1997

Negotiations between the United Nations (UN) and the Cambodian government are initiated.

1999

Kaing Guak Eav, alias Duch, is arrested and taken into custody by the Cambodian Military court.   He is transferred to the jurisdiction of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) on July 31, 2007.

2005

The Agreement between the UN and the Government of Cambodia to establish the ECCC comes into force.

September 19, 2007

Nuon Chea is arrested.

November 12, 2007

Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith are arrested.

November 19, 2007

Khieu Samphan is arrested.

February 17, 2009

Kaing Guak Eav trial (Case 001) begins.

September 7, 2009

Official investigations regarding Cases 003 and 004 are requested.

July 26, 2010

Kaing Guak Eav is found guilty of crimes against humanity and war crimes and sentenced to 35 years in prison. His sentence is later increased to life in prison by the appellate court.

June 27, 2011

Initial hearing is held in Case 002 with all four accused.

November 17, 2011

Ieng Thirith, an accused in Case 002, is determined unfit to stand trial because of age-related dementia.

November 21, 2011

Opening statements begin in Case 002/01. The trial covers charges relating to atrocities committed during the evacuation of Cambodian cities and towns in 1975 and the executions of civil servants and military officers from the former regime.

March 14, 2013

Ieng Sary, an accused in Case 002, dies of old age mid-trial.

October, 2013

Case 002/01 trial is completed and deliberations on judgment begin.

August 7, 2014

Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan are found guilty of crimes against humanity, including executions of former regime loyalists after the fall of Phnom Penh in April 1975, and the forced evacuation of the civilian population of the capital, which led to the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians. They are both sentenced to life imprisonment.

October 17, 2015

Opening statements begin in Case 002/02. The trial covers genocide charges against the Cham Muslims and Vietnamese; forced marriages, rape, torture, and executions at security centers; internal purges of the regime; and torture, murder, and abuses at forced worksites and cooperatives.

March 3, 2015

The international investigating judge at the ECCC issues charges against Meas Muth in Case 003, the former Khmer Rouge naval commander, and Im Chaem in Case 004/01, who was senior regional commander.

March 27, 2015

Ao An is charged with premeditated homicide and crimes against humanity in Case 004/02. On March 16, 2016, he is charged with additional alleged crimes, including genocide.

December 9, 2015

Yim Tith makes his initial appearance at the ECCC, where he was formally charged in Case 004 with crimes against humanity, genocide, and other crimes.

November 23, 2016

The Supreme Court Chamber at the ECCC upholds part of the conviction against Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan on appeal of Case 002/01 and confirms their sentence of life imprisonment.

However, the Supreme Court Chamber reverses the convictions entered by the Trial Chamber for the crime against humanity of extermination in relation to the evacuation of Phnom Penh and the second phase of population transfers. Also in relation to the second phase of population transfers, the Supreme Court Chamber reverses the convictions for the crime against humanity of persecution on political grounds.

January 11, 2017

Evidentiary hearings of Case 002/02 are official closed by the Trial Chamber.

February 22, 2017

Co-investigating judges dismiss the charges against former Khmer Rouge senior regional commander Im Chaem in case 004/01. The judges find that she is not subject to the court’s jurisdiction because she was neither a senior leader nor one of the most responsible officials of the Khmer Rouge regime.

The international co-prosecutor later appeals this decision, which is still pending before the pre-trial chamber of the court.

November 14, 2017

The international and national co-prosecutors file their final submissions in Case 003 concerning the investigation of Meas Muth. The international co-prosecutor recommends indictment based on evidence submitted, but the national co-prosecutor recommends that the case is dismissed because Meas Muth was not a senior leader of the Khmer Rouge and therefore not subject to jurisdiction of the ECCC.

February 27, 2018

Both Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan are confirmed as fit to stand trial for Case 002/02 after examinations by medical experts.

November 16, 2018

Trial Chamber issues a second judgment against Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan in Case 002/02, finding both accused guilty on a number of charges and handing both second sentences of life in prison.

March 31, 2019

The court administration issues an updated Completion Plan for cases 003, 004 and 004/02.

August 4, 2019

Nuon Chea dies in detention while the appeal on the second judgment is still pending.

August 10, 2020

The Supreme Court Chamber terminates Case 004/02 against Ao An.