Judicial Dialogue after the Genocide in Rwanda

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 421-431
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Trzpis-Szysz
Keyword(s):  
Legal System ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Contemporary History ◽  
War Criminals ◽  
History Of ◽  
Judicial Proceedings ◽  
The Subject

Abstract In this study, the author describes the dialogue between the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the Gacaca courts after one of the bloodiest conflicts in the contemporary history of Africa – the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The purpose of this work is to show how international and internal cooperation can influence the solving of armed conflicts, especially in the process seeking justice for the civilian casualties. By recalling the historical context, the author emphasizes the importance of the juridical basics, which are established immediately after the armed conflicts. Furthermore, this study also shows how Gacaca courts were a new dimension of judicial proceedings in the Rwandan legal system. It analyzes how these courts were able to contribute to successfully prosecuting war criminals. This subject is not widely discussed in the literature and the size limitations necessarily imposed on an article of this nature do not allow for a detailed exploration of the subject here so it is vital that this subject is studied further.

scholarly journals Przedterminowe zwolnienie z kary pozbawienia wolności skazanych za ludobójstwo, zbrodnie przeciwko ludzkości i wojenne na mocy orzeczeń międzynarodowych trybunałów karnych „ad hoc” oraz ich sukcesora w postaci Mechanizmu Rezydualnego ONZ

2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-226
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Szwejkowska
Keyword(s):  
Ad Hoc ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Early Release ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
Domestic Law

In the last decade of the 20th century, a war in the former Yugoslavia broke out, once again making Europe a witness to an armed conflict. Almost at the same time, another local ethnic bloodshed started, but this time in distant Africa — in Rwanda. Both these events included the most horrifying international crimes against humanity: genocide and war crimes. To prosecute the most important commanding figures involved in these conflicts and hold them criminally responsible, two ad hoc United Nations tribunals were created: International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in Hague and International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha. They finished their operation in 2017 and 2015, respectively. The tasks of conducting and completing all ongoing proceedings, including law enforcement, after the completion of their mandates have been entrusted to the UN International Residual Mechanism. One of the crucial assignments of the tribunals and later the Redisual Mechanism was to deal with the request on behalf of the convicted for granting them early release. Although none of the statutes of the aforementioned courts provided any ground for early release, soon it was accepted that both tribunals, as well as their successor, were entitled to proceed despite this issue. As soon as in 2001, the first convict was granted early release, but with no conditions. It is estimated that, to date, more than 2/3 of all convicted by the Tribunals have been released before the termination of their sentence. This should raise the question of how to rehabilitate that kind of offender, convicted of genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity, to ensure they do not pose a threat to society anymore. Especially since the offenders serve their punishment outside the country of their origin — meaning, different rules apply according to the domestic law regulation of the state that voluntarily agreed to enforce the sentence. This article analyzes the juridical approach of the tribunals and the Residual Mechanism on the issue of early release of the convicts involved in the armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

Rape and Human Rights

PMLA ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 121 (5) ◽  
pp. 1662-1664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Franco
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Ethnic Group ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
War Criminals ◽  
The United Nations

According to the report of the United Nations commission on Human Rights, rape is the least condemned war crime (coomaraswamy, Further Promotion 64n263). Although wartime rape was listed as a crime against humanity by the Nuremberg Military Tribunals and by the Geneva Conventions, it was not until 2001 that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia identified rapists as war criminals. In that year the tribunal sentenced three men for violations of the laws or customs of war (torture, rape) and crimes against humanity (torture, rape) committed during the war in Bosnia during the 1993 takeover of Foca, where women were systematically raped and killed, the purpose being “to destroy an ethnic group by killing it, to prevent its reproduction or to disorganize it, removing it from its home soil.”

The ICTY is Dead! Long Live the ICTY!

2020 ◽  
pp. 71-82
Author(s):  
Carsten Stahn
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Institutional Culture ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
International Criminal Justice ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Many

The chapter sets the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) legacies into a broader context of international criminal justice. It presents different approaches towards the many legacies of the ICTY. The chapter engages with the several phases that the Tribunal has passed, discussing their positive and negative points. It then examines the normative legacy of the ICTY, arguing that, although some gaps exist, the overall record of the ICTY is marked with several normative innovations. The chapter then visits the procedural legacy of the ICTY, in the sense of how the Tribunal made justice heard and seen. Lastly, the chapter discusses the institutional culture of the ICTY and its legacy to other international criminal tribunals. With this analysis, the chapter claims that the ICTY legacies are living beings, which will continue to be transformed throughout the history of international criminal justice.

War Crimes in International Versus Non-International Armed Conflicts: "New Wine in Old Wineskins"?

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 319-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gauthier de Beco
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Trial Chamber ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law

AbstractThis note discusses the distinction between international and non-international armed conflicts in the prosecution of war crimes before the International Criminal Court. It analyses the international humanitarian law applicable to both kinds of conflict, and the way in which the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia succeeded in prosecuting war crimes committed in non-international armed conflicts. It also studies the two war crimes regimes provided for in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The note then examines how Pre-Trial Chamber I dealt with this issue in its Decision on the confirmation of charges against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo and the problems it faced in doing so. It concludes with a plea for the abolition of the distinction between international and non-international armed conflicts with respect to war crimes in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

scholarly journals Franz and the Algerian revolution(1954-1962)

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 577-592
Author(s):  
Litim Aissa
Keyword(s):  
Social Studies ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Contemporary History ◽  
Historical School ◽  
History Of ◽  
French Colonial ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Basic Features ◽  
Coherent Picture ◽  
Shed Light

Despite the recurrent momentum of historical and intellectual studies and literature on the Algerian liberation revolution 1954-1962 as a founding event for the contemporary history of Algeria, especially the French writings, which drew a certain pattern of ideology that serves the purposes of the French colonial historical school in the first place, and perhaps the study in our hands is worthy to be a field It is a field for analysis, criticism, and comparison to go beyond the epic and ceremonial images that we find in the official readings of the topics in which politics intersect with historical legitimacy, and ideologies intersect with the civilizational principles of the Algerian revolution. And between this and that, the researcher finds himself when delving into the topics and issues related to the liberation revolution, including the subject of Frantz Fanon's contributions to this founding event of the contemporary Algerian state, in which numerous writings have attempted to present a coherent picture of this character of Martinique of origin, Algerian presence, and African influence and influence.The aim of this study is to shed light, analytically and critically, on the basic features of the contributions of this global intellectual stature to the issue of the ideological development of the Algerian revolution after 1958, and bypassing the trend of some historical and social studies that reach the point of denying the charters and reference texts of the Algerian revolution. Ahead of "the document of the first of November 1954, and the document of the Soumam conference 1956," and established a historical background according to which Fanon is a viewer of the Algerian revolution.

scholarly journals Specific Direction: An Unspecific Threshold

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 320
Author(s):  
Dhruv Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Charles Taylor ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Customary Law ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Specific Direction ◽  
History Of

Aiding and abetting has been recognised as a form of individual criminal responsibility since the 1940’s when the first international tribunals were created. The form of responsibility had a relatively simplistic history of application until it faced an unprecedented upheaval through the introduction of the threshold of specific direction in the Perišić appeals judgment. The judgment has since been rejected by the Special Court of Sierra Leone (SCSL) in the Charles Taylor judgment and by the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in Sainović, Popović and Stanišić and Simatović judgment. The present paper focuses on the relevance of the standard of specific direction before the International Criminal Court (ICC). It argues that the standard is unjustifiable under international criminal law as, firstly, no convictions or acquittals have been affected on the standard and, secondly and more importantly, the text of the Rome Statute has rejected the standard. The standard of specific direction has not legal pedigree under customary law, is contrary to the text of the Rome Statute and counter-intuitive to the objectives of the ICC as it unreasonably increases evidentiary requirements at the Court and consequently makes the fight against impunity, an already challenging task, even more difficult.

scholarly journals MARIKANA, A PAST NEVER TRULY ESCAPED: A CRITIQUE ON THE COMMODIFICATION OF THE LEGAL SYSTEM AND THE LAW AS AN INSTRUMENT OF JUSTICE IN POST-APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vaughn Rajah
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
African Society ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
South African Society ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Black South Africans ◽  
History Of

This article demonstrates that the Marikana tragedy was not a departure from the norm, but a continuation of state and corporate behaviour that has oppressed black South Africans for hundreds of years. This will be done through an analysis of the historically discriminatory socio-economic patterns of South African society, and how they subjugate the poor by limiting their access to legal and physical protection. These trends portray a history of commodification of the legal system. I discuss a notable documentary on the massacre, Miners Shot Down, and examine its depiction of the causes and effects of the events. The film provides no mention of the historical context of the killings, nor does it comment on many of the factors contributing to the massacre. Despite this, it succeeded in bringing the events to the attention of the broader public. I analyse the notions of justice, the rule of law and their application in South Africa as well as norms in the nation’s legal culture. Additionally, I examine the Farlam Commission, and how its procedures and conclusions hindered the course of justice in the context of our democracy. Ultimately, I demonstrate how the Marikana massacre was not a change in dynamic, but a reminder of a past we have never truly escaped.

scholarly journals International Legal Problems of Qualification of Armed Conflicts

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (68) ◽  
pp. 735-757
Author(s):  
Mykhaylo Buromenskiy ◽  
Vitalii Gutnyk
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
Legal Doctrine ◽  
International Agencies

The article addresses the qualification problems of armed conflicts. The study was conducted through the analysis of international legal doctrine, international treaties, decisions of international organizations. Attention is paid to the jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Court. It is noted that International Humanitarian Law has been in place since the beginning of the armed conflict. Therefore, the application of International Humanitarian Law does not require any recognition of the existence of armed conflict (international or non-international); this conflict exists because of armed clashes. It is emphasized that the need to classify the conflict arises in view of domestic and international legal factors (to bring to international criminal justice those who have committed war crimes; state responsibility for internationally wrongful acts, etc.). Attention was paid to the non-existence of a single body, which was empowered to determine the existence of an armed conflict. Different international agencies may have different qualifications for the same armed conflict. It is concluded that it is necessary to establish a Committee of Experts under the UN Secretary-General, to avoid different qualifications from the same armed conflict.

New histories and new laws: Crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 801-818
Author(s):  
Amanda Alexander
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
International Military Tribunal ◽  
Military Tribunal ◽  
History Of

AbstractThis article looks at the development of the concept of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). It contends that the ICTR’s interpretation of crimes against humanity is generally seen by international lawyers as a commendable, but unsurprising, step in the historical development of this category. In much the same way, the ICTR’s historical account is considered to be a standard attempt by a war crimes court to relate a liberal history of crimes against humanity in a way that upholds civilized values. Yet, although the historical and legal work of the ICTR appear unexceptional, this article will argue that they do demonstrate a particular conceptual approach towards warfare, history, humanity, and the nature of international law. Moreover, this is a conceptual approach that is quite different to that taken by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. The article suggests that these differences, and the invisibility of the change, are due to the ICTR’s reliance on familiar narrative tropes. These narratives were established through poststructuralist theory but could be expressed in a variety of more or (often) less theoretical forms. By exploring the influence of these narratives on the Tribunal, it is possible to examine some of the ways in which conceptual change is facilitated and knowledge is created in international law. In particular, it shows how theories that are often considered marginal to international law have had a significant impact on some of the central provisions of international humanitarian law.

Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Kosovo and Lessons to be Learned from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Remzije Istrefi ◽  
Arben Hajrullahu
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Justice System ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
System A ◽  
Gender Based

Abstract This article examines challenges in seeking justice for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (crsv) survivors in Kosovo. It analyses the roles and responsibilities of international missions and how deficiencies impact the prosecution and adjudication of crsv by Kosovo’s justice system. A key question is why two decades after the 1998–1999 war in Kosovo survivors of crsv cannot find justice? The end of the international mandates, the large number of war crime cases transferred, unfinished files, and the necessity for specific expertise in handling the gender-based violence are some of the existing challenges which undermine the prosecution and adjudication of crsv in Kosovo. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (icty) established accountability for sexual violence in armed conflicts. This article seeks to scaffold the icty experience by developing an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the nature of crsv and by examining its impact on survivors and victims’ alike. This paper then explores how a contexualist interpretation of international and domestic criminal law provisions can prioritise the prosecution of crsv amid other pressing needs in Kosovo.

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