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In-Depth:
Justice for a Lawless World? Rights and reconciliation in a new era of international law
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 Download this in-depth report
Part I 6.36 MB
Part II 2.40 MB
- Professor Noam Chomsky
- ICC Chief Prosecutor Moreno Ocampo
- Samantha Power, Professor of Practice in Human Rights Policy
- Juan Mendez ,President of the International Center for Transitional Justice
- Justice Geoffrey Robertson Q.C.
- Dr Fanie du Toit, Programme Director for Educating for Reconciliation at the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation in South Africa
- Abdullah An-Na`im, Ph.D, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law at Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Augustin Nkusi, the Director of the Legal Support Unit, National Service of Gacaca Jurisdictions, Rwanda
- Benjamin Gumpert, counsel representing Justin Mugenzi, who is currently on trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
- Hanny Megally, Director, Middle East and North Africa Program, International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
- Paul van Zyl, Country Programme Director at the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
- Johnston Busingye, Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice in Rwanda
- Dennis McNamara (Special Adviser on Internal Displacement to the UN’s Emergency Relief Co-ordinator and Director of the OCHA Inter-agency Internal Displacement Division) on the rule of law
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GLOBAL: THE SPECIAL COURT FOR SIERRA LEONE
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In this section IRIN explains and summarises the function and scope of eight new courts that are in the process of indicting, arraigning and sentencing perpetrators of different forms of crime against humanity and genocide. The following eight courts are summarized in this report with links and references offered for those seeking more detail: 1. The Special Court for Sierra Leone
2. The International Criminal Court (ICC)
3. The War Crimes Chamber (WCC) in Sarajevo
4. Regulation 64 panels in the courts of Kosovo
5. Serious Crimes Panels in Dili District, East Timor
6. Extraordinary Chambers in the courts of Cambodia
7. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)
8. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
THE SPECIAL COURT FOR SIERRA LEONE
Core Mandate
Based in the capital Freetown, the Special Court for Sierra Leone was set up jointly by the government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations (Resolution 1315, 14 August 2000). The first staff to work at the Special Court arrived in Freetown in July 2002.
This Special Court represents a significant new model of international justice, often referred to as a “mixed” or “hybrid” tribunal, jointly administered by the United Nations and the Sierra Leone government. The court is staffed by internationals and Sierra Leoneans, and includes elements of international and Sierra Leonean law. It is mandated to try those who bear the greatest responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the territory of Sierra Leone between 1996 and 2002. The maximum sentence that can be imposed on an accused is life imprisonment.
The chief prosecutor of the court is Desmond de Silva, appointed by the UN Secretary-General in May 2005.
Status
Currently, 11 people stand indicted by the Special Court. They are charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious violations of international humanitarian law (rape, sexual slavery, conscription of children into an armed force, and attacks on UN peacekeepers, among others). Although individually charged, they have been grouped into three separate trials: the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) trial, begun in July 2004; the Civil Defense Forces (CDF) trial, commenced in June 2004; the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) trial, begun in March 2005.
The single most well known person indicted by the Special Court is the former Liberian President, Charles Taylor, accused of backing the civil war in Sierra Leone by providing arms and training to the RUF in exchange for diamonds. Taylor, taken from exile in Nigeria and presented in handcuffs on the 29 March 2006 to the tribunal in Freetown, is charged with 17 counts of crimes against humanity stemming from a brutal rebellion that left many thousands dead or maimed. Recently, international prosecutors requested that Taylor's trial be moved to The Hague in the Netherlands. According to the court, a trial in Africa is too risky for a man blamed for sparking an unsettled environment within West Africa.
Limitations
A potential problem for the Special Court concerns its funding. Institutions created by the Security Council, such as the previous International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) are funded by scaled assessments, in which each country's contribution is proportionate to its size and wealth. However, because it is not directly established by the United Nations, the Sierra Leone court is financed through voluntary contributions. The court received funds to cover its first three years of operations (US $70 million for 2002-2005).
“We are determined that the Court, after three years of important achievements and with trials at an advanced stage, must not now fail due to lack of resources,” declared United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette. She also highlighted what the court meant to the people of Sierra Leone, particularly since it allowed those who were affected to witness justice being done first-hand, which was vital to the process of national reconciliation. The UN Security Council is currently working with member states to reach the US $25 million goal for the court.
Links of Interest
The official website of the Special Court of Sierra Leone.
www.sc-sl.org
The Global Policy Forum monitors policy-making at the United Nations, and produces papers and pamphlets on issues of international peace and justice. Several documents on the Special Court of Sierra Leone are available on the web site.
www.globalpolicy.org
ab/CMH/jmc
[ENDS]
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