Civics and Moral Education (សីលធម៌-ពលរដ្ឋវិទ្យា)
Civics and Moral Education combines constitutional knowledge, citizenship duties and Buddhist-inflected moral reasoning. Expect questions that ask you to apply a rule to a situation rather than simply recite it.
Constitutional order
The 1993 Constitution describes Cambodia as a Kingdom with a constitutional monarchy, a multi-party liberal democracy, and Buddhism as the state religion. The King is head of state and reigns but does not govern. Power is separated into legislative, executive and judicial branches.
Institutions
- National Assembly: 125 members elected for five years; passes laws and gives confidence to the government.
- Senate: 62 members, most elected by commune councillors, with a review role over legislation.
- Government: the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers are drawn from and answer to the National Assembly.
- Commune/Sangkat councils: elected every five years; the tier where decentralisation is most visible.
Worked example
Trace a bill. A ministry drafts; the Council of Ministers approves; the National Assembly debates and passes it by majority; the Senate reviews it and may send it back; the National Assembly decides; the Constitutional Council may check constitutionality; the King promulgates. The point to demonstrate is that no single body legislates alone.
Rights and duties
Chapter III lists rights such as equality before the law, expression, religion, assembly and property. Duties include obeying the law, paying taxes, defending the country and voting. Moral-education questions reward balancing a right against a duty - free expression against defamation or public order, for example.
Traps
- Confusing a right (what you may claim) with a duty (what you owe).
- Saying the Senate chooses the government.
- Describing Cambodia as a republic or an absolute monarchy.