In June 2015 Cambodia’s legislature passed the Law on Disaster Management (DM Law). This represents a major shift from an institutional system for disaster management based only on subsidiary legislation, which had been in place since 1995, to a broader and more authoritative legislative mandate on disaster management

The DM Law, like most legislation in Cambodia, provides an ‘umbrella’ mandate that relies on subsidiary legislation to be made by the executive branch, the Government of Cambodia, to provide for more detailed implementation.

The discussion in this report has focused on implementing the DM Law through the subsidiary legislation mandated within the law itself. The recommendations for development of substantive decrees are based on the specific provisions that require them, and the overall objectives and goals of the DM Law. An effort has also been made to address the key challenges identified by stakeholders and reviews of the pre-existing system. The report includes some additional areas proposed for subsidiary legislation for consideration of the government, which are not mandated by the DM Law, but fall within its general scope.