[JURIST] Foreign judges who will preside over the trial of former Khmer Rouge [JURIST news archive] leaders arrived in Cambodia on Sunday in preparation for the genocide tribunal [task force official website; timeline] that is slated to begin proceedings [JURIST report] in mid-2007. The judges, who hail from Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Japan, Poland, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands, and the US, will be on hand during the three to six month investigation period of the tribunal, except for three reserve judges who will arrive later. The judges, formally appointed [JURIST report] in May as part of a team of 30 Cambodian and international jurists, some of whom are acting as prosecutors, will be sworn in Monday after they visit the military compound in Kambol where the trials will be held.

Ta Mok [Trial Watch profile], an indicted former Khmer Rouge military chief, was hospitalized [JURIST report] on Thursday and Friday demanded a swift trial [JURIST report] Friday so he can "explain" who is responsible for the massacre of 1.7 million people during the Khmer Rouge 1975-78 rule over Cambodia. The deteriorating health of several former Khmer Rouge leaders prompted the United Nations to urge the tribunal to begin proceedings as soon as possible [JURIST report]. AFP has more.