Prime Minister Hun Sen asks the Justice Ministry to file a complaint against the Appeals Court after it freed without trial a hotel owner and others accused of sex crimes.
Hun Sen makes his request during an annual meeting for the Cambodian National Council for Women.
The Appeals Court released Tae Paoli, owner of the Chhay Huor II Hotel, in 2006, after what some groups say was an insubstantial trial.
Opposition party leader Sam Rainsy calls the request political in light of April’s commune elections.
Justice Minister Ang Vong Vatana says he has submitted documents to the Supreme Council of Magistracy, which oversees Cambodian courts.