[JURIST] Judges appointed to the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) [official website] have begun a 10-day meeting [press release, PDF] to craft an agreement on judicial rules to govern the anticipated Khmer Rouge genocide trials [JURIST news archive]. The UN-backed ECCC, which cannot begin proceedings until the rules are agreed upon, urged the nine-judge panel to come to a decision; disputes between Cambodian and foreign judges over the rules have stalled the start of trials for months [JURIST report]. A previous meeting in January ended in failure [JURIST report].

Cambodia's 1975-79 Khmer Rouge [Wikipedia backgrounder] regime was responsible for the deaths of over 1.7 million people from genocide, disease and malnutrition. The ECCC was created to investigate and prosecute instances of human rights violations by a 2001 agreement between Cambodia and the UN. Prosecutors are expected to indict about 10 defendants, including Kang Khek Leu [Trial Watch profile] and other surviving top Khmer Rouge leaders. Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] has accused the Cambodian government of obstructing the trials [JURIST report] by interfering in the rule-making process. AP has more.