Habré’s Life Sentence Upheld on Appeal

Posted on April 27, 2017 by Raphaëlle Rafin

Hissène Habré, the former president of Chad, during his trial by the Extraordinary African Chambers in Dakar, Senegal, in 2015 ©Seyllou/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Today, the Appeals Court of the Extraordinary African Chambers upheld the life sentence for Chad’s former President Hissène Habré. Chad’s former President had been convicted of crimes against humanity, torture and war crimes, and sentenced to life in prison on May 30, 2016.

Habré was found guilty of rape, sexual slavery, torture and summary execution during his rule from 1982 to 1990. According to a 1992 Chadian Truth Commission, Habré’s government was responsible for conducting 40,000 political murders and systematically torturing more than 20,000.

Habré is the first African former head of state to be convicted in Africa, and the first former head of any state to be convicted of crimes against humanity by the courts of another country. It is also the first time that a former head of state has been convicted of personally raping someone. It is furthermore the first prosecution in Africa under universal jurisdiction.

The Extraordinary African Chambers, based in Dakar, Senegal, were created by the African Union and Senegal following a complaint filed by Hissène Habré to the Court of the Economic Community of West African States on the principle of non-retroactivity of the Senegalese new criminal provisions adopted in 2007-2008. The Chambers, especially dedicated to the trial of Hissène Habré, are composed of African judges and apply international criminal law, following Senegalese criminal procedure.

JICJ Call for papers: ICC policies and strategies

Posted on October 20, 2016 by Raphaëlle Rafin

To mark 15 years since the coming into force of the Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on 1 July 2002, the Journal of International Criminal Justice has announced a forthcoming symposium on ‘The International Criminal Court’s Policies and Strategies’ to be published in July 2017.

jicj_call-for-papers

The Court and its various organs have continually issued a number of documents explaining the Court’s policies on numerous distinct issues as well as its strategies for the future. The Journal’s Editorial Committee believes that the time has come to take a closer and systematic look at these documents, looking at the choices made thus far, the level of transparency and consistency, as well as suggesting avenues to strengthen the overall effectiveness and credibility of ICC investigative and prosecutorial strategies.

The Journal calls for submission of abstracts not exceeding 500 words on the questions described above, or related areas of interest, no later than 15 November 2016. After the abstracts are reviewed, in early December, the Editorial Committee will invite a number of contributors to submit full papers of no more than 8000 words (including an abstract and footnotes) by 28 February 2016. For more information about the call, please visit its webpage or contact the Executive Editor.

Lecture: The International Criminal Court at the Mercy of Powerful States

Posted on June 20, 2016 by Raphaëlle Rafin

Date: 29 June 2016, at 7 pm

Venue: T.M.C. Asser Instituut, R.J. Schimmelpennincklaan 20-22, The Hague, Netherlands

T.M.C. Asser Instituut, the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC) and the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies of Leiden University organize a lecture on “The International Criminal Court at the Mercy of Powerful States: How the Rome Statute Promotes Legal Neo-Colonialism” with speaker Dr Res Schuerch, from the University of Amsterdam and University of Zürich.

Supranational Criminal Law Lectures are public and free of charge. Registration is not necessary, seats are available on a first-come-first-served basis.

STL: Judges Decide to Continue Trial of Mustafa Badreddine

Posted on June 2, 2016 by Vera Padberg

Mustafa Amine Badreddine

The Trial Chamber of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon decided on Wednesday 1 June that the trial in the Ayyash et al. case will continue pending the receipt of further information from the government of Lebanon regarding the death of the Accused Mustafa Amine Badreddine. In a press statement the STL explained that the Judges do not believe that sufficient evidence has yet been presented to convince them that the death of Mr Badreddine has been proved.

Badreddine is being tried in absentia for his alleged role in assassinating Lebanon’s former prime minister, Rafik Hariri, in 2005.

Media reported last month that the senior Hezbollah commander was killed in a major explosion at Damascus airport in Syria. Hezbollah confirmed Badreddine’s death and held a massive funeral attended by thousands of the party’s officials and supporters, including Badreddine’s brother. Badreddine’s family also declared the death of their relative.

However, the STL Trial Chamber noted that the Prosecution has outstanding requests for assistance sent to the government of Lebanon seeking further information relating to what happened to Mr Badreddine and is awaiting responses.

The standards for establishing the death of a defendant are high under international law. The International Criminal Court did not recognise Ghadafi’s passing until they had received a death certificate, despite a number of widely disseminated videos depicting his violent end at the hands of rebel forces.

Judge Micheline Braidy of the Trial Chamber described in a dissenting opinion that she was convinced that Mr Mustafa Amine Badreddine was indeed deceased.

Le Tribunal spécial pour le Liban, cet énergumène judiciaire: Observations d’un expert avisé

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Raphaëlle Rafin

Compte-rendu d’entrevue avec Me Philippe Larochelle

par Pascale Langlais*

En 2009, la justice pénale internationale a mis au monde un petit nouveau, une entité judiciaire bien spéciale et unique en son genre : le Tribunal spécial pour le Liban (ci-après « TSL »). Né de la résolution 1757 du Conseil de Sécurité des Nations Unies à la suite des attentats terroristes ayant coûté la vie à l’ancien premier ministre du Liban, Rafiq Hariri, en 2005, le TSL se distingue des autres juridictions internationales à plusieurs égards et semble parfois évoluer en orbite des autres tribunaux phares de la justice internationale. À ce sujet, on doit notamment souligner le fait qu’il s’agit du premier tribunal international pénal à juger de crimes uniquement définis en droit national, à savoir le terrorisme selon le Code pénal libanais (pour plus d’information). Il s’agit également du premier tribunal international pénal à prévoir dans son Statut la possibilité de tenir des procès in absentia, donc en l’absence de l’accusé. Autre innovation, le TSL est aussi le premier tribunal en son genre à se reconnaître une compétence en matière de responsabilité de personnes morales [1].

Malgré toutes ces caractéristiques que certains considèrent comme une avancée du droit international pénal, il n’en demeure pas moins que le TSL essuie son lot de critiques non seulement en ce qui a trait à sa légitimité et à son fonctionnement, mais également en rapport avec la place qu’il occupe dans la sphère de la justice internationale pénale. Ses détracteurs sont nombreux, tant dans la société libanaise que dans la communauté internationale. Parmi ceux-ci, on peut notamment citer Philippe Larochelle, avocat de la défense fort d’une grande expérience devant les tribunaux internationaux. Me Larochelle se montre très dubitatif quant à l’existence de ce tribunal et porte un regard très critique sur la justice internationale pénale de manière générale. Il a d’ailleurs su exposer ses opinons très tranchées sur la question lors d’une conférence présentée à l’Université Laval le 28 mai 2015 dans le cadre de la première édition de l’École d’Été sur la Justice internationale. Il a plus amplement précisé sa pensée lors d’une entrevue accordée à la suite de cette conférence. Continue reading →

Book Launch: Arabic Translation of Antonio Cassese’s International Criminal Law

Posted on May 9, 2015 by Vera Padberg

On 20 May 2015, the Arabic translation of Antonio Cassese’s International Criminal Law will be officially launched in Beirut.

The book International Criminal Law is one of the most popular textbooks available in the field and provides a concise introduction to both international criminal law and international criminal procedure.

During the launch event, organised by the Embassy of Switzerland in Lebanon and Sader Legal Publishing, in cooperation with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, distinguished speakers, including H.E. Ashraf Rifi, Minister of Justice of the Republic of Lebanon and H.E. Francois Barras, Ambassador of Switzerland to Lebanon, will make remarks on the relevance of International Criminal Law for Lebanon and the MENA region.

This will be followed by a panel discussion, during which Christopher Gosnell, lawyer and co-reviser of International Criminal Law, will speak about the content and the relevance for academia and other professionals of the book.

Olga Kavran, head of Outreach and Legacy at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, will elaborate on the impact of the STL on the development of international criminal law and on Lebanon.

Judge Mohammad Amin El Mahdi, former Minister and current Head of the Supreme Administrative Court and Conseil d’Etat in Egypt, will tell the audience about the importance of international criminal law and its relevance in the MENA region.

And Dr. Camille Habib, dean of the Faculty of Law at the Lebanese University, will emphasise the importance of educating Lebanese students in international criminal law.

Antonio Cassese is among the most distinguished figures in international law and international criminal justice. He was the first President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the Special Court for Lebanon, offered constructive suggestions on the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the International Criminal Court and actively contributed to the development of international criminal law, amongst others by his book International Criminal Law (2008).

The event will take place at the Maison de l’Avocat in Beirut, from 4-6pm and will be followed by a reception.

Amsterdam Law School: Master’s International Criminal Law (LLM)

Posted on March 24, 2015 by Julien Maton

Amsterdam Law School

Columbia University School of Law and the Amsterdam Law School offer a joint LLM programme in International Criminal Law. The Master’s programme in International Criminal Law is the first programme to focus on international criminal law as a distinct field of legal study. The central aim of the programme is to train a new style of international criminal lawyers by offering a broad and deep understanding of relevant issues and supporting the development of academic skills through the analysing of such issues.

The programme is unique because of the dual perspective it offers on international criminal law: the common law and criminal law-oriented focus from Columbia University and the civil law and criminal law perspective offered by the Amsterdam Law School.

The deadline for application is 1 April.

Calls for Ad-hoc Tribunal for War Crimes and Mass Atrocities in Syria

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Vera Padberg

As the war in Syria entered its fifth year, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic on Tuesday called for the establishment of an ad-hoc tribunal to prosecute both sides to ensure accountability for the perpetrators of mass crimes committed in Syria.

Members of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria ©Martial Trezzini / EPA

Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry, addressed the Human Rights Council in Geneva warning that the Syrian civil war had intensified in its destructive scale as combatants used aerial and ground weapons “indiscriminately and disproportionately” and committed an alarming number of human rights violations.

The Commission of Inquiry reiterated the Commission’s dedication to find a path to justice through a Security Council referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC). However, it held that ensuring accountability was a process rather than a single action and that impunity had lasted for too long. Continue reading →

Justice Rapid Response’s 2014 Annual Report

Posted on March 16, 2015 by Raphaëlle Rafin

Justice Rapid Response has just released its 2014 Annual Report, capturing its growth and achievements for the past year and plans for 2015.

Justice Rapid Response is a mechanism that manages the rapid deployment of criminal justice and related professionals from a stand-by roster. Created by States from North and South to ensure that the capacity and the mechanisms are in place to conduct credible investigations wherever needed, its objective is to give the international community an effective and efficient tool to deliver on its commitment to ending impunity. To meet this goal, Justice Rapid Response established a diverse, global, expert roster of criminal justice and related professionals. These deployments can be requested by the international community: States and international or regional organizations with appropriate jurisdiction, such as various parts of the United Nations system or the International Criminal Court, to investigate, analyze and report on situations where serious human rights and international criminal violations have been reported.

Event: Uganda’s ICD, the first domestic international crimes court in Africa

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Raphaëlle Rafin

The Asser Institute is organizing a lecture on “The International Crimes Division of Uganda, the first domestic international crimes court in Africa”.

Date: Wednesday 21 January 2015, 7pm

Venue: T.M.C. Asser Instituut, The Hague, NL

Speaker: Mrs. Harriet Ssali Lule, Deputy Registrar of the International Crimes Division (ICD) of the High Court of Uganda

The ICD is the first domestic international crimes court to be set up in Africa, mainly to try perpetrators of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) war led by Joseph Kony.

Since the ICD was set up in 2008, the court has embarked on a case against one of the LRA’s top commanders, Thomas Kwoyelo. The case, which is pending on a constitutional petition before the Supreme Court, will have great impact on the jurisprudence in Uganda if returned to the ICD for prosecution. The judgment is expected in early 2015.

As the Thomas Kwoyelo case and Joseph Kony arrest are still pending, the ICD has been very busy setting up the various infrastructures necessary for an international crimes court to run efficiently. Namely, the Rules of Procedure and Evidence (RPE) which were recently completed and the launch of the Rules is to take place in early 2015.

This lecture will delve into these and other issues related to Uganda’s ICD.

SCL Lectures are public and free of charge. Registration is not necessary, seats are available on a first-come-first-served basis.

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