A/HRC/7/42 page 6 arrested or detained except in accordance with the law; confessions obtained by physical or mental force are not admissible evidence; the accused are presumed innocent and have the right to defence (art. 38). The Constitution recognizes the fundamental freedoms of movement, assembly and association, and the right to participate actively in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the nation. Under article 44, all citizens have the right to own land, and property may only be confiscated in the public interest, as provided for by law, and after payment of fair and just compensation. 16. The independence of the judiciary (art. 128) and the separation of powers (art. 51) underpinning that independence are fundamental. Judges must adjudicate “with strict respect for the laws, wholeheartedly and conscientiously” (art. 129, para. 2). The King has personal responsibility for guaranteeing judicial independence, presiding over the independent Supreme Council of Magistracy (SCM) which advises him on the organization and independence of the judiciary and prosecution (art. 134). 17. The Constitution guarantees a market economy, central to which is the rule of law. And because, especially in developing countries, the greatest threat to the market economy often comes from the misuse of power of the State, the Constitution precludes members of the Government from engaging in trade or industry or holding any position in the public service (art. 101). 18. After 1993, a dynamic civil society movement emerged for the first time, in the space created by the active involvement of the international community. However, post-conflict development, with which the international community has been closely associated, has led to the formation of a strong State, with all its elements, such as the bureaucracy, the police and the military. Its monopoly of force has endowed it with enormous capacity for coercion, balanced by neither legislature nor judiciary. The space for civil society is steadily shrinking. State officials, and powerful interests around them, are able to appropriate natural and economic resources, as well as the property of others, punish their opponents and suppress their rights, while civil society has limited impact. The norms, institutions and procedures of the rule of law can help to restore a measure of the balance within the State, between its three constitutive powers, and between it and civil society. II. RECORD OF RULE OF LAW IN CAMBODIA 19. A respected Cambodian human rights organization begins a recent report:1 “The Cambodian justice system has failed. Despite the UNTAC intervention and 15 years of aid to legal and judicial reform, in 2007, the primary functions of the courts continue to be: • To prosecute political opponents and other critics of the Government 1 “Human rights in Cambodia: The charade of justice”, published by the Ligue cambodgienne des droits de l’homme (LICADHO), December 2007.