• Society

PM Urges Justice Ministry to Speed Up Commercial Court Launching

• By Meng Seavmey
• June 27, 2023 9:50 AM

PHNOM PENH – Prime Minister Hun Sen has called on the Ministry of Justice to accelerate the establishment of the commercial court, which will specifically deal with business-focused disputes and help build the trust of foreign investors.

“We are developing a country by enhancing the trust of businesspeople to invest in our country,” the prime minister said on June 26 at the inauguration of the new building of Phnom Penh’s Court of First Instance and Appeal Court in Chroy Changvar district. “Therefore, I’d like to call on [the Ministry of Justice] to speed up the law drafting process to establish a commercial court during the next mandate.”

As for now, the court of first instance is in charge of almost all legal disputes, without specialization. Establishing a commercial court dealing only with business-related issues could reduce the number of cases brought to the first instance court, and ensure better specialization of the magistrates.

In 2021, Justice Minister Keut Rith officially formed a committee to establish commercial and labor courts with Chiv Songhak, a secretary of state at the ministry, as the chairman. However, the operation had to be delayed due to a lack of human resources.

The launch of the two courts was then announced for early 2022, but it had to be postponed again to the end of that year, as preparations could not be completed on time.

As of June 2023, both courts have yet to be set up. The Justice Ministry says it is still preparing new procedures and training new judges and court officials and hopes to launch the specialized courts by the end of 2023.

Chin Malin, the ministry’s spokesperson, said the commercial court is the priority but pointed out that other specialized courts were to be arranged for different sectors.

“Right now, the process is 50 percent completed and [the commercial court] will be launched at the beginning of the next mandate. We have settled a location and have trained some prosecutors and lawyers in this [field],” the spokesperson told Cambodianess on June 26.

The court, Malin added, will play an important role in enhancing the quality of the court’s decisions related to business and trade cases. It will also help gain the trust of investors.

Once the court is launched, all cases related to business and trade will be transferred to the commercial court, Malin said.

According to the prime minister, the country’s first commercial court will be set up in Phnom Penh but local courts will then be established in provinces where business and trade are increasing, starting with Preah Sihanouk province, which is home to Cambodia’s main trading port.