Prosecuting International Crimes in Africa - PULP - University of ...

Prosecution and punishment of international crimes by the Special Court for Sierra Leone 101
2 Principles and jurisprudence developed by the
Special Court for Sierra Leone
It is not possible to discuss everything decided by the Court. The selection
of principles here is based on those which are key and novel in the field of
international criminal law. 29 The jurisprudence of the SCSL on war crimes
and crimes against humanity is examined. My purpose is to uncover the
legacy of the SCSL in the prosecution and punishment of international
crimes committed in Sierra Leone, and to examine the role it has played in
the development of international law principles in Africa. The
jurisprudence of the ICTY, ICTR and the ICC is generally omitted, unless
it is specifically relevant.
2.1 Persons who bear the greatest responsibility for
international crimes
A reading of the Statute of the SCSL reveals that the Court was established
and given the ‘power to prosecute persons who bear the greatest
responsibility for serious violations of international humanitarian law and
Sierra Leonean law committed in the territory of Sierra Leone since 30
November 1996, including those leaders who, in committing such crimes,
have threatened the establishment of and implementation of the peace
process in Sierra Leone’. 30 The Court is the first of its kind to use the
phrase quoted above. None of its predecessors has such a mandate in their
statutes.
Unfortunately, nowhere in the Statute of the SCSL is the phrase
‘persons who bear the greatest responsibility for serious international
humanitarian law and Sierra Leonean law’ defined. An attempt is made to
examine what the court has developed as its own jurisprudence regarding
this concept as well as the interpretation given by the first Prosecutor of the
SCSL. According to the Prosecutor of the SCSL, ‘the people who caused
and sustained the war are the persons bearing the greatest responsibility’. 31
The Prosecutor further maintains that such people include ‘the planners
and instigators of the terrible violence or those who instigated or caused
and sustained the serious violations of international humanitarian law in
the territory of Sierra Leone’. 32
29 For a comprehensive digest of the jurisprudence of the court, see generally C Laucci
Digest of Jurisprudence of the Special Court for Sierra Leone 2003-2005 (2007) 1-787.
30 Art 1(1) Statute of the SCSL.
31 Interview with Desmond de Silva, former Prosecutor of the SCSL (Deputy Prosecutor
at the time of interview) Monday 25 April 2005, Conference Room – Office of the
Prosecutor (OTP).
32 Interview with David Crane, first Prosecutor of the SCSL Monday 25 April 2005, OTP.