Report of Proceedings - International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

operated in the ICTR’s investigatory work, some others did not. In contrast, the ICTY had an
advantage in that it had the assistance of NATO forces in locating and arresting suspects. Mr.
Muna expressed the hope that the ICC will receive more co-operations from States and
national systems in their investigation of criminals.
The ICTR was created in the image of the UN General Assembly. Staffs were recruited
from around the world. While such geographic representation seemed like a good idea, this
diversity brought a number of challenges in the creation of an investigation team, including
those related to language, culture, and professional training and background. In contrast, the
ICC has the opportunity to draw upon a more experienced pool of staff as many professionals
have already worked with the ad-hoc tribunals. The coming together of different legal systems
has also created some difficulties for the ICTR. Practitioners trained in different systems may
have markedly different perspectives on issues such as statements by the accused, which may
ultimately influence decisions and sentences.
Mr. Muna believes that the accusatorial legal system is not as well suited as the
inquisitorial system for examining “the collective responsibility of a government that becomes
a predator on its people.” The accusatorial approach also may lead to lengthy proceedings that
may result in taking up a lot of time and resources.
Mr. Muna stressed that the international justice system must promote a consciousness of
the importance of international courts, even among populations far removed from the kinds of
conflicts examined by international criminal court. He remarked “if it is not our turn today, it
might be ours tomorrow.”
It has been noted that that the ICTR has yet to resolve its credibility problem in the eyes of
the Rwandan people. This is because the trials are taking place outside the territory in which
the crimes were committed. Mr. Muna suggested that cases that remain after the tribunal closes
could be transferred to the new African Court for Human and Peoples’ Rights as well as to
national jurisdictions.
“Jurisprudence on Sexual Violence in International Tribunals,” presented by Hon. Judge
Navanethem Pillay
Judge Pillay began her presentation by noting that, as a judge, she cannot tell prosecutors
how to advance their investigations. She stressed that judges need to be balanced since they
hear cases from the point of view of both prosecutors and defence.
Judge Pillay feels, however, that one area of criminal investigation that has not received
sufficient attention is that of crimes of sexual violence. Crimes of sexual violence require a
particular approach since they are surrounded by feelings of shame and stigma on the part of
victims.
In early ICTR cases, the charge of rape was sometimes added at a late stage of the
prosecution in response to witness testimony. This was due in part to investigations that did not
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