Som Oeurn MAO Sharing knowledge to peers, friends and others is one of my habits and passion, and I hope that this little preparation will help others to gain more knowledge for their own benefits, family and society as a whole.

1. The Senate
of the Kingdom of Cambodia
Prof. Chin Malin

2. Welcome
1. Eap Sineth | 5. Pao Korngmeng | 9. Hom Chhiveang
2. Chan Sreypov | 6. Dim Sothida | 10. Chann Rin
3. Chocurn Santy | 7. Thay Panha | 11. Mao Som Oeurn
4. Duch Asa | 8. Doem Chhith
Group 7

3. 09 References
supporting Documents
07 Improve the effectiveness *
of the Senate
08 Conclusion
of the Senate of the kingdom of Cambodia
02 History
of creating the Senate
05 How Law
is made in Cambodia
06 Condition
of qualified & disqualified candidate
03 Differences
between the Senate and the Assembly
01 What
is Senate?
Contents
04 Functions
of the Senate

4. What
is Senate?
1

5. What
is Senate?
▪ The upper house of the Parliament
▪ Legislative body
▪ 61 Members (57 elected + 2 nominated from + 2 nominated from the
National Assembly)
▪ Numbers shall not exceed half of the number of members of the
National Assembly
▪ determined in the constitution and law in force
▪ Current President is H.E. Say Chhum & assisted by two Vice Presidents

6. History
of the senate of the kingdom
of Cambodia
2

7. History
of creating the senate
▪ The Senate was created by an amendment to the Constitution of
the Kingdom of Cambodia (the “Constitution”) in 1999.
▪ Votes are for the party, rather than the candidates.
▪ The last Senate election was in 2006: the CPP won 45 seats,
FUNCINPEC won 10 seats and the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) won
two seats.

8. Differences
between the Senate and
Assembly
3

9. Differences
between the Senate and Assembly
01  Non-universally elected  Universally elected
Senate Assembly
02  Not exceeds half of members of National Assembly  Consists of at least 120 members
03  6-year mandate  5-year mandate
04  Representative must be at least 40 years old  Representative must be at least 25 years old
05
 Examines and gives recommendations on adopts a
draft or proposed law by the National Assembly
 Represents regions and all the Khmer people
06
 Represents their constituencies and all the
Khmer people
 Discuss and adopts a draft or proposed law
07
 Monitors the government by studying and
seeking information in constituencies and
ministries
 Has the right to question the government and
invite ministers to clarify on issues

10. Functions
of the senate of the kingdom
of Cambodia
4

11. Functions
the senate of the kingdom of Cambodia
▪ Article 51 of the constitution provides that “all powers belong to the
people. The people exercise these power through the National Assembly,
Senate, Royal Government and the Judiciary”.
▪ It has a duty to co-ordinate work between the Government and the
National Assembly
▪ Oversee the executive and hold it to account to the people

12. Functions
the senate of the kingdom of Cambodia
▪ The Senate’s central duty, however, appears to be to play an advisory role in
terms of legislation, specifically reviewing draft laws.
▪ It has a duty to co-ordinate work between the Government and the National
Assembly
▪ Generally, the senate approves laws by an absolute majority; however, the
approval of changes to the Constitution requires the support of two thirds of
all senators.
▪ It operates a commission structure similar to that of the National Assembly.

13. How Law
is made in Cambodia
5

14. How Law
is made in Cambodia

15. Condition
of Qualified
and Disqualified Candidate6

16. Conditions
of Qualified Candidate
▪ Khmer nationality from birth
▪ 40-Year-old reach the Election day
▪ Have rights to vote and named in the electoral list
▪ Have permanent resident in the kingdom of Cambodia
▪ Nominate by political party and registered as a candidate

17. Conditions
of Disqualified Candidate
▪ Civil Servant, court officer, The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and
the pontiff -Person who has been sentenced for felonies or
misdemeanors and not rehabilitated.
▪ Person who is temporarily banned of their right to vote.
▪ Neuropathy sickness person or a person under treatment with a
certificate from the Ministry that involved.

18. Conditions
of Disqualified Candidate
▪ Person who is temporarily banned of their right to vote, or people who
have no names on the List of polling by the National Election
Committee.
▪ Members of The National Committee and National Committee for the
Elections of Representatives, the Supreme Council of the Magistracy or
Members of the Constitutional Council.

19. Improving the
effectiveness
of the senate of the kingdom
of Cambodia7

20. Improve the effectiveness
of the senate of the kingdom of Cambodia
1. Representing the people
 there are only two political parties, the CPP and the SRP
 the electoral system operates in such a way that, based on the number of
commune councilors they have, the parties would be unable to win a
Senate seat.
 By effectively denying access to political parties with a significant
proportion of the vote, the Senate selection system weakens the
democratic legitimacy of the Senate.

21. Improve the effectiveness
of the senate of the kingdom of Cambodia
2. Capacity
 The Senate’s capacity to hold the executive to account is limited
 the National Assembly is under no constitutional obligation to accept
any amendments made by the Senate
 can proceed to implement the law even if the Senate rejects it
 the Senate lacks any real power in Cambodia’s parliamentary
democracy.

22. Improve the effectiveness
of the senate of the kingdom of Cambodia
3. Just a rubber stamp?
 The Senate is often regarded as merely providing a ‘rubber stamp’ to the
approved policy of the government.
 The indirect, closed-list election system makes Senators answerable to their
party, rather than accountable to the Cambodian people.
 This, couple with harsh sanctions for failing to follow the party line, severely
limits the capacity of Senators to act independently of their parties
 has commentator observing that the Senate is strongly influenced by party
lines.

23. Improve the effectiveness
of the senate of the kingdom of Cambodia
Suggestions & Recommendations
 Technical Working Group should be established to consider reforming the
Senate selection system, such by allowing candidates to stand
independently, regardless of their political affiliation, and be elected
directly by the people.
 the functions of the Senate should be reviewed and amended to give the
Senate genuine power of oversight in Cambodia’s parliamentary democracy
by allowing it to block and force amendments to legislation

24. Improve the effectiveness
of the senate of the kingdom of Cambodia
Suggestions & Recommendations
 the Senate should be given the maximum time available to review
draft laws, and only in very limited, exceptional circumstances
should law review be considered an ‘emergency’.

25. Conclusion
the senate of the kingdom of
Cambodia
8

26. Conclusion
the senate of the kingdom of Cambodia
▪ In conclusion, since the Senate is the upper house of the Parliament, and it is
also a legislative body of the Kingdom of Cambodia, but there are still some
points which are needed to be discussed in details in order to solve the
following grey areas such as the senator’s identity which can stand for the
Senate, the reliable electoral system in order to select the a proper senator
and the power and authority of making decision comparing to the National
Assembly and the Government.

27. References
the senate of the kingdom of
Cambodia
9

28. References
Supporting Documents
▪ The constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia by Constitutional Council, published in March 2010
▪ Fact sheet by Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), Volume1-The Senate, published in
January 2012
▪ The Khmer Institute of Democracy, a non-governmental organization
▪ A journal by Mr. Kim Sochetra, Director of General Research Department, published on December
01, 2015
▪ https://www.youtube.com/ How law is made in Cambodia.
▪ https://www.youtube.com/ The Differences between the Senate and the National Assembly

29. Thanks
Any questions?