[JURIST] A New Zealand judge serving on the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia [official website] warned colleagues and prosecutors Monday that its upcoming genocide trials "are so important for the people of Cambodia [that they] must not be tainted by corruption." Silvia Cartwright [profile], a former New Zealand Governor-General, was speaking at the opening of a 5-day meeting of judicial officers of the ECCC [press release] in Phnom Penh. She told her audience that corruption was one of the "major issues" concerning judges on the tribunal as the date of the first scheduled trial approaches. The meeting, which will be closed to the press after Monday, will consider amendments to the trial rules. AP has more.

Outgoing US Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli [official profile] said last Monday that the US will begin providing direct financial aid to the ECCC once the tribunal takes adequate measures against corruption [JURIST report]. The court has thusfar received little funding from international donors partly due to allegations of kickbacks and other irregularities [Phnom Penh Post report]. The UN-sponsored court was established to try former Khmer Rouge [BBC backgrounder] leaders accused of committing genocide during the 1970s.