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Full Text, Thesis (PhD Doctorate), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), School of Govt & Int Relations, Griffith Business School, Rule of law objectives have assumed an integral role in post-Cold War democratisation initiatives and state-building operations. More than US$10 billion has been spent by the international community on democratic state-building in Cambodia since the Paris Peace Agreements (PPA) were signed in 1991 and the deployment of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) (1992-93). While the 1993 Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia provides for a democratic government with separation of powers, judicial independence and human rights guarantees consistent with international legal instruments, Cambodia continues to rank poorly in international indices of the rule of law. This dissertation investigates the deficient application of the rule of law in Cambodia against the standard provided for by the text of the 1993 Constitution and the legal-institutional framework it established. The study assesses Cambodia’s performance in this area of governance against a conceptual framework for a ‘thin’, procedural rule of law consistent with the country’s civil law system and institutional structure. To investigate the rule of law in Cambodia, interviews were conducted with spokespersons for the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Justice, National Assembly members, judges, lawyers, international and local non-government organisations, independent researchers and foreigners working within the Cambodian legal sector. The dissertation argues that the deficient application of the rule of law in Cambodia is attributable to the combination of the country’s political culture of patron-clientelism and the legal-institutional framework established during the UNTAC period. The dissertation finds that despite decades of internationally-sponsored good governance and judicial reform efforts, Cambodia is deficient across all indicators of a thin rule of law. The constitutional arrangements established during the UNTAC period provide for a parliamentary system, where the exec

Rule of law objectives have assumed an integral role in post-Cold War democratisation initiatives and state-building operations. More than US$10 billion has been spent by the international community on democratic state-building in Cambodia since the Paris Peace Agreements (PPA) were signed in 1991 and the deployment of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) (1992-93). While the 1993 Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia provides for a democratic government with separation of powers, judicial independence and human rights guarantees consistent with international legal instruments, Cambodia continues to rank poorly in international indices of the rule of law. This dissertation investigates the deficient application of the rule of law in Cambodia against the standard provided for by the text of the 1993 Constitution and the legal-institutional framework it established. The study assesses Cambodia’s performance in this area of governance against a conceptual framework for a ‘thin’, procedural rule of law consistent with the country’s civil law system and institutional structure. To investigate the rule of law in Cambodia, interviews were conducted with spokespersons for the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Justice, National Assembly members, judges, lawyers, international and local non-government organisations, independent researchers and foreigners working within the Cambodian legal sector. The dissertation argues that the deficient application of the rule of law in Cambodia is attributable to the combination of the country’s political culture of patron-clientelism and the legal-institutional framework established during the UNTAC period. The dissertation finds that despite decades of internationally-sponsored good governance and judicial reform efforts, Cambodia is deficient across all indicators of a thin rule of law. The constitutional arrangements established during the UNTAC period provide for a parliamentary system, where the exec, Thesis (PhD Doctorate), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), School of Govt & Int Relations, Griffith Business School, Full Text