I found something really interesting about the southeast asian country of Cambodia, a country that houses many different cultures from traditional Khmer, to French (from protectorate influence), to Vietnamese, to Chinese. I looked this country up because i don't think anyone else did. Since I am in the political blog group i tried to focus some on the politics of this country, and I found something intriguing about their legal proceedings. Im sure everyone is familiar with the oath sworn by witnesses in court. If we perjure ourselves in court, the punishment can be as harsh as jailtime in a federal prison. Cambodian's, however, swear their honesty under penalties much greater than ours!
(if anyone finds out anything else, like more technical aspects of their legal system, make a comment)
Also, looking for something to contribute about sociology, I came across the "Take a Walk" site about Cambodia's culture. My favorite part is the link that describes the norms and sayings in Cambodian culture.
The Khmer's respect for the head is very strong. I'm sure this story will seem shocking, but it's from the memoirs of a man who studied Cambodia culture from 2000 to 2004.
~Alex White
This site gives guidelines and outlines the legal system in Cambodia. It shows the laws for every aspect of life in Cambodia, from Public Law to Civil and Business Law to Sectoral Law. These laws are listed under the link "Laws and Regulations of Cambodia. Cambodia is a Kingdom with the King as the leader. The position of the King is for life. Check out this site and explore the legal restrictions in Cambodia.
Posted by: Tim Blair at September 26, 2004 05:53 PMIt also might be interesting to check out the history of Cambodian genocide while we are talking about their legal system. While their internal legal system might be complicated, the external trials of their old leaders involve so much red tape and semantics that nothing will be resolved in a case involving the deaths of over 1.5 million people. While not nearly as atrocious as the Holocaust or the Death Camps of Stalinist Russia, it involved the same techniques. Check out these sites:
Death Tolls in Wars, Genocides,etc.
Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot