On April 25, auditors from Deloitte concluded that the human resources management of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) is "robust and ready to take on the challenges of the next phase of operations".

This solid bill of health comes just in time for the cash-strapped tribunal, which is trying to raise an additional $114 million to carry on its work into 2011. In June 2007, a similar audit had found Cambodian staff recruitment so flawed and salaries so bloated that it recommended they all be fired and rerecruited. That bleak assessment prompted the ECCC to adopt modest reforms, but the tribunal did not pursue the most radical recommendations, which called for giving internationals a more prominent leadership role and integrating the court's awkward split administration into one department [IJT-75].

However, this latest audit found that the ECCC has successfully resolved its worst problems. A qualifications test found only 5 of 91 employees unfit for their jobs. However, the test did not review the highest-level court employees, many of whom are government appointees. ECCC Director of Administration Sean Visoth explained that the tribunal has now submitted to eight audits at a cost of over $100,000. "We can finally close this chapter," he said, after the Deloitte report was published. And even if the court has not yet tackled the corruption, donors seem satisfied. Australia is going to give the Cambodian side of the court the equivalent of US$466,000. France, the tribunal's second-largest donor after Japan, also just pledged an additional $1 million, a quarter of which will be routed to the Cambodian side. The European Union has also announced an additional contribution. The United States, which seemed keen to initiate funding late last year, has bowed out because Congress remains skeptical about the court's ability to deliver quality justice.

Download the International Justice Tribune No.89