One of the lawyers vying for the presidency of the Cambodian Bar Association questioned the legality Thursday of a Sept 1 meeting in which dates were set for entrance and graduating exams for students and lawyers.
Legal aid lawyer Suon Visal, who is fighting incumbent Ky Tech for the presidency, said the meeting did not meet the required quorum.
Suon Visal alleged that there were only nine members at the meeting, plus Ky Tech, but that the bar’s rules state that half the bar’s 19-member council, plus the president, must be present to meet quorum.
“The decision of the illegal meeting is not valid,” Suon Visal said.
One of Suon Visal’s supporters who attended the meeting, Chiv Song Hak, agreed but said the meeting and the decision reached to set exam dates will benefit the center’s students.
Ky Tech said he was too busy to comment but bar council Secretary-General Ly Tay Seng admitted that there were only nine members, plus Ky Tech, who were present.
However, he saidthe council is presently composed of just 18 members, not the usual 19, after lawyer Sum Nipha left last year, which means the meeting did make quorum.
The vacant position has not been filled because the presidency elections are still being disputed, he added.
“We have the list of participants and we have the minutes to prove it,” Ly Tay Seng added.
