CAMBODIA · CRIMINAL MATTERS · THE FIRST 24 HOURS
Arrested in Cambodia: What to Do in the First 24 Hours
Cambodia
If you are reading this for someone else, you are already doing the right thing. In Cambodia the first day counts for far more than people expect — and almost every useful move has to be made from the outside, by someone calm, while the person inside can do very little.
How Cambodian police custody works, why counsel has to be instructed now rather than when you know more, how consular notification actually works, and the practical list for whoever is outside.
The short answer
**Cambodia's criminal process is built on the French model**, not the English or American one, and that catches foreigners out badly. There is a period of **police custody** with a legal time limit, after which the person must be released or brought before a **prosecutor**. Serious matters then pass to an **investigating judge**, who runs the investigation and decides on release or provisional detention. That judge — not the police, and not a bail desk — is the decision-maker who matters. Knowing this changes who you are trying to reach, and how. **Police custody is capped at 48 hours — and the clock starts when the person arrives at the police or gendarmerie station, not at the moment they were stopped.** In *felony* cases only, it can be extended once by up to a further 24 hours, and only with the Royal Prosecutor's **prior written** authorisation with reasons placed on the case file (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 96). Note what the Code does *not* say: it never states a flat **72 hours**. That is arithmetic other sites perform on your behalf, and it quietly hides the conditions attached to the second day. The point is not the exact hour — it is that a decision gets made quickly, and you want to be represented before it is made rather than after. **Instruct a Cambodian lawyer immediately — and understand they may not be let in on day one.** This is the hardest paragraph on this page. Under **Article 98** of the Code, a detainee may request to speak with a lawyer **only once the first 24 hours of police custody have elapsed**, and then for **30 minutes**. That is what the law provides. It is not a local failing, not a station being obstructive, and not something a good lawyer can talk their way around. You will find sources stating that counsel is available *from the moment of custody* — that conflates the general right to a lawyer with what Article 98 actually permits **inside** police custody, and a lawyer arriving at hour three can be lawfully turned away. Plan for the first 24 hours as a period in which the person is genuinely on their own, because in law they may be. Two things follow. Instruct counsel **now**, so they are at the door the moment the clock allows rather than starting the search then. And note that Article 98 allows *a lawyer **or other person** selected by* the detainee, provided that person is not involved in the offence — which can matter a great deal at hour 25. The police must inform the detainee of this right at the outset of custody and record that they did so in the custody record; if that record is silent, say so to your lawyer. **Provisional detention during an investigation can run long in Cambodia.** This is the strongest argument there is for spending money on good counsel on day one instead of day thirty. What happens in the first 24 to 72 hours materially affects whether someone waits at home or waits inside. **Consular notification is a right — but understand where it comes from, because that changes how you ask.** The Cambodian Code of Criminal Procedure contains **no** consular-notification provision; we searched the Code and there is nothing there. The right comes from outside it — the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, which Cambodia acceded to in 2006 — and Article 36 obliges the authorities to notify the consular post **if the detained person asks them to**. So it is a treaty obligation rather than a line in a police procedure manual, it is triggered *on request*, and it may simply not be offered. Ask, out loud, early, and ask again. An embassy will not represent you, pay for a lawyer, or get a case dropped. It can request access, check welfare, contact family and provide a list of local lawyers. Ask early; expect that, and not more. **And one hard rule: do not make informal payments.** Every payment on a legitimate matter should be official, receipted, and made through your lawyer. If anyone asks you or your family for money outside that, stop and call us. *Custody time limits above follow Cambodia's Code of Criminal Procedure and are given as guidance. How a specific case runs depends on the offence alleged, the province, and the investigating authority.*
Is this you?
People come to us with this at very different stages. See which of these sounds like your situation — it changes what happens next.
- Someone you know has been taken by police in Cambodia and you cannot get a straight answer about where they are or what is alleged.
- You have been told a lawyer can be sorted out later, or that a payment will make this go away.
- You are in Cambodia, you have been detained or questioned, and everything around you is happening in Khmer.
- There has been an arrest, and a prosecutor, an investigating judge or a court date has been mentioned — and nobody has explained what any of that means.
If one or more of those sound familiar, this page was written for you.
What happens next
1. Locate the person and write down the details — in the first hour
Full name exactly as printed in the passport, nationality, passport number, date and approximate time of arrest, the police station or unit holding them, and the province. In Phnom Penh, a person moved out of police custody commonly goes to the Prey Sar correctional complex; elsewhere it is the provincial facility. Write all of it down once, properly — you will be asked for it repeatedly, by different people, and being able to answer quickly speeds everything up.
2. Instruct Cambodian counsel immediately
We engage a Cambodian-licensed lawyer, in Khmer, with whatever you have. Their first job is access to the person and clarity on what is actually alleged. This is the highest-value action available in the first 24 hours, and it does not become cheaper or easier by waiting until you understand the case better — understanding the case is the lawyer's job, not the precondition for hiring one.
3. Request consular notification
Contact the person's embassy or consulate in Phnom Penh, and ask the police to notify them as well. Be clear-eyed about the scope: welfare visits, family contact, and a list of local lawyers — not representation, and not intervention in a Cambodian court's decisions. It is still worth doing, and it is worth doing early.
4. Establish what is alleged, in writing
Counsel establishes the allegation, the stage, and whether the matter sits with the police, the prosecutor or an investigating judge. Everything else — a release application, the evidence, the plan, the realistic timeline — depends on that. Secondhand accounts relayed from the station by someone upset are not a substitute, however well-meant.
5. Practical support for the person inside
Prescription medication and chronic health conditions, spectacles, contact with family, money handled through the proper channel and receipted, and interpretation so they know what is being said about them. Small things carry disproportionate weight in a detention setting, and they are the part a family outside can actually influence today.
6. The release or detention decision, then the longer plan
Counsel makes the application for release where there are grounds, and prepares for what follows if there are not. From there it becomes a case to be run properly — and we stay in it with you: one point of contact, in your language, for as long as it takes.
This is the process as it actually runs in Cambodia. Procedure genuinely differs from one country to the next, so don't assume a neighbouring country's steps apply — and don't assume anything you read on a forum does either.
What this costs — ours and Cambodia's, separated
This is where clarity matters most, because a frightened family is exactly who gets taken advantage of. Every payment on a Cambodian matter should be official, receipted, and made through your lawyer.
| Connect Consult fee | Official / government fee | |
|---|---|---|
| Cambodian licensed counsel — urgent instruction, access and representationPaid to the Cambodian law firm on your matter | — | Quoted per matter, in writing, before you instruct. Urgent criminal work is priced by the firm, not by us |
| Khmer interpretation and certified translationPaid to the interpreter or translation provider | — | Per attendance or per document, quoted before work starts |
| Court and procedural chargesPaid to the Cambodian court | — | Set by the court. Your lawyer accounts for them and provides receipts |
| Release conditions or security, where the court orders themPaid to the Cambodian court | — | Determined by the investigating judge or the court on the facts. No published schedule to look up |
| Welfare costs for the person in detention | — | Actual cost, receipted |
| Connect Consult coordination fee | USD 490 – 1,100* — published, fixed, the same for everyone | — |
* Indicative price range only. This service is a tailored solution, assembled after consulting a specialist and budgeted against your case's specific requirements, third-party costs, your goals and your personal circumstances. Figures are guidance, checked against official sources and dated on this page. Official amounts are set by the authority and can change without notice — before you commit to anything, we confirm the exact figures for your case in writing. We do not mark up official charges or counsel fees.
Doing it yourself vs doing it with us — honestly
There is very little of this you should do alone, and we would rather be blunt than polite about it.
| On your own | With Connect Consult | |
|---|---|---|
| A brief stop, some questions, and release the same day with no allegation | Often genuinely over. Do not manufacture a case that does not exist | We will tell you that for free rather than open a file |
| An arrest, and you speak Khmer, understand Cambodian criminal procedure, and already have a lawyer you trust | You are better placed than most and may not need a broker at all | Honestly, not much — and we will say so |
| An arrest, and you do not speak Khmer | Very high risk. You are making decisions about a civil-law procedure, in a language you cannot read, on a clock | Cambodian counsel instructed within hours, everything explained in English, one person accountable to you |
| Family outside the country trying to help by phone | Exhausting, slow, and vulnerable to whoever answers the phone first | We do the calling, in Khmer, and you get one update thread instead of five conflicting ones |
| Anyone has suggested an informal payment | Stop. This is where a bad situation becomes a far worse one | Everything goes through counsel, officially and receipted |
The honest version
The one thing that genuinely cannot be outsourced is speed. Whether you use us or not: get a Cambodian lawyer instructed today, not tomorrow. If you take nothing else from this page, take that.
Questions families actually ask us
How long can Cambodian police hold someone without charge?
The published limit on police custody is 48 hours, extendable by a further 24 hours with the prosecutor's authorisation. Use that as the shape of the clock rather than a guarantee about your case. What matters practically is that decisions get made fast, and you want representation in place before they are made.
Is there bail in Cambodia?
There is provisional release, but it does not work like a bail desk. In serious matters the investigating judge decides whether a person is released or held during the investigation, and the application is made by your lawyer on the facts of the case. There is no published schedule of amounts — anyone quoting you a number before they have seen the file has not seen the file.
Will the embassy get them out?
No, and it is important nobody loses days believing otherwise. An embassy can request consular access, check on welfare, contact family and provide a list of local lawyers. It cannot represent your relative, pay legal fees, or influence a Cambodian court's decisions. Contact them — and in parallel, instruct counsel.
Do we need a Cambodian lawyer, or can we use a lawyer from home?
The advocate appearing before a Cambodian court must be qualified in Cambodia. A lawyer from home can be genuinely useful in the background — on the family side, on any parallel matter at home — but the person in the room has to be Cambodian-licensed. Closing that gap, and then managing it in your language, is exactly what we exist to do.
Someone has offered to make this go away for a payment. Should we?
No. Do not pay anyone informally, at any stage, for any reason. It exposes the person you are trying to help and it exposes you, and it is very difficult to undo. Every payment on a legitimate matter is official, receipted and made through your lawyer. If you are being pressed, call us before you decide anything.
How long will the whole thing take?
Longer than you want. Cambodian investigations — particularly where an investigating judge is appointed — can run for extended periods, and provisional detention during that time is a real possibility rather than a remote one. We would rather tell you that at the start than discover it with you at week six. It is also precisely why the first 24 hours are worth spending money on.
What should we send or bring for the person in detention?
Ask counsel first, because the rules differ by facility and change. Practically: prescription medication with the documentation that shows what it is and why it is needed, spectacles, and money handled through the proper channel and receipted. Do not hand cash to intermediaries, however helpful they appear.
Can you promise a release?
No. Release and detention decisions belong to Cambodian judges, and any service promising you otherwise is selling something it cannot deliver — which should tell you what else it might be willing to say. What we can promise is speed, qualified Cambodian counsel, a clear line of communication in your language, and that nobody in your family will be handling this alone at three in the morning.
Can our lawyer see them straight away?
Usually not, and this is the answer families are least prepared for. Article 98 of the Code of Criminal Procedure allows the detainee to request to speak with a lawyer **once 24 hours of police custody have elapsed** — and then for 30 minutes. A lawyer who arrives at hour three can lawfully be turned away. Some sources online say counsel is available from the moment of custody; that describes the general right to a lawyer, not what Article 98 permits inside police custody, and acting on it will cost you the preparation time you actually have. Instruct counsel immediately anyway — not so they can walk in today, but so they are at the door the moment the clock allows, already briefed, instead of being found at hour 25. One more detail worth knowing: Article 98 refers to a lawyer *or other person* selected by the detainee, provided that person is not involved in the offence.
How long can they be held before someone has to decide?
Police custody is capped at **48 hours** under Article 96, and the clock starts when the person arrives at the police or gendarmerie station — not when they were stopped, which can be a meaningful difference. In felony cases only, it can be extended once by up to a further 24 hours, and only with the Royal Prosecutor's prior written authorisation, with reasons placed on the case file. You will see "72 hours" quoted widely; the Code does not contain that figure. It is 48, plus a conditional 24 that has to be justified and written down. After that the person must be released or brought before a prosecutor.
No obligation · treated in confidence
If this is happening now, call. Do not email.
Have ready: full name exactly as printed in the passport, nationality and passport number, when and where the arrest happened, and the station or province if you know it. If you do not have all of it, call anyway — we will start with what you have.
Connect Consult is a legal-services concierge for foreigners in South East Asia. We are not a Cambodian law firm and we do not hold a Cambodian legal practising licence. Representation before Cambodian police, prosecutors and courts is provided by Cambodian-licensed counsel — instructed, briefed and managed by us on your behalf, with their fee quoted to you before you instruct them. Advice on Cambodian law comes from those Cambodian-qualified professionals.
Official sources
- United Nations Treaty Series — Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963), Article 36 (official text) ↗Article 36(1)(b) is the provision that creates the consular-notification right on arrest. Read the operative words: the authorities must notify the consular post "if he so requests". It is triggered on request, not automatically, which is exactly why you must ask out loud and ask early. Verified August 2026.
- United Nations Treaty Collection — status of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations ↗The UN depositary record. Cambodia acceded on 10 March 2006 — the fact that makes Article 36 binding on Cambodian authorities rather than merely good practice. Checked against the depositary itself, not a secondary summary. Verified August 2026.
- Code of Criminal Procedure of the Kingdom of Cambodia — Khmer–English bilingual edition (Articles 96 and 98) ↗The source for both clocks on this page: Article 96 (48-hour custody cap, running from arrival at the station, extendable once by up to 24 hours in felony cases with the Royal Prosecutor's prior written authorisation) and Article 98 (access to a lawyer only after the first 24 hours, then 30 minutes). We cite this bilingual edition deliberately — the Khmer sits facing the English, so the wording can be checked rather than taken on trust, and several widely-circulated copies of the Code online are the same single Ministry translation re-hosted, which agree with each other without adding any verification. Cross-checked against that Ministry translation; they agree on substance. This is the 2007 Code as enacted; we have not verified it against later amendments. Verified August 2026.
- OHCHR Cambodia — Arrest Rights Card (what your rights are if you are arrested) ↗The UN human rights office in Cambodia, written for detainees rather than lawyers. Confirms the Article 98 position in plain words: "After 24 hours in custody, you must be able to see a lawyer or another person of your choice." Worth reading in full before anything else on this page. Verified August 2026.
Where to go next
Other situations in Cambodia