entrance exam to study at Royal Academy for Justice of Cambodia for two years before being qualified as judges or prosecutors. Only about 50 students are selected a year.

“We cannot take thousands of law graduates to study at the school,” he said. “We think of quality.”

Cambodia currently has about 600 judges and prosecutors, Malin said.

But social commentator Meas Nee said that as society evolves, the replacement of old judges and prosecutors has become crucial. This may help discard the irregularity in the legal system and improve the Third Power image among the population, as many still see it as unjust.

“If one society still lets injustice bathing all over its system with some people living beyond the law and some living under the law, a thousand judges or prosecutors will never be enough,” he said, stressing that what’s important is strengthening the rule of law of the country.

Asked whether training new judges might take a lot of time, Nee said that it is not a concern as they have to go through the examination and it might not take long for them to fill the duty.

The extension of the retirement age shall be requested once a year for 12 months. It shall be submitted to the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council of the Magistracy at least 60 days before the retirement age. However, an age limit has been stated at 65 years old.

Permission to postpone retirement and resume work must be based on work capacity, qualifications, and performance that serve the justice sector.



This article was updated on April 11 to add comments from Justice Ministry spokesperson Chin Malin.