Lex Kambujadesa

The Immortal Clauses: Safeguards for a Liberal Democratic Order in Cambodia?

February 10, 2019 Anirudh Bhati

The Churning of the Ocean of Milk (សមុទ្រ មន្ថន) symbolises end of war, strife and the struggle for supremacy, and with it the emergence of the political order, hence the allusion to immortality (អម្រឹត); Image: Olaf Tausch (2015), Wikimedia Commons… — The Churning of the Ocean of Milk (សមុទ្រ មន្ថន) symbolises end of war, strife and the struggle for supremacy, and with it the emergence of the political order, hence the allusion to immortality (អម្រឹត); Image: Olaf Tausch (2015), Wikimedia Commons; CC BY 3.0
Description: Wischnu in der Mitte beim Quirlen des Milchmeeres, Südflügel der Ostseite der dritten Galerie des Tempels von *Angkor Wat* (អង្គរវត្ត ‚Tempelstadt), Provinz Siem Reap, Kambodscha

A lot of controversy and debate has erupted in the public sphere since the results of the controversial 2018 general elections led to an absolute victory of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), which attained total control over the National Assembly by winning 125 out of 125 seats in the lower house of the legislature.

On the Emblem of the Constitutional Council

December 14, 2018 Anirudh Bhati

The website of the Constitutional Council of the Kingdom of Cambodia is a valuable source of information on the organization of the body that has been tasked as the highest authority on the interpretation of the Constitution of Cambodia. The Khmer version of the website, however, includes a page that contains a description of the emblem (“និមិត្តសញ្ញា”) of the body. There is no translation of the text in the English language on the website. I have translated the text below to the best of my understanding.