Since 1999, the Kingdom of Cambodia has adopted a bicameral legislative system, consisting of the National Assembly and the 
Senate. With respect to legislative functions, the National Assembly and the Senate shall have duties to review and to adopt draft laws and proposed laws, and to monitor the implementation of those laws. When performing these duties, the National Assembly and the Senate shall abide by the Constitution, the internal Rules and Procedures with respect to the organization and the functioning of each institution.
The draft laws or the proposed laws shall be tabled first to the Permanent Standing Committee of the National Assembly. All draft laws or proposed laws shall be in written forms, divided into articles, and accompanied by explanatory notes.
The Permanent Standing Committee shall review the draft laws or proposed laws, and then decided to submit them to one of the nine Expert Commissions of the National Assembly.
The meeting of the Permanent Standing Committee shall be considered as valid provided that there is a quorum of more than half of all members, and adoptions shall be decided by the absolute majority of the entire Committee members.
The National Assembly is the State’s Supreme Institution. Like the government institution, this Institution has relations with foreign Parliaments in order to build good rapports and relationship between the Cambodian people and the people of other nations, and between Cambodian Parliament and foreign Parliaments. In this process, Article 87 of the Constitution has bestowed this task directly to the President of the National Assembly, by stating that:
“The President of the National Assembly shall chair the assembly sessions, takes cognizance of laws and resolutions adopted by the National Assembly, ensure the implementation of the Internal Rules of Procedures and manage the international relations of the National Assembly.”
In this regard, item 6 of the Internal Rules of Procedures of the National Assembly addressing the establishment of various Commissions provides that the fifth Commission be responsible for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation along with other related responsibilities. This Commission has two main tasks as follows:
1. Monitoring the policy of Foreign Affairs of the Government, and
2. Performing cooperation with foreign Parliaments and international agencies.
The parliamentary relations shall constitute bilateral and multilateral ones.
The Paris Peace Agreements, a comprehensive political settlement for the restoration of peace in Cambodia, were signed on October 23, 1991 by the four main Cambodian political parties, 19 countries, and the United Nations. Under the agreements, the United Nations was in charge of creating conditions for a long-lasting peace, laying the groundwork for a pluralistic democracy, rehabilitating the country’s infrastructure, and repatriating over 300,000 Cambodian refugees and displaced persons. As a result of the accords, a U.N sponsored general election was held in May 1993 to elect members of a Constituent Assembly which was to draft a new constitution.
During its first plenary session on June 14, 1993, the Constituent Assembly elected a President, 2 Vice Presidents, working commissions, and a General Secretariat. In addition, the Constituent Assembly passed a resolution restoring Prince Norodom Sihanouk Varman as Head of State. A standing committee was formed by the Constituent Assembly on June 30, 1993 to prepare a draft of the new constitution. A draft constitution was debated by the Constituent Assembly beginning on September 15, 1993.
The Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia was adopted on September 21, 1993 and promulgated by the Head of State on September 24, 1993. Shortly after the promulgation of the Constitution, the country celebrated the coronation of His Majesty the King, Preah Bath Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk Varman. Under the terms of the Paris Peace Agreements and under the terms of the transitional provisions of the new Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Constituent Assembly was transformed into the National Assembly upon the Constitution’s promulgation.
