PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Hun Sen revealed that the laws establishing commercial courts will be issued in the next term of the National Assembly. Commercial courts are specialized courts that deal with disagreements relating to business and the Prime Minister says that opening them is meant to increase trust between investors and businesses.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the Phnom Penh Judicial Court on the morning of June 26, PM said that in the next term, provided the CPP wins the vote in July, laws establishing the commercial courts will be finalized.

"Now that we have courts that process all cases. We need to have a specialized court," he said.

In January 2021, the Commercial Court Organizing Committee was established to flesh out the details of establishing a commercial court. They were hoping to establish the court quickly but their research showed a lack of human resources, financial resources, appropriate location and legal procedures.

On February 17, 2023, the Ministry of Justice signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to assist in establishing a legal framework to ensure a transparent, efficient, and credible commercial court in Cambodia in accordance with the objectives and vision of the Ministry of Justice, as well as to enhance the capacity of judges on commercial law.

The MoU also addressed capacity building of law enforcement officers and the details of the court’s operation. The court will facilitate all trade-related disputes and will be able to process cases much faster than traditional courts.