A Beginner’s Guide to Citing Cambodian Government Documents

Students and professionals often need to cite a Cambodian law, sub-decree, prakas or ministry report in an essay, thesis or policy paper. Most citation guides were written with United States or other Western sources in mind, so the examples do not fit neatly. This guide offers a simple, careful way to collect the right details and arrange them in an APA-like pattern. It is a starting point only. Your university, journal or employer may require something different, and its style guide always wins.

Start with the elements, not the format

Whatever style you use, a good citation lets a reader find the exact same document. Before you format anything, write down these details from the document itself:

Issuing body. The King, the Royal Government, a ministry or another institution.
Document type. Law, royal decree, sub-decree, prakas, decision or circular.
Number and date. Cambodian documents usually carry both. Copy the number exactly as printed.
Title. The Khmer title and, if you use one, the English title.
Where you found it. The Royal Gazette, a ministry site, a database or a library copy, with the web address if it is online.
Language and status. Whether you read the Khmer original or a translation, and whether the translation is official.

If you are unsure what each type means, read our guide to the hierarchy of Cambodian legal documents first.

Why APA needs adapting

APA’s legal-reference rules are based on United States legal practice. One university guide notes that APA 7 covers United States and United Nations legal materials and directs writers citing other jurisdictions to a legal citation manual or to their own unit’s instructions. Another points out that APA legal references follow a “what, where, when” order and are not italicised in the reference list. Because Cambodian materials fall outside the standard examples, many writers combine the legal pattern with APA’s approach to government and non-English sources. Ask your supervisor which approach they prefer before you start.

A generic pattern for laws, decrees and prakas

The patterns below use placeholders. Replace everything in square brackets with details from your own document.

Reference list pattern:
[Issuing body]. ([Year]). [Title in Latin letters] [English translation of title] ([Document type] No. [Number], [Day Month Year]). [Place of publication or source]. [URL]

Invented example, for layout only:
Kingdom of Cambodia. ([Year]). [Title of the Sub-decree] [Sub-decree on [Subject]] (Sub-decree No. [Number], [Day Month Year]). [Royal Gazette issue or website name]. [URL]

In-text pattern: ([Short title], [Year]) or, for a specific provision, ([Short title], [Year], Art. [Number]).

The square-bracket translation follows APA-style guidance for non-English sources. Library guides advise transliterating a title written in a non-Latin script into Latin letters and adding an English translation in square brackets after it, before the full stop.

A real layout to compare

To see the pattern applied, here is one document that we opened: a sub-decree on the organisation and functioning of the Ministry of Commerce, numbered 54/ANK/BK and dated 22 September 1997, hosted by the Council for the Development of Cambodia. In the pattern above it would read roughly:

Royal Government of Cambodia. (1997). Sub-decree on the organization and functioning of the Ministry of Commerce (Sub-decree No. 54/ANK/BK, September 22, 1997). Council for the Development of Cambodia. [URL of the file you consulted]

The copy we opened is an English version, and its official status is not stated on the page. If you cite a translation, say so, and check the Khmer original if your work depends on exact wording.

A second pattern: ministry reports and guides

Not every government document is legal. Annual reports, guidelines and handbooks are cited more like ordinary reports. Library guides for APA describe naming the agency as the author, giving the year, the title and any report number, and leaving out the publisher when it is the same as the author.

[Ministry name]. ([Year]). [Title of report] ([Report number, if any]). [URL]

The in-text form is ([Ministry name], [Year]). Use the full ministry name the first time, and a short form if your style allows it.

Where each element usually comes from

Element	Where to look	Watch out for
Number	Header or top of the first page	Prefixes and codes differ between documents and periods, so copy exactly
Date	Signature block or header	Signing date and publication date can differ
Title	Heading of the document	Different translations of the same Khmer title
Source	Gazette issue, ministry page, database or library	Reposted copies of unknown origin
Pinpoint	Article, chapter or page number	Page numbers vary between copies, so prefer article numbers

Common mistakes to avoid

Citing a news report as if it were the document. Cite the document itself and mention the news report separately if needed.
Citing a translation as if it were official. A Cambodian legal research guide warns that English translations of laws are not official, apart from treaties, so check the Khmer original.
Guessing numbers. If you cannot read a number clearly in a scan, say so in a note rather than inventing one.
Skipping the version. Laws are amended. Note which version you used, and confirm that it was still current when you wrote.
Using an unverified copy. If you are not sure that a file is genuine, see how to check that a Cambodian government document is authentic.

For help locating the original text, read how to find official Cambodian laws, sub-decrees and prakas online.

Frequently asked questions

Is there one official way to cite Cambodian documents? We are not aware of a single standard that every institution accepts. Follow the guide your institution gives you.

Do I need a URL? Library guides describe URLs as optional but helpful for legal sources, and they recommend pointing to the official source where possible. Some institutions require one, so check.

Should I italicise the title? In APA legal references, titles are generally not italicised, while report titles are. Your institution may differ.

What if the document has no author or number? Use the issuing body as the author and add a short descriptive note, for example the document type and date, in square brackets.

Key takeaways

Collect issuer, type, number, date, title, source and language before you format.
APA does not cover Cambodian legal materials directly, so adapt it and follow your institution’s guide.
Give the English title in square brackets after a transliterated title.
Say whether you used a translation, and verify wording against the Khmer text.
Cite the document itself, with article numbers for specific provisions.

Sources

Eksastra is an independent project and is not a government body. This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check the issuing institution for current rules. See our Disclaimer.