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

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.

Rights of Families of Disappeared Persons

This book examines how international judicial and non-judicial bodies in Europe address the needs of the families of forcibly disappeared persons. The needs in question are returning the remains of disappeared persons; the right to truth; the acceptance of responsibility by states; and the right to compensation. These have been identified as the four most commonly shared basic and fundamental needs of families in which an adult was disappeared many years previously and is now assumed to be dead, which is representative of the situation of the vast majority of families of disappeared persons in Europe. <br><br>The analysis covers the judgments and decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, the UN Human Rights Committee, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the Human Rights Chamber for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Human Rights Advisory Panel in Kosovo, as well as the activities of the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus, the Special Process on Missing Persons in the Territory of former Yugoslavia, the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances and the International Commission on Missing Persons. In so doing, the book demonstrates whether, how, and based on what principles these four needs of the families of disappeared persons can constitute a claim based on international human rights law.

Shifting Accounts of Justice: The Legalisation and Politicisation of International Criminal Justice

In December 2015, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda delivered its final verdict in Butare, bringing the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda to a close after 21-years. Despite the important role that the tribunal played in confirming international criminal justice as a key transitional justice mechanism, and tool of international peace and security, there has been little retrospective analysis of the court’s history. This article draws on a Bourdieusian field analysis to address the absence and makes two contributions. First, it demonstrates that over the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda’s history the tribunal’s conception of justice shifted from a weak form of restorative justice to a more traditional form of retributive justice. Second, it reveals that this shift was the result of a ‘settling’ on the law and, more importantly, UN Security Council interventions. This legalisation and politicisation of trial practice saw a shift in the field from prioritising moral authority to legal and delegated authority.

Ante Gotovina case: an error of law which led to innocence?

The breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 30 years ago still has a substantial impact on the post-Yugoslav countries which proclaimed independence. Bearing in mind that the breakup also generated a military conflict, e.g. in Croatia, the restoration of Serbian-Croatian relations remains problematic. One of the challenges is passing a fair judgment on people responsible for war crimes or crimes against humanity. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was established for this reason in particular. Ante Gotovina – a Croatian general, was one of those indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in connection with the military operation “Oluja” during which some heinous acts of crime took place. Gotovina played a clear and primary role in this operation, and therefore his actions were the main count of the indictment, firstly, for the prosecution and then for the Trial Chamber of ICTY. However, the sentence of 24 years imprisonment was never carried out following a successful appeal. The Appeals Chamber did not uphold the verdict of the Trial Chamber owing to a serious legal error and, consequently, it acquitted Gotovina of all the charges. This issue became yet another source of Serbian-Croatian conflict in connection with the most important people held responsible for the crimes committed in 1991-1995.

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

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.

The post-Dayton search for justice: War crimes trials in Bosnia and Herzegovina before competent courts

The armed conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the period from 1992 to 1995, which ended with the conclusion of the so-called The Dayton Peace Agreement was marked by serious violations of fundamental human rights and freedoms and the commission of horrific war crimes. Prosecution of defendants for these crimes takes place at several levels, ie before: a) the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), b) domestic courts and c) courts of certain foreign states. The paper analyzes certain indicators related to the prosecution of these crimes, their scope and structure, as well as the ratio of convictions and acquittals for certain war crimes, the scope of application of conventional and summary forms of ending criminal cases and court policy of sanctioning perpetrators. It was learned that by the end of 2020, hundreds of criminal proceedings against approximately a thousand defendants had been completed. Most of the accused were prosecuted before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Court of B&H), followed by the ICTY, and a slightly smaller number before the courts of the former SFRY and some Western European countries. The research established that before the ICTY, out of the total number of accused for war crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as many as 90.2% were convicted of some of these crimes, while the rate of convicted in relation to accused before the Court of B&H was 67.2% , and before the courts in the Republic of Serbia 70.2%. It is interesting that before the ICTY as many as 24.3% of the accused were convicted in summary proceedings on the basis of a plea agreement, while before the Court of B&H 13,3% of the accused were convicted using a plea bargaining as a consensual model for ending criminal cases. So far, 22 people have been convicted of the crime of genocide as the most serious crime before the ICTY, the Court of B&H and German courts, and all convictions related to the activities of the Army of Republika Srpska during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Court of B&H, inherited a relatively mild policy of punishing war crimes. Finally, it was found that certain courts, especially Court of B&H, inherited a relatively mild policy of punishing war crimes.

Sexual Violence as an Afterthought: Securing Justice for Sexual Violence Victims in the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

<p>Using Nancy Fraser’s (2007a) tripartite model of justice as a theoretical backdrop, this thesis critically evaluates the United Nation’s (UN) International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), in relation to how this Tribunal has both secured and limited opportunities to ’do’ justice for sexual violence (SV) victims. This thesis applies a gendered approach to Fraser’s model, and considers how justice has been secured by women, based on principles of recognition, redistribution and representation. Using documentary methods, the thesis analyses ICTR cases concerning SV, to determine how this Tribunal has responded to SV committed against women and girls throughout the Rwandan genocide. This thesis demonstrates that, while the Tribunal has secured some level of justice for SV victims by successfully indicting, prosecuting and punishing some individuals responsible for SV, these crimes have been constructed and responded to in ad hoc and skewed ways. The analysis shows that crimes of SV, as well as its victims, are underrepresented in the ICTR. It also demonstrates that where SV has been addressed, the institutional culture and framework of this Tribunal has marginalised the voice of women, and allowed for discriminatory and insensitive court practices to permeate judicial proceedings. SV victims, who continue to struggle with redistributive injustices, have been negatively impacted by these ICTR practices</p>

Sexual Violence as an Afterthought: Securing Justice for Sexual Violence Victims in the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

<p>Using Nancy Fraser’s (2007a) tripartite model of justice as a theoretical backdrop, this thesis critically evaluates the United Nation’s (UN) International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), in relation to how this Tribunal has both secured and limited opportunities to ’do’ justice for sexual violence (SV) victims. This thesis applies a gendered approach to Fraser’s model, and considers how justice has been secured by women, based on principles of recognition, redistribution and representation. Using documentary methods, the thesis analyses ICTR cases concerning SV, to determine how this Tribunal has responded to SV committed against women and girls throughout the Rwandan genocide. This thesis demonstrates that, while the Tribunal has secured some level of justice for SV victims by successfully indicting, prosecuting and punishing some individuals responsible for SV, these crimes have been constructed and responded to in ad hoc and skewed ways. The analysis shows that crimes of SV, as well as its victims, are underrepresented in the ICTR. It also demonstrates that where SV has been addressed, the institutional culture and framework of this Tribunal has marginalised the voice of women, and allowed for discriminatory and insensitive court practices to permeate judicial proceedings. SV victims, who continue to struggle with redistributive injustices, have been negatively impacted by these ICTR practices</p>

Nuremberg Revisited in Burma? An Assessment of the Potential Liability of Transnational Corporations and Their Officials in Burma under International Criminal Law

<p>This dissertation focuses on the role played by officials of transnational corporations and transnational corporations themselves in the situation in Burma. The main aim of this dissertation is to assess the liability of officials of transnational corporations in Burma and transnational corporations in Burma for crimes against humanity such as slave labour and for war crimes such as plunder under International Criminal Law. However at present transnational corporations cannot be prosecuted under International Criminal Law as the International Criminal Court only has jurisdiction to try natural persons and not legal persons. In doing this analysis the theory of complicity, actus reus of aiding and abetting and the mens rea of aiding and abetting in relation to officials of transnational corporations will be explored and analysed to assess the liability of these officials in Burma. In doing this analysis the jurisprudence of inter alia the Nuremberg cases, the cases decided by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) will be used. This dissertation also examines the problems associated with suing or prosecuting transnational corporations due to the legal personality of transnational corporations and the structure of transnational corporations. At the end of the dissertation some recommendations are made so as to enable transnational corporations to be more transparent and accountable under the law.</p>

Nuremberg Revisited in Burma? An Assessment of the Potential Liability of Transnational Corporations and Their Officials in Burma under International Criminal Law

<p>This dissertation focuses on the role played by officials of transnational corporations and transnational corporations themselves in the situation in Burma. The main aim of this dissertation is to assess the liability of officials of transnational corporations in Burma and transnational corporations in Burma for crimes against humanity such as slave labour and for war crimes such as plunder under International Criminal Law. However at present transnational corporations cannot be prosecuted under International Criminal Law as the International Criminal Court only has jurisdiction to try natural persons and not legal persons. In doing this analysis the theory of complicity, actus reus of aiding and abetting and the mens rea of aiding and abetting in relation to officials of transnational corporations will be explored and analysed to assess the liability of these officials in Burma. In doing this analysis the jurisprudence of inter alia the Nuremberg cases, the cases decided by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) will be used. This dissertation also examines the problems associated with suing or prosecuting transnational corporations due to the legal personality of transnational corporations and the structure of transnational corporations. At the end of the dissertation some recommendations are made so as to enable transnational corporations to be more transparent and accountable under the law.</p>