Foreign atrocities, some desi help

That was a break from their humdrum existence in their nondescript chambers where they draft new laws and repeal old ones all the time. But that was one assignment that won8217;t fade from memory easily.

Joint secretary B A Agarwal and deputy legislative counsel Dr S D Singh say they aren8217;t aware of the fate of their draft law, but officials in Phnom Penh said the Indian draft would be crucial for the upcoming trial of the Khmer Rouge leaders.

India8217;s ambassador, P K Kapur, told The Indian Express: 8216;8216;I understand that most of the Indian draft was used for the law passed to set up a mixed tribunal. The law drafted by our experts is an integral and useful component of the genocide law.8217;8217;

Agarwal, who had led the team in 1999, said two crucial issues had been resolved by them quite easily. The first was whether the death penalty could be awarded.

Since the Cambodian constitution had no provision for it, the maximum punishment they proposed was life imprisonment.

The second issue was a crucial one 8212; the limitation period the crimes had been committed in 1975-79. Since the nature of the crimes was so serious, no limitation period was fixed.

8216;8216;It was a tough drafting assignment, especially since we had only two weeks to complete it,8217;8217; recalls Agarwal. Before they began the actual drafting, they studied the UN convention on genocide as well as several other laws on the subject.

Their draft, said Agarwal, was framed on the basis of Indian laws, including the Indian Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure. It was divided into different sections 8212; punishment, procedure for trial, appeal and points of limitation.

Dr S D Singh added that the Cambodian government provided them with expert opinion from at least two other countries. 8216;8216;We submitted our draft and returned home. It is only when we compare our draft with the law now passed in Cambodia can we say how much of it has been used,8217;8217; he said.

Ambassador Kapur says it was around three months ago that King Norodom Sihanouk passed the genocide law and the mixed tribunal was finally promulgated. 8216;8216;Officials here are very appreciative of the role India played by sending its experts and now by offering a judge on the international panel.8217;8217;

During Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee8217;s visit, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen reiterated his country8217;s stand that they would give the UN only three months more to endorse the tribunal. He added they were looking forward to India sending a judge to be part of the three-tier court.