: 
UPDATE: International Criminal Courts for the Former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone: A Guide to Online and Print Resources
By Amy Burchfield
Amy Burchfield is the Access and Faculty Services Librarian at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Library. She previously worked as the International and Foreign Law Reference Librarian at the John Wolff International & Comparative Law Library at the Georgetown University Law Center. Ms. Burchfield earned her JD from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and an MLIS and MA in German translation from Kent State University. She is the author of International Sports Law.
Published August 2008
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Chart Comparing the Three Courts
3. International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
3.3. Basic Documents
3.4. Case Law
3.5. Selected Print Sources & Links
4. International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)
4.3. Basic Documents
4.4. Case Law
4.5. Selected Print Sources & Links
5. Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL)
5.2. Overview of the Court Structure
5.3. Basic Documents
5.4. Case Law
5.5. Selected Print Sources & Links
6. Multi-Court Sources – Online and in Print
7. Research Institutes and Educational Resources
8. Other Research Guides and Bibliographies
9. Bibliography
Despite vows of “never again” in the aftermath of the Holocaust, late twentieth century history was marked by a series of brutal conflicts that resulted in war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and other serious crimes. Several international tribunals were established with the goal of prosecuting those who committed these crimes.
This guide focuses on online and print sources relating to the following three international criminal courts: the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), and the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). The guide begins with a chart comparing key features of these three courts. The guide then examines each court individually, providing an overview of the underlying conflict and general background, an overview of the court, the court’s basic documents, case law sources, and a listing of additional print and online sources for that individual court. The next section of the guide identifies online and print resources that deal with multiple international criminal tribunals. Finally, the last sections cover research institutes and educational resources, and other research guides.
I have purposely omitted several key courts and tribunals from this guide in order to focus narrowly on the ICTY, ICTR and SCSL. Researchers interested in the International Criminal Court (ICC) can consult that section within the ASIL Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law. An excellent collection of primary materials on the Nuremburg war crimes trials is available through the Avalon Project. Finally, SMU’s International Criminal Courts guide covers other tribunals including those for Cambodia, Iraq and East Timor.
|
|
Date est. |
Establishing document |
Number of judges |
Justiciable crimes |
Chief prosecutor |
Location of court |
Official language |
Temporal constraints |
Geographic constraints |
|
ICTY |
May 23, 1993 |
16 permanentand up to 9 ad litem |
Grave breaches of Geneva Conventions of 1949; violations of the laws of war; genocide; crimes against humanity |
Serge Brammertz
since 1 Jan. 2008 |
The Hague, The Netherlands |
English and French (Serbo-Croat is unofficial) |
Crimes commit- ted since 1991 |
Territory of the former Yugoslavia |
|
|
ICTR |
Nov. 8, 1994 |
16 permanent and 18 ad litem judges |
Genocide; crimes against humanity; serious violations of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 |
Hassan Bubacar Jallow
since 15 Sept. 2003 |
Arusha, Tanzania |
English and French (Kinyarwanda is unofficial) |
Crimes commit- ted between Jan. 1, 1994 and Dec. 1994 |
Territory of Rwanda |
|
|
SCSL |
Aug. 14, 2000 |
At least 8, and no more than 11 |
Crimes against humanity; violations of international humanitarian law; serious crimes under Sierra Leonean law |
Stephen J. Rapp
since Dec. 2006 |
Freetown, Sierra Leone |
English (Krio is unofficial) |
Crimes commit- ted since Nov. 30, 1996 |
Territory of Sierra Leone |
In this section I intend to give a brief overview of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. For a more detailed account, see Timeline: Yugoslavia.
Since the death of Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito in 1980 and the fall of Communism in the early 1990s, Yugoslavia became increasingly unstable politically and socially. The resulting ten-year conflict cost an estimated 300,000 lives and was declared the first official genocide since World War II. Since the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, seven successor states have been formed: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia, and Kosovo.
The Yugoslav conflict was a series of successive wars that involved intra-state civil fighting and outside NATO intervention. In June 1991, Slovenia and Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia. After a brief ten day war, Slovenia succeeded in becoming independent. Croatia had a more difficult road to independence. The Yugoslav government, led by Serb leader Slobodan Milošević, sent military forces to thwart Croatia’s efforts at independence. The resulting war lasted from 1991 to 1995.
In January 1992, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia likewise declared independence. The resulting war in Bosnia (1992-1995) was one of the deadliest periods of the conflict. Serb forces lead campaigns of ethnic cleansing against Moslem Bosniaks, with the worst massacre occurring in July 1995 in Srebrenica. The NATO bombing and the Dayton Agreement signed in 1995 ended the war in Bosnia.
The next area of conflict centered on Kosovo, an area historically integrated into Serbia. The Albanian minority in Kosovo sought autonomy or independence. Milošević and the Slav government responded with military force and NATO intervened to end the conflict. In 2001, there were smaller-scale conflicts in Macedonia and in southern Serbia. In February 2008, Kosovo declared its independence.
All sides in the Yugoslav conflict were implicated in numerous crimes, including genocide, ethnic cleansing, and mass rape.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was established in 1993 by United Nations Security Council Resolution 827. The ICTY is authorized to prosecute persons responsible for grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, violations of the laws of war, genocide, and crimes against humanity. The ICTY can only hear cases concerning crimes committed on the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991.
The ICTY is organized into three Trial Chambers and one Appeals Chamber. Three permanent judges and a maximum of six ad litem judges are members of each Trial Chamber. Seven permanent judges are members of the Appeals Chamber. The working languages of the ICTY are English and French.
Former Serb President, Slobodan Milošević, [New York Times Topics archive] died on March 11, 2006 during proceedings at the ICTY. The Court did not reach a verdict in his case.
Bosnian Serb leader, Radovan Karadzić, [New York Times Topics archive] was arrested on July 21, 2008. It is expected that Karadzić will be transferred to the ICTY to stand trial.
The ICTY has issued an international arrest warrant for Serbian Army leader Ratko Mladić, [New York Times Topics archive] who currently remains at large.
The following basic documents of the ICTY are available at the Court’s official website:
The ICTY basic documents are also available online at the University of Minnesota Human Rights Library.
In print, see Basic Documents International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991 ([Netherlands:] United Nations, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, 1995-).
Additionally, the ICTY publishes The Yearbook ([Netherlands]: United Nations, ICTY, 1995-) documenting the activities of the ICTY and recording speeches and other background information.
Cases and Judgements can be found on the ICTY website. All documents for individual parties are gathered in one place: indictments, judgments, decisions, orders and transcripts. This is the best source for up-to-date case law information.
ICTY Judgment Summaries (American University Washington College of Law).
In Westlaw (subscription database requiring a password), ICTY cases are available in the INT-ICTY database.
Judicial Reports / International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia = Recueils judiciaires / Tribunal pénal pour l’ex-Yougoslavie (The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 1999-): This includes indictments, orders, decisions and judgments. It is considered the official print reporter for the ICTY, and is published for and on behalf of the United Nations by Kluwer Law International / Martinus Nijhoff. This set runs approximately five years behind—consult the ICTY website for the most current case law.
Global War Crimes Tribunal Collection (Nijmegen, the Netherlands: Global Law Association, 1997-): This commercial source includes trial transcripts, selected full-text judgments, and other materials.
ICTY Print Sources:
ICTY / Former Yugoslavia Links:
UNMIK Current Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo. See the United Nations peacekeeping operations website for past U.N. operations in the territory of the former Yugoslavia.
ASIL Insights Coverage
The
American Society of International Law publishes ASIL
Insights, an electronic publication for brief expert legal
insight and analysis on major developments in international law. The following
articles have been published on the ICTY in ASIL Insights:
The following section briefly outlines of the events surrounding the 1994 Rwandan genocide. For a more thorough treatment see Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda (Human Rights Watch).
Once a Belgian colony, Rwanda has suffered from ethnic unrest for much of the past century. The Belgian colonists’ favoritism toward the Tutsi tribe at the expense of the majority Hutu tribe created ongoing resentment between these two ethnic groups.
In the early 1990s, the Hutus controlled much of the governmental power. Tutsi rebels based in neighboring Uganda formed a rebel unit called the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) which invaded Rwanda in October 1990. Two years of fighting ensued. Following a cease-fire and protracted negotiations, the Arusha Accords were signed in an attempt to bring peace to the country.
Ethnic tensions escalated in the following months. Hutu militia began stockpiling weapons and using radio broadcasts to incite Hutus to violence against Tutsis and moderate Hutus. On April 6, 1994, an airplane carrying the Rwandan President Habyarimana and the Burundian President Ntaryamira crashed and both presidents were killed. Shortly following this, the Rwandan Prime Minister, Agathe Uwilingiyimana, was assassinated. These events triggered widespread violence.
The Rwandan Genocide lasted 100 days from April until July 1994. Approximately one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by bands of militias known as the Interahamwe. In one of the worst massacres, about 3,000 Tutsis sought protection in a local church; the Interahamwe used bulldozers to knock down the church and killed those who fled with machetes.
UNAMIR, the U.N. peacekeeping force in Rwanda led by General Roméo Dallaire, was limited by its mandate and the small size of its force to evacuating foreign nationals from Rwanda. The genocide ended in July 1994 when the RPF, attacking from neighboring Uganda and Tanzania, defeated the Hutu government.
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) was established in 1994 by United Nations Security Counsel Resolution 955. The ICTR has the power to prosecute persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law in the territory of Rwanda between January 1, 1994 and December 31, 1994. The ICTR can also prosecute Rwandan citizens who committed such serious crimes in neighboring countries during that same time period.
The ICTR has the power to prosecute persons who committed genocide, crimes against humanity, and serious violations of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. These broad categories of crimes encompass such acts as conspiracy to commit genocide, incitement to genocide, murder, torture, rape, the taking of hostages and acts of terrorism.
The ICTR is organized into three Trial Chambers and one Appeals Chamber. Three permanent judges and a maximum of four ad litem judges comprise each of the Trial Chambers. Seven permanent judges serve as members of the Appeals Chamber. The working languages of the ICTR are English and French.
Currently (July 2008), the ICTR has completed over twenty-eight cases, and has twenty-eight cases in progress. An additional eight cases are awaiting trial.
The following basic documents of the ICTR are available at the Court’s official website under “Basic Legal Texts”:
In print, see International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Basic Documents (Arusha: Tanzania: International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, 1999).
Cases are available on the ICTR website, which includes the most up-to-date posting of indictments, decisions, judgments, case minutes, and status of detainees.
ICTR Judgment Summaries (American University Washington College of Law).
In Westlaw (subscription database requiring a password), ICTR cases are available in the INT-ICTR database.
Eric David (ed.), Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda: recueil des ordonnances, décisions et arrêts, 1995-1997 = International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Reports of Orders, Decisions and Judgements, 1995-1997 (Bruxelles: Bruylant, 2000). Unlike the ICTY, there is no official print reporter for the ICTR. This volume is one print source for ICTR case law.
Global War Crimes Tribunal Collection (Nijmegen, the Netherlands: Global Law Association, 1997- ). This commercial source includes trial transcripts, selected full-text judgments, and other materials.
ICTR Print Sources:
ICTR / Rwanda Links:
ASIL Insights Coverage
The
American Society of International Law publishes ASIL
Insights, an electronic publication for brief expert legal
insight and analysis on major developments in international law. The following
articles have been published on the ICTR in ASIL Insights:
The conflict in Sierra Leone in the 1990s is complicated, and in this section I only attempt to outline the major political events of the time and introduce the major cast of characters. For a more thorough treatment of this conflict, see Sierra Leone: Armed Conflicts Report or J. Peter Pham’s, The Sierra Leonean Tragedy: History and Global Dimensions (New York : Nova Science Publishers, 2006).
In 1991, a rebel group called the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) sought to overthrow the republican government of Sierra Leone. The RUF launched their attacks from neighboring Liberia. An inter-state war ensued between Liberian troops, lead by Liberian President Charles Taylor, and Sierra Leonean troops. In 1996, the President of Sierra Leone, Ahmed Kabbah, negotiated a short-lived ceasefire agreement.
Kabbah was overthrown in 1997 by a group called the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC). The AFRC invited the RUF to join the government of Sierra Leone. As a result, the rebel RUF / AFRC groups were pitted against the Civil Defense Forces (CDF), a pro-government militia. All sides were implicated in countless crimes against the civilian population, including executions, torture, rape, mutilation and the inscription of child-soldiers.
In 1998, Kabbah’s government was reinstated and in 1999 the Lome Peace Agreement was signed, which granted amnesty to members of the RUF. The RUF violated the terms of the Lome Agreement by committing various acts of violence. Fighting erupted once again and additional cease-fire agreements were negotiated. With the assistance of UN peacekeeping forces, disarmament and a reduction of hostilities followed. In 2000, the government of Sierra Leone approached the United Nations and requested assistance in forming a criminal court to try the worst of the perpetrators.
The Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) is a hybrid court established by an agreement between the United Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone on August 14, 2000. The SCSL is authorized to prosecute persons responsible for the most serious crimes committed on the territory of Sierra Leone since November 30, 1996.
The SCSL has the power to prosecute persons who committed the following three categories of crimes: crimes against humanity, crimes in violation of international humanitarian law and serious crimes under Sierra Leonean law. The Special Court is made up of at least eight and no more than eleven judges who are organized into a Trial Chamber and an Appeals Chamber. The working language of the court is English.
Currently (July 2008), the SCSL has completed the trial of three former AFRC leaders and two former CDF leaders. The trials of three former RUF leaders and of former Liberian President Charles Taylor are still underway.
The trial of President Charles Taylor [New York Times Topics archive] is being conducted in The Hague at the International Criminal Court (ICC) building. Taylor faces an 11-count amended indictment for crimes against humanity, violations of Common Article 3 to the Geneva Conventions and of Additional Protocol II, and other serious violations of international humanitarian law.
The AFRC leader Johnny Paul Koroma faces a 17-count indictment issued on 7 March 2003. He is presently at large.
All basic documents of the SCSL are available at the Court’s official website. These include:
The SCSL basic documents are also available online at the No Peace Without Justice—Sierra Leone site.
The Digest of Jurisprudence of the Special Court for Sierra Leone 2003 – 2005 by Cyril Laucci (Leiden ; Boston : Martinus Nijhoff, 2007) abstracts 548 decisions, order and judgments rendered by the SCLC that relate to the Statute of the Special Court and the Rules of Procedure and Evidence. The Digest is organized by article and rule number. A second volume of the Digest is intended for publication upon completion of the SCSL’s mandate.
There is no official print publication of the SCSL basic documents. One print source for the SCSL Statute and Rules of Procedure and Evidence is International Criminal Practice (See Multi-Court Sources—Online and In Print, this guide).
The Consolidated Legal Texts for the Special Court for Sierra Leone by Charles Jalloh (Leiden, The Netherlands ; Boston : Martinus Nijhoff, 2007) contains the following sections: basic legal texts, regulations of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Sierra Leonean legislation, and ceasefire and peace agreements.
Currently (July 2008), the Charles Taylor case is being heard at the facilities of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, not at the SCSL headquarters in Freetown. ASIL’s May 2007 webinar gives a good background on the case. The Trial of Charles Taylor Blog, maintained by a monitoring team from the global litigation practice of Clifford Chance LLP, provides news and analysis of the trial as it progresses.
A judgment is expected in the RUF trial later this year. The Trial Chamber judgment in the trial of AFRC leaders Alex Tamba Brima, Ibrahim Bazzy Kamara, and Santigie Borbor Kanu is available online. The appeal judgment in the AFRC case has also been completed. The trial of CDF leaders Moinina Fofana and Allieu Kondewa has likewise been concluded (see Trial Chamber judgment and appeal judgment).
A print source for case law is volume 9, “The Special Court for Sierra Leone 2003-2004” from the series Annotated Leading Cases of International Criminal Tribunals (Antwerpen: Intersentia, 1999- ), André Klip and Göran Sluiter (eds.)
SCSL Print Sources
Despite its eight-year history, the Special Court has yet to be as extensively explored by scholars as the other courts. The scholarship available focusing directly on the Special Court can be found primarily in journal articles. Selected articles are listed below and may be electronically available through databases such as Lexis, Westlaw, Academic Search Premier and/or JSTOR.
SCSL / Sierra Leone Links:
ASIL Insights Coverage
The
American Society of International Law publishes ASIL
Insights, an electronic publication for brief expert legal
insight and analysis on major developments in international law. The following
articles have been published on the SCSL in ASIL Insights:
· Charles C. Jalloh and Janewa Osei-Tutu, Prosecutor v. Brima, Kamara, and Kanu: First Judgment from the Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (2008);
· ———, Special Court for Sierra Leone Dismisses Taylor Motion Against Change of Venue (2006);
· Mark A. Drumbl, Charles Taylor and the Special Court for Sierra Leone (2006);
· Charles C. Jalloh, Immunity from Prosecution for International Crimes: The Case of Charles Taylor at the Special Court for Sierra Leone (2004);
· Cesare P.R. Romano and André Nollkaemper, The Arrest Warrant Against The Liberian President, Charles Taylor (2003); and,
· Michael P. Scharf, The Special Court for Sierra Leone (2000).
Multi-Court Sources in Print:
· Anne-Marie de Brouwer, Supranational Criminal Prosecution of Sexual Violence: The ICC and the Practice of the ICTY and the ICTR (Antwerpen: Intersentia, 2005);
· Rodney Dixon, Karim A.A. Kahn and Richard May (eds.), Archbold: International Criminal Courts, Practice, Procedure of Evidence (London: Sweet & Maxwell, 2003);
· John R.W.D. Jones, International Criminal Practice: The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the International Criminal Court, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the East Timor Special Panel for Serious Crimes, War Crimes Prosecutions in Kosovo (Ardsley, NY: Transnational Publishers, 2003);
· André Klip and Göran Sluiter (eds.), Annotated Leading Cases of International Criminal Tribunals (Antwerpen: Intersentia, 1999- );
· Geert-Jan G.J. Knoops, An Introduction to the Law of International Criminal Tribunals: A Comparative Study (Ardsley: Transnational Publishers, 2003);
· ———, Surrendering to International Criminal Courts: Contemporary Practice and Procedures (Ardsley: Transnational Publishers, 2002);
· Victor Peskin, International Justice in Rwanda and the Balkans: Virtual Trials and the Struggle for State Cooperation (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008);
· Steven D. Roper and Lilian A. Barria, Designing Criminal Tribunals: Sovereignty and International Concerns in the Protection of Human Rights (Aldershot, England ; Burlington, VT : Ashgate, 2006); and,
· William A. Schabas, The UN International Criminal Tribunals: The Former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006).
Multi-Court Sources Online:
· Project on International Courts and Tribunals (PICT);
· International Criminal Tribunals (University of Minnesota);
· War Crimes Research Portal (Case School of Law); and,
· Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity: Topical Digests of the Case Law of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (Human Rights Watch).
The Genocide Studies Program at Yale University hosts a Rwandan Genocide Project, a source for articles, maps and the beta version of a victims database.
The International War Crimes Project (New England School of Law) Law students are involved in a project to provide legal research and analysis to the Prosecutors of the ICTY and the ICTR.
In addition to providing research guides and links, the Frederick K. Cox International Law Center War Crimes Research Portal (Case School of Law) contains the text of over 120 research memoranda on issues pending before the ICTY, ICTR and SCSL.
U.C. Berkeley’s War Crimes Studies Center collaborates and supports international tribunals through archiving materials, trial monitoring, education, publications, and research. In addition to covering the SCSL and Rwanda, the War Crimes Studies Center focuses on East Timor, Indonesia, Cambodia and WWII.
· War Crimes Research Guide (Georgetown University Law Center)
· International Criminal Courts (Southern Methodist University)
· Research Guide: The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (Columbia Law School)
· International Criminal Law (ASIL)
The following print and online sources were consulted in writing the “Overview of the Conflict” sections of this guide:
· Countries of the World and Their Leaders Yearbook 2004 (Detroit: Gale Research, 1980-);
· George Childs Kohn, Dictionary of Wars (New York: Facts on File, c1999);
· Micheal Clodfelter, Warfare and Armed Conflict A Statistical Reference to Casualty and Other Figures, 1500-2000 (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2001);
· Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda (Human Rights Watch);
· Sierra Leone: Armed Conflicts Report (Project Ploughshares); and,
· Timeline: Yugoslavia (Infoplease).