Trials for Khmer Rouge May Loom as Bill Is OKd

Cambodia’s Constitutional Council approved controversial legislation allowing the creation of a court to try former leaders of the Khmer Rouge for their 1970s “killing fields� reign of terror.

King Norodom Sihanouk is expected to sign the legislation into law within the next few days, a top official said, but it still needs U.N. approval. The legislation establishes the framework for a United Nations-assisted tribunal to put on trial Khmer Rouge leaders, blamed for more than a million deaths during their late-1970s rule.

Under the legislation, foreign and local judges would try defendants.