In the Third Legislature of the National Assembly, the Royal Government of Cambodia modernized 140 enacted laws, including Criminal Law and Civil Law. I would hereby like to briefly present criminal code which is a vital one for ensuring public and social orders, protecting legal rights and interests for every person. In this regard, in order to guarantee targets which the laws determine that some acts caused by juridical persons or natural persons shall be deemed as an offense. This criminal code consists of six books and 67 articles. Book 1 mentions general provisions, Book 2 mentions anti-individual offense, Book 3 mentions offense against properties, Book 4 mentions offense against the nation, Book 5 transitional provisions and Book 6 mentions final provisions.

We would kindly like to briefly mention each book for sharing experience when you come to our homepage. Book 1 mentions general principles as a basis for indicating any persons who can be declared as those who are accountable for offense and the act was set forth in the law as an offense, but in case of unintentional commitment, the criminal responsibility cannot be raised or mentioned unless any act emerged from waste, carelessness, disrespect for obligation stipulated by the law. Prohibiting any judge from enlarging the scope of the facts or homology (likeness), but this ban is not restricted for any lawyer who is a defender and interest seeker for a client. We are absolutely aware that law is tensely restricted, but also complied with certain elements prior to declaration of penalty or guilt on anyone; therefore, lawyer actors are indispensable elements in mentioning and demonstrating all these laws, they demand lawyers to demonstrate laws to fairly find any interest for their clients and get approval from the concerned institutions as well. Means and ways of the lawyers ought to endeavor to find out about legal norms and mobilize good ideas and opinions as a foundation for argument. This code also proved limitation of the scope of enforcement covering the open sovereignty where the offense occurs inside and outside Cambodia and the subject of the offense was also clearly set and defined about active roles of perpetrators, co-perpetrators, offense committing attempters, initiators, accomplices/masterminds as well as the subject of offense, especially public civil servants. But if the subject of offense commits an offense with legal reasons, criminal responsibility shall not be raised to hold that person accountable. Another subject of the offense is a juvenile who is a subject of universal defense in terms of the Convention on Child Rights, which the courts shall consider and take measures that have no any effect on judiciary systems for children, needing measures for monitoring, follow-up, education, protection and support. A legal person is also the subject of the offense which is liable notwithstanding being under the sign of any company, association, organization or representative for a legal person’s interest. This code also regulated categories of penalties, including principle penalty, aditional penalty and alternative penalty, which all these are options to hold the subject of the offense responsible at the time the court’s declaration of punishment, we shall give this text to you later. Some offenses in danger, the court also considers aggravating circumstances concerning some acts occurring under objective factors such as the forming of a ring assigned to commit a crime, aforethought scheme, and coercive acts with destructive activity, housebreaking, leaping or jumping into someone’s fences, use of weapon or arm or other things considered as an arm. We would also give you an example: any person used or ordered his animal to kill, injure or threaten a victim. Example 2: Any person put any sharp thing on the public entrance-exit, and he/she is clearly aware that the victim shall be indeed in danger when he/she walks through the entrance-exit. This is a usage of a thing deemed as an arm.