Civil law – the system of law that emerged in continental Europe beginning in the Middle Ages and is based on codified law drawn from national legislation and custom as well as ancient Roman law. Code – the collection of laws of a country or laws related to a particular subject.
The Statute of Limitations is three years for misdemeanors and ten years for felonies.
The Cambodian legal system is based largely on the French civil system, and is statute based. The Constitution is the Supreme Law. The legal system has evolved from unwritten customary law, prevalent during Angkorian times, to statutory law, under the French colonisation from 1863 to 1953 and up until 1975.
The law on construction is divided into 22 chapters with 111 Articles. This law determines the principles, building technical regulations, rules and procedures to control the construction sector in Cambodia. The Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction (MLMUPC) remains the competent authority.
Cambodia has a civil law legal system with legal codes, which were greatly influenced by France, to a lesser extent by Japan, and also adapted to Cambodian circumstances. The Constitution of Cambodia enacted with the restoration of Monarchy in 1993 and it is the supreme law in Cambodia.
The law-making process is about making and enacting new laws or revising existing laws. In the Kingdom of Cambodia, three institutions can initiate the law-making process: any member of the National Assembly, any member of the Senate and the prime minister. Most of the texts presented come from the prime minister.
The Appellate Court was created, resulting in a three – tierd court system: - the Municipal and Provincial Court (jurisdiction of first instance) - the Appellate Court and - the Supreme Court. The Military Court is another, exceptional jurisdiction, established in 1981 by decree – law.
In the narrow sense, the draft law or proposed law is required to be adopted by the National Assembly, approved by the Senate, and then promulgated by the head of the state. It should be noted that the Senate has only been in existence since 1999, while the National Assembly has been in existence since 1993.
The Cambodian legal system is a statutory law system, which means it is mostly based on written law passed by the legislature. Sources of law in Cambodia can be classified into primary sources and secondary sources. Primary sources include the formal laws issued by State authorities.