A Blog on International Justice
Date: 6-7 February, 2013 Venue: Jomo Kenyatta Road, New England, Freetown, Sierra Leone. The Freetown conference will address: • Sustainability and implementation of the various legacy projects associated with the Court ; • Impact of the Court on impunity and accountability domestically and in the region ; • Contributions of the SCSL to the rule of law, legacy [...]
Charles Taylor’s lawyers have announced their intention to call Judge Malick Sow to the stand during the preliminary hearings scheduled to prepare Taylor’s appeal trial before the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). The Senegalese judge was dismissed in May for “misconduct” after attempting to voice his dissenting opinion the day the judgment was handed [...]
By Wayne Jordash Charles Taylor was convicted on all 11 counts of an indictment that charged the Accused with five counts of crimes against humanity; in particular: murder, rape, sexual slavery, other inhumane acts, and enslavement. In addition to the crimes against humanity, he was also convicted on five counts of violating Article 3 Common [...]
After a period of inactivity due to financial constraints, the website of the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission (‘TRC’) was re-launched on 29 May 2012. In a recent article appeared in Sierra Express Media, Sonkita Conteh emphasises the importance of this achievement. The Sierra Leone TRC was established by the Lomé Peace Accord, signed on 7 [...]
Justice Shireen Avis Fisher of the United States has been elected to a one-year term as Presiding Judge of the Appeals Chamber, a post which makes her President of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. She succeeds Justice Jon Kamanda of Sierra Leone, who has served as President since 2009. Prior to her appointment to [...]
The Trial Chamber sentencing Judgment in the case of Charles Taylor at the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) will be handed down at 11am in The Hague/9am GMT. The proceedings can be viewed online here or here. The trial of Charles Taylor, the ex President of Liberia is the final case before the SCSL. Mr. Taylor [...]
At his sentencing hearing today, Charles Taylor again maintained his innocence. He expressed his “sadness and deepest sympathy for the atrocities and crimes that were suffered by individuals and families in Sierra Leone”, but refused to accept responsibility for the crimes committed by rebel forces, claiming that the entire trial was motivated by politics. On [...]
The Principal Defender of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) today appointed Morris Anyah as Assigned Appeals Counsel. An experienced international appeals lawyer and co-counsel on the Taylor Defence team since 2007, Mr. Anyah will conduct the appeal of convicted former Liberian President Charles Taylor. On 26 April 2012, Trial Chamber II of the [...]
In a written submission Thursday, SCSL Prosecutor Brenda Hollis requested that Charles Taylor be sentenced to 80 years imprisonment. The Prosecution submitted that the ‘extreme magnitude’ of the crimes of which Mr Taylor was found guilty last 26 April warranted such a long-term sentence, which would ‘reflect the essential role Mr. Taylor played in crimes of such [...]
by Wayne Jordash As the celebration of Taylor’s conviction is played out in the international media, the fact that the Trial Chamber, after nearly 14 months, has still to complete the drafting of the actual Judgment has received scant attention. As pointed out by Geoffrey Robertson QC on 16 April 2012 in Newsweek Magazine, one [...]
The UN Security Council, the Secretary General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights all voiced their satisfaction concerning the conviction of former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor, before the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Security Council’s President Susan Rice issued a Press Statement welcoming the judgment. Ms Rice emphasised that the serious crimes of which [...]
At the conclusion of the delivery of the oral Charles Taylor Judgment yesterday 26 April, Alternate Judge Malick Sow of Senegal attempted to voice his dissenting opinion. As an Alternate Judge he does not have a vote, nor a right to dissent, but sought to publicly state his concerns that the evidence against Mr. Taylor [...]
The Trial Chamber of the United Nations backed hybrid Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) today delivered its oral judgment in the case of the The Prosecutor v. Charles Taylor at 11am in The Hague. Charles Taylor, the former President of Liberia was convicted on all 11 Counts of his 11 Count indictment with the sentencing [...]
The Charles Taylor Trial Judgment at the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) will be streamed online Thursday 26 April 2012 at 11:00am Hague time and 9:00am GMT. It is possible to watch the Judgment being delivered here or here or else access the links through the front page of the SCSL website. As previously mentioned on this blog, there [...]
Queen’s Counsel Geoffrey Robertson has published an opinion piece on the impending Charles Taylor Trial Judgment at the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) due on 26 April 2012 at 11:00am in The Hague. Mr. Robertson has previously served as Appeal Judge (2002 – 2007) and President (2002 – 2004) of the Special Court. Former President [...]
Last Friday, judges of the Special Court for Sierra Leone maintained that their verdict on the guilt or innocence of Charles Taylor will be rendered on April 26 as originally announced. Mr. Taylor’s defense team had filed a motion requesting a change in the trial judgment date claiming that delivery of the judgment on the [...]
Date: April 19, 2012 – April 21, 2012 Venue: University of Pittsburgh School of Law 3900 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA, 15260 Keynote Speaker: Stephen J. Rapp, United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues. ILawyer Wayne Jordash will be delivering a paper titled ‘Fair Trial Rights at the SCSL: How the Demands of Accountability Outweighed the [...]
The Special Court for Sierra Leone announced that it will render its long awaited judgement on the Charles Taylor case on 26 April, starting at 11:00am. The former President of Liberia is accused of 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed between 1996 and 2002. For more details, click here. Share this: