The Right of the Accused to Self-Representation Before International Criminal Tribunals: Further Developments

2005 ◽  
Vol 99 (3) ◽  
pp. 663-668
Author(s):  
Nina H. B. Jørgensen
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Trial Chamber ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
The Law ◽  
Developing Area ◽  
The Right

In its decision on assigned counsel's motion for withdrawal in the Milosevic case, the trial chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) observed “that assignment of counsel against the wishes of the accused is a developing area of the law both in national and international jurisdictions.” This area of law witnessed rapid development by international criminal tribunals in the latter half of 2004.

scholarly journals Muzzling the Press

2020 ◽  
pp. 307-336
Author(s):  
Audrey Fino ◽  
Sandra Sahyouni
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Freedom Of The Press ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Criminal Trials ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
The Press ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Right

Chapter 16 deals with contempt cases against journalists. Restrictions on freedom of the press have been striking at international criminal tribunals, where violations of protective measures granted to, for example, witnesses have led to several landmark yet controversial prosecutions of journalists for contempt of court. This chapter examines these practices from a human rights law perspective, as part of the recognized exceptions to the principle of public trials. In doing so, it reviews the law and jurisprudence of international and hybrid tribunals, including the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), and the International Criminal Court (ICC). In addition, it surveys contempt of court, offences against the administration of justice, and the law on reporting restrictions in a number of common law and civil law domestic jurisdictions. It concludes that the right to freedom of the press in the context of international criminal trials is not absolute, and that limits ordered by international tribunals, despite the polemics they may cause, are actually fully in line with both human rights law and domestic legal trends.

The Right of the Accused to Self-Representation Before International Criminal Tribunals

2004 ◽  
Vol 98 (4) ◽  
pp. 711-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina H. B. Jørgensen
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Conventional Wisdom ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Legal Assistance ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
Open Court ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Right

Conventional wisdom holds that a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client. Perhaps surprisingly, several of the highest profile accused persons before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) have received some form of legal training. Less surprisingly, it is precisely those accused who are asserting a right to self-representation. Slobodan Miloševic, for example, has a degree in law and by the end of his trial will have earned himself several years of advocacy experience. Vojislav Šešelj, a professor of law at Belgrade University, was somewhat affronted by the judge's suggestion that he should request legal assistance and exclaimed in open court, “I have never met a better lawyer dian I am in my whole life.” Are these accused fools to want to represent themselves? What about an accused with no legal experience at all who asserts this right in the face of charges of genocide and crimes against humanity? As one accused remarked when clarifying to the court that he did not wish to represent himself, “No. It would be insane if I did that ….”

The Law of Persecution Before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

2002 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 623-639 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Roberts
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Trial Chamber ◽  
Comprehensive Analysis ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
Mens Rea ◽  
Actus Reus ◽  
The Law ◽  
Article 5

The various Trial Chambers of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia have advanced potentially inconsistent definitions of the crime of persecution under Article 5 of the Tribunal's Statute. The Trial Chamber in the Krnojelac case, in attempting to reconcile these different approaches, has undertaken a comprehensive analysis both of the actus reus and mens rea elements constituting this offence. In the context of the Tribunal's jurisprudence, this article analyses these elements and briefly discusses other issues related to the crime of persecution.

Requests for Review in the Practice of the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda

2004 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-119
Author(s):  
ANDREA CARCANO
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Applicable Law ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
Rules Of Procedure ◽  
The Right

This article is concerned with the remedy of ‘review’ provided for in the Statutes of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, in Articles 26 and 25 respectively, which allows a convicted individual or the prosecution to seek the reopening of a case on the basis of a new fact. The main purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive overview of how this remedy has been applied by the chambers of the ICTY and the ICTR. It focuses first on the relevant provisions set out in the Statutes and in the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the two tribunals, and then reviews a range of international and national provisions. The latter examination clarifies the concept of review adopted, and reveals the interplay between international and national provisions. It also shows that the remedy of review can be seen as one application of the general principle of law that a convicted individual must have the right to seek the reopening of his or her case on the basis of a new fact, which may show his or her innocence, even after a considerable lapse of time. This article then examines the decisions rendered so far by the ICTY and the ICTR. It considers the factual context of each case and discusses how the applicable law has been interpreted and refined by the judges of the ICTY and ICTR appeals chambers. In conclusion, some suggestions are advanced as to how the pertinent Rules of Procedure and Evidence could be made clearer and perhaps fairer, in the light of the experience gained from the practice of the two tribunals and the provisions of the Statute of the International Criminal Court.

scholarly journals Review of Some Procedural Witness Protective Measures at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (34) ◽  
pp. 251
Author(s):  
Romina Beqiri
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Fair Trial ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
Protective Measures ◽  
Balkan Region ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

Given the spread terror and the abuses perpetrated in the Balkan region, many victims and witnesses of atrocities were deterred from testifying. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY or Tribunal) facilitated the appearance of witnesses and protected them in case of intimidation including by taking measures against those who would violate the confidentiality of the proceedings. This article aims to introduce some of the witness protective measures before the Tribunal, and particularly threats and risks they have faced in the context of the cases dealt with by the Tribunal. It reflects also upon groundbreaking measures of protection decided by the Tribunal and the challenges it has faced over the last two decades. It finally discusses the impact of such challenges on the right to a fair trial and how they were addressed.

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.

Briefly Noted

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 664-667
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Trial Chamber ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Life Sentence

On March 20, 2019, the Appeals Chamber of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals set aside Radovan Karadžić's prior sentence of forty years and imposed a life sentence. Karadžić was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity, and violations of the laws or customs of war in March 2016 by a Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and sentenced to forty years in prison. His crimes relate to war crimes he committed during the 1990s conflicts in the Balkans, in particular the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Serbs and the three-year long siege of Sarajevo. The Appeals Chamber reversed part of Karadžić's convictions related to the Overarching JCE and dismissed the rest of his appeal, while also dismissing most of the Prosecution's appeal, aside from the sentence. The Appeals Chamber judges found that the Trial Chamber “committed a discernible error and abused its discretion in imposing a sentence of only 40 years of imprisonment,” and consequently imposed a life sentence.

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) (Trial Chamber): Prosecutor v. Milošć (Decision Concerning an Amicus Curiae)

2002 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 1344-1346
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Trial Chamber ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
List Type ◽  
Relevant Factor ◽  
Amicus Curiae ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Hague

The accused has complained about publications in two newspapers. The first was published on the 7th of September, 2002 in the Haagsche Courant, a Dutch newspaper in The Hague, and the second on the 13th September, 2002 in the Kultura, a Bulgarian newspaper in Sofia, Bulgaria. Both publications resulted from interviews given by Mr. Michail Wladimiroff, one of the three amici curiae in this case.The publication in the Haagsche Courant was captioned: “Wladimiroff: Already Enough Evidence Against Milosevic.” Mr. Wladimiroff is reported as saying, “If this trial were only about Kosovo and one had to draw up the balance now, Milosevic would certainly be convicted. A link has been established between the army and the police, the warring parties in Kosovo and Milosevic himself.”Mr. Wladimiroff explained that he had been misquoted, and that what he had said was that “we have seen during the Prosecution case at least on the face of it, there is a link between the offences in Kosovo and the accused. That may not be for all events, but even if it were half of it, it is a relevant factor for the Trial Chamber when reaching a verdict.”

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