international criminal law – Page 15 – International Justice Resource Center

Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Nepal Continues to Face Criticism

April 9, 2013 IJRC Asia, international criminal law, judicial independence, transitional justice

Nepal continues to face difficult questions in addressing the legacy of the civil conflict that spanned 1996 to 2006. On March 14, 2013, Nepal’s President Ram Baran Yadav passed an ordinance creating a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was first called for by the 2006 peace accords that ended the decades long conflict. However, the ordinance was prepared without input

ICC Prosecutor Withdraws Charges against Muthaura: Background and Implications for Kenya Cases

March 13, 2013 IJRC International Criminal Court, international human rights

In a written and video statement made public on Monday, March 11, 2013, International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced she would be withdrawing all charges against Francis Muthaura arising out of Kenya’s 2007 and 2008 post-election violence. Muthaura, Kenya’s former civil service chief, was accused of committing crimes against humanity, including murder and rape. Bensouda’s decision marks the first time charges have been withdrawn

Bangladesh Faces Violence, Controversy Over International Crimes Tribunal Convictions

March 12, 2013 IJRC domestic courts, due process & judicial protection, international criminal law, international human rights, internationalized criminal tribunals

Bangladesh has been marked by riots and violence, with more than 80 killed since January 21, 2013 due to conflict surrounding the International Crimes Tribunal’s recent convictions of members of the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami political party on charges stemming from the its collaboration with Pakistani forces during the 1971 Liberation War, through which Bangladesh won independence. [The International] Since it began

Extraordinary African Chambers: Hybrid Court to Try Former Chad Dictator Hissène Habré

February 13, 2013 IJRC African System, crime & impunity, domestic courts, due process & judicial protection, European System, extrajudicial executions, International Court of Justice, international human rights, internationalized criminal tribunals, torture, UN treaty bodies, universal jurisdiction

The Extraordinary African Chambers, a special criminal court, opened on February 8, 2013 in the West African nation of Senegal to prepare a case against former Chadian president Hissène Habré. [NY Times] Habré has been accused of responsibility for the deaths of more than 40,000 people and the torture of more than 20,000 during his eight-year rule of Chad, from 1982

Mali Conflict: Concerns Persist for Protection of Human Rights, Displaced Populations, Minority Groups

February 5, 2013 IJRC African System, crime & impunity, democracy & political rights, International Criminal Court, international human rights, military and humanitarian intervention, right to life, security & rule of law, thought, expression & association, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Human Rights Council, UN Security Council, Universal Periodic Review

The West African nation of Mali, previously hailed as a democratic model for other regional governments, has become engulfed in a human rights and political crisis that is now the target of international attention and military intervention. Government and foreign forces are attempting to reclaim territory from separatist rebel groups, while the International Criminal Court and UN and African human rights

UN Special Rapporteur Initiates Investigation into Drone Strikes and Other Targeted Killings

February 4, 2013 IJRC due process & judicial protection, extrajudicial executions, international criminal law, international human rights, international humanitarian law, security & rule of law, UN Special Procedures

On January 24, 2013, the UN Special Rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights, Ben Emmerson, launched an investigation of States’ use of armed drones and other forms of targeted killing. The investigation will focus on the legal framework applicable to the use of drones and the technology’s impact on civilians by examining 25 case studies of strikes carried out by the

Guatemala Abrogates Attempt to Limit the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ Jurisdiction

January 23, 2013 IJRC crime & impunity, due process & judicial protection, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, Inter-American System, international human rights, massacres, torture, transitional justice, universal jurisdiction

On January 17, 2013, Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina announced the derogation of a resolution that would have attempted to limit the Inter-American Court of Human Right’s jurisdiction over alleged human rights violations that took place before 1987. [IACHR; Procuraduría de Derechos Humanos] In December 2012, the Guatemalan Congress passed Resolution 370-2012, the purpose of which was to restrict the Inter-American Court of

UK Exercises Universal Jurisdiction to Prosecute Nepalese Colonel for Torture

January 9, 2013 IJRC domestic courts, international human rights, torture, universal jurisdiction

On Thursday, January 3, 2013, British Metropolitan Police arrested Colonel Kumar Lama, a former Nepalese army officer, during a visit with his wife and children at their home in East Sussex, England. [BBC] Col. Lama was charged with two counts of torture allegedly committed in 2005 during Nepal’s civil war and faces trial in Britain. Charges and Basis of British

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Commences its Final Trial

October 15, 2012 IJRC ICTY, international criminal law, international human rights, international humanitarian law, UN Security Council

The final case pending before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) involves Goran Hadžić, the former president of the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina, who is indicted for persecution and murder of non-Serbs, as well as unlawful imprisonment, torture, inhumane acts, cruel treatment, forcible transfer, deportation and wanton destruction, and plunder of private or public property. Hadžić was

Special Court for Sierra Leone's Annual Report Focuses on Legacy as Mandate Nears End

October 11, 2012 IJRC crime & impunity, international humanitarian law, internationalized criminal tribunals, transitional justice

Last week, the Special Court for Sierra Leone released its Ninth Annual Report on its activities. Article 25 of the Statute of the Special Court requires the President to release an annual report to the Government of Sierra Leone and the Secretary General of the United Nations. The Ninth Annual Report focused on activities carried out by the Special Court