Background
The Office of the Council of Ministers organised and hosted a seminar on 24 June 2026 in Phnom Penh to advance preparations for a national commercial code under the leadership of the Standing Deputy Prime Minister and Chair of the Steering Committee for Legal Reform. The seminar was organised by the Secretariat of the Steering Committee for Legal Reform and took place at the Sokha Phnom Penh hotel on 24 June 2026.
Approximately 400 participants attended the seminar, including senior government officials, representatives of sectoral ministries and institutions, judicial actors, private sector representatives, diplomats, international organisations, and legal practitioners. The Government created the Steering Committee for Legal Reform in 2024 and approved a strategic framework for the legal reform programme in 2025; those institutional steps are guiding work on the commercial code.
Scope of Application
The commercial code initiative aims to assemble existing statutes, regulations, and administrative instruments that govern commercial activity into a single, coherent legal instrument. The consolidation effort as discussed at the seminar focuses on areas commonly cited in Cambodian practice, including business registration, licensing and permits, procedural rules affecting commercial transactions, and mechanisms for commercial dispute resolution.
Key Provisions or Decisions
Speakers at the event emphasised that preparing a commercial code is a long-term, cross-cutting task embedded within the Government’s legal reform priorities. The Standing Deputy Prime Minister presented principles for drafting the commercial code as a core task within the government’s strategic reform framework and called for comparative study of foreign models alongside domestic review.
Implications for Investors, Businesses, or Compliance
Government officials framed a consolidated commercial code as a measure to reduce legal fragmentation, clarify regulatory procedures, and promote a level playing field across economic actors. Participants highlighted current compliance challenges in Cambodia such as inconsistent laws, gaps between legal texts and administrative practice, and procedural complexity for registration and licensing; codification aims to address those structural issues while aligning with international developments in digital commerce and public service delivery.
Official Source
Official announcement: Office of the Council of Ministers, Facebook post dated 24 June 2026. Source URL: https://www.facebook.com/ocmcambodia/posts/pfbid032iBpM9u9ts71qjE3CsYnJCsScKBpwxtRU4QpLEYT237SqaL2uJJSUmLAbGSBRExXl
