International Criminal Law Digest

ICTY: Appeals Judgement in Dragomir Milošević case

First Rapporteur — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:27:35 +0000

The Appeals Chamber at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) today delivered its Judgement in the case of Dragomir Milošević. Appeals Chamber partially affirmed the convictions against Dragomir Milošević and reduced his sentence to 29 years. The Appeals Chamber Judgement may be found here and a summary here.

Dragomir Milošević is the former Corps Commander of the Sarajevo Romanija Corps of the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS). Milošević was charged with conducting a campaign of attacks on the city of Sarajevo, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of civilians. On 12 December 2007, the Trial Chamber convicted Milošević of four counts of crimes against humanity and one count of war crimes. He was sentenced to 33 years’ imprisonment. The Trial Judgement can be found here.

Posted in Crimes Against Humanity, Grave Breaches, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslav, Ordering, Uncategorized, War Crimes

ICTY: Karadžić case – Trial Chamber Orders Appointment of Counsel

First Rapporteur — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:14:47 +0000

The ICTY Trial Chamber issued a decision in which it instructed the Registrar to appoint a counsel to prepare to represent the interests of Radovan Karadžić at trial. It further determined that the appointed counsel be given three and a half months to prepare for trial, thus scheduling the resumption of trial for 1 March 2010. The Trial Chamber states:

27. [...] unequivocally that, should the Accused continue to absent himself from the resumed trial proceedings in March, or should he engage in any other conduct that obstructs the proper and expeditious conduct of the trial, he will forfeit his right to self-representation, no longer be entitled to assistance from his assigned defence team, and the appointed counsel will take over as an assigned counsel to represent him. Should he not engage in such conduct, the trial will proceed with the Accused continuing to represent himself and the appointed counsel will attend the proceedings and remain available to step in at any time the Chamber determines it to be necessary.

The trial of Karadžić started on 26 October 2009 but the accused did not appear for the scheduled commencement of trial claiming his defence was not ready despite the Trial Chamber’s and Appeal Chamber’s decisions stating that he had been given adequate time.

The decision to appoint counsel can be found here.

Posted in Fair Trial Rights, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslav

AU: Mbecki Report on Darfur considered by the AU Peace and Security Council

First Rapporteur — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:31:19 +0000

The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) met in Abuja, Nigeria, on 29 October 2009 at the level of Heads of State and Government to consider the AU High – Level-Panel on Darfur (AUDP), chaired by former President Thabo Mbecki. The Mbecki report recommends amongst others

“A Hybrid Criminal Court which shall exercise original and appellate jurisdiction over individuals who appear to bear particular responsibility for the gravest crimes committed during the conflict in Darfur, and to be constituted by judges of Sudanese and other nationalities”.

The entire report may be found here.

Posted in Courts - Hybrid

SCSL: RUF Appeal Judgement

First Rapporteur — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:59:27 +0000

On 26 October 2009 the Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone rendered the judgement in the case of the Prosecutor v. Sesay, Kallon, Gbao (commonly referred to as Revolutionary United Front (RUF) case). The Appeals Chamber upheld the sentences of the Trial Chamber. The dissenting opinion of Judges Fisher and Winter on the responsibility of Gbao through JCE liability is noteworthy. The word version of the Judgement may be found here.

Posted in Child Soldiers, Common Article 3, Crimes Against Humanity, Direct Participation in Hostilities, Fair Trial Rights, JCE, Sentencing, Sexual Violence, Special Court for Sierra Leone, Superior Responsibility, Uncategorized, War Crimes

ICC: Annual Report

First Rapporteur — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:39:15 +0000

the President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Judge Sang-Hyun Song presented the annual report of the ICC to the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York. The Annual Report may be found here.

Posted in Uncategorized

ICTY: Appeals Chamber Decision on alleged Holbrooke Agreement

First Rapporteur — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:29:51 +0000

On 12 October 2009 the ICTY Appeals Chamber rendered a decision on the alleged Holbrooke agreement. The Appeals Chamber discusses the ICTY jurisdiction and abuse of process. The decision may be found here.

Posted in Fair Trial Rights, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslav, Jurisdictional Issues, Uncategorized

Grand Chamber ECHR: Judgement in Varnava et al. v. Turkey – Enforced Disapperances

First Rapporteur — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:44:04 +0000

In Varnava et al. v. Turkey the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights decided on a case of enforced disappearances of persons in the 1974 armed conflict on Cyprus. The Grand Chamber makes references to United Nations Declaration on the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and explicitly makes use of international humanitarian law principles in its interpretation of Article 2 of the [European] Convention (right to life):

“Article 2 must be interpreted in so far as possible in light of the general principles of international law, including the rules of international humanitarian law which play an indispensable and universally-accepted role in mitigating the savagery and inhumanity of armed conflict. The Court therefore concurs with the reasoning of the Chamber in holding that in a zone of international conflict Contracting States are under obligation to protect the lives of those not, or no longer, engaged in hostilities. This would also extend to the provision of medical assistance to the wounded; where combatants have died, or succumbed to wounds, the need for accountability would necessitate proper disposal of remains and require the authorities to collect and provide information about the identity and fate of those concerned, or permit bodies such as the ICRC to do so” [para. 185 of the Judgement].

The judgement can be found here, and the press release here.

Posted in Enforced disappearance, Uncategorized

STL: Sixth Months Report

First Rapporteur — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:43:34 +0000

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon has submitted a report on its first six months of operations to the Management Committee. The report is distinct from the Annual Report to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and to the Government of Lebanon, which is due in March 2010. If you were wondering what the STL was doing so far, the Report is available here.

Posted in Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Uncategorized

US Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit: Decision in The Presbyterian Church of Sudan v. Talisman Energy, Inc.

First Rapporteur — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:59:15 +0000

The Second Circuit of US Court of Appeals has issued a decision in the case of the Presbyterian Church of Sudan v. Talisman Energy, Inc. Even though involving corporate liability under the Alien Tort Statute, the decision has noteworthy passages on aiding and abetting liability under international law. The Second Circuit is of the view that international law only recognises aiding and abetting liability for “purposeful” conduct, rather than knowledge. This finding is contrary to the established jurisprudence of the ad hoc tribunals.

The decision can be found here. See also a brief initial comment on the decision by Roger Alford on Opinio Juris here.

Posted in aiding and abetting

UN Security Council Resolution on Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict

First Rapporteur — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:38:44 +0000

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution (Resolution 1888) to halt the use of sexual violence as a tactic of war. Resolution 1888 can be found here.

Posted in Sexual Violence, Uncategorized, War Crimes