Not much progress, according to NGOs
The law, long-awaited by Cambodia's social partners, gathers some 92 articles and has been in the hands of jurists at the Council of Ministers since September 2006 after having been examined by the Ministry of Relations with Parliament and the Ministry of Justice.

“A year after the last Cooperation Forum [dating back to 2007], we noticed that not much progress had been made in the study and evolution of the text. This is why we are urging donor countries not to lose sight of this issue and encourage its rapid enforcement”, Sek Barisok, director of the Mainstreaming Anti-Corruption for Equity Programme for the NGO Pact Cambodia , explained, expressing his regret that the government failed to enforce the law in June 2006 as promised.

During the electoral campaign for the legislative elections last July, the anti-corruption League of Cambodian Civil Society , a group of local NGOs, tried in vain to present to the government a petition signed by more than a million Cambodian citizens and requesting the prompt enforcement of an anti-corruption law in compliance with international standards. The symbol of the campaign, a white hand standing out on a blue background, can still be seen on many vehicles in the streets of Phnom Penh. The Committee for Human rights and Complaints at the National Assembly was the only one to accept to receive a copy of the document, which was then transferred to the government without commenting on the initiative.

“Last June, the League requested in writing that the eleven parties in the running for the legislative elections commit to adopt the draft law in the six months following the establishment of the new government. The Cambodian People's Party [Prime Minister Hun Sen's CPP, winner of the elections] is the only political coalition who did not respond to our request”, the representatives of different anti-corruption NGOs deplored in a common declaration.

International standards far from being reached
The adoption of a bill is one thing, but its content is another... “Despite NGOs' participation in the drafting of such a cardinal law, their recommendations still haven't been taken into account and integrated. The result is that the current version is not in line with international standards!”, the NGOs declared in a common statement. They gave the detail of a few tricky issues which according to them are a cause for concern: the question of the independence of the anti-corruption institution, the creation of which is stipulated by the law,  the procedure relating to the declaration of personal holdings, which all civil servants will be bound to respect, and how that data will be used, but also the lack of protection for witnesses and informers.

Enforcement of two laws promised during the first quarter of 2009
Plans of a new penal Code and the fight against corruption have been put down as top priority issues to tackle on the agenda of the government's fourth mandate (2008-2013). Chem Yeap, chairman of the Economy, Banking and Audit Commission at the lower chamber, promised that the jurists of the Council of Ministers would finish examining the first draft law by November 24th-25th, thus allowing it to be approved soon by the executive power. “The penal Code might be handed to deputies during the first quarter of 2009. This text determines the sanctions imposed on all those who are guilty of acts of corruption, and its clauses will be integrated into the anti-corruption law, which will be passed afterwards”, the CPP MP from Prey Veng asserted.

And as if to justify the long delays in the process, Chem Yeap carefully reminded that drafting such a bill was not an easy task. To him, in the process of elaborating the anti-corruption law, Cambodian jurists, who are assisted by experts from the international community – among whom the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and from the civil society, must take into account many aspects so that the text reflects the local context, proves it is in accordance with the kingdom's culture and traditions and also proves it can be easily implemented both by Cambodians from the city and from the countryside. The Member of Parliament also argued that “We cannot copy the European model because our cultures are different.”

Five points impeding the enforcement of the anti-corruption law
At the heart of the heated debates lies the definition of the word “corruption” itself. “We must explicitly define this term so that magistrates cannot exploit it, and so that it corresponds to today's reality, not to yesterday's situation. For instance, today we can be corrupt via the internet”, Cheam Yeap pointed out.

Then, as a second point, the question of the independence of the members of the Supreme National Council against Corruption, which a much sceptical civil society has been pondering over. “Whether the members of this Council are appointed by some 'angel' or by political parties, in the end it will turn out that they will come from political parties themselves. It will then be their job to abide the law and to avoid acting in a clan-like manner, to be neutral and independent!”, the deputy observed.

Besides the procedure stipulating the declaration of personal holdings by civil servants, which is far from receiving unanimous support, discussions are also aplenty when it comes to the rights that should be granted to the Secretary General of the anti-corruption Council. The international community would like him to be entitled to open investigations on corruption cases. “Doing this would mean creating a fourth power, and this is against the Cambodian Constitution, since it only stipulates the existence of three powers: the legislative, the executive and the judiciary! This scenario is impossible!”, Chem Yeap retorted.

Finally, while waiting for the drafting of a cyber law, which will regulate the Internet in Cambodia, acts of corruption happening via the internet medium will nevertheless be punished and sanctions will be detailed in the anti-corruption law.

Non-governmental organisations, for whom corruption is the hottest topic on the agenda, are getting ready to retaliate and hope they will succeed in rallying donor countries around their cause, the final goal being to see the government reviewing its copy of the law by taking into account NGOs'

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