Tribunal for Rwanda

The United Nations Security Council established the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in
1995 to prosecute persons responsible for genocide and other serious violations of international hu-
manitarian law committed in Rwanda and neighbouring States, in 1994-19951. It is located in
Arusha, Tanzania, and has offices in Rwanda with its Appeals Chamber in The Hague, Nether-
lands.

The Tribunal has indicted individuals responsible for the atrocities committed in Rwanda including
high-ranking military and government officials and other prominent personalities.It has produced a
substantial body of jurisprudence on genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, as well as
forms of individual and superior responsibility. Moreover, It is the first ever international tribunal to
deliver verdicts in relation to genocide, interpret the definition of genocide set forth in the Geneva
Convention2, to define rape in international criminal law, recognise rape as a means of perpetrating
genocide and to hold members of the media responsible for broadcasts intended to inflame the pub-
lic to commit acts of genocide3.

The ICTR delivered its last trial judgement in 2012 and after its formal closure in 20154 it continues
its efforts to end impunity for those responsible for the genocide through judicial outreach, and ca-
pacity-building efforts.

Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia

In May 1993, reports from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. depicting horrendous crimes, in
which thousands of civilians were being killed, tortured and sexually abused in detention camps and

1 International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, available at: http://unictr.irmct.org/en/tribunal,(Visited on

June 29, 2019).
2 International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, available at: https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/doc-
uments/atrocity-crimes/Doc.33_GC-IV-EN.pdf, ( Visited on 28 June 2019).
3 International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, available at: http://unictr.irmct.org/en/tribunal, ( Visited on
29 June 2019).
4 International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, available at: http://unictr.irmct.org/en/news/ictr-expected-
close-down-2015, ( Visited on 28 June 2019).
innumerable expelled from their homes, caused outrage across the world and spurred the UN Secu-
rity Council to establish the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia, the first war crimes
court created by the UN5. Situated in The Hague, the Netherlands, the ICTY has charged indicted
heads of state, prime ministers, army chiefs-of-staff, and other high- and mid-level political, mili-
tary and police leaders from various parties to the Yugoslav conflicts from 1991 to 20016. The Tri-
bunal laid the foundations for the accepted norm for conflict resolution and post-conflict develop-
ment across the globe, specifically that leaders suspected of mass crimes will face justice.
The key objective of the ICTY is to try those individuals most responsible for the crimes listed in
the Tribunal's Statute and it does it while ensuring fairness and impartiality The ICTY aims to deter
future crimes and render justice to thousands of victims and their families, thus contributing to a
lasting peace in the former Yugoslavia.
Established as an ad hoc court, ICTY has worked closely with local judiciaries and courts in the for-
mer Yugoslavia since its closure in 2003.

Khmer Rouge Tribunal

The Khmer Rouge Tribunal or the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC),
was established in 2006, providing hope that Khmer Rouge leaders would finally be brought to jus-
tice and held to account for their horrific crimes during the Pol Pot regime from 1975-79 which lead
to the loss of almost two million lives and violation Cambodian penal code, Geneva Convention and
several other international humanitarian laws7.

5 International Criminal Tribunal forYugoslavia, available at: http://www.icty.org/en/about, (Visited on 28

June 2019).
6 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Report on the Statute of the International Tribunal for
the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Commit-
ted in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991,3 May 1993.
7 Kheang Un,”Khmer rouge ribunal a politically compromised search for justice” 72 JAS 783 (2013).
Although it is a national court, it was established as part of an agreement between the Royal Gov-
ernment of Cambodia and the United Nations, and its members include both local and foreign
judges.
The chief purpose of the tribunal is to provide justice to the Cambodian people who were victims of
the Khmer Rouge regime's policies. Its other purposes include rehabilitative victim support and me-
dia outreach for the purpose of national education8. The tribunal convicted three people including
the main khmer rouge ideologist, Nuon Chea and sentenced all of them to life sentences.In Nov
2018 the Cambodian deputy prime minister declared that  the tribunal’s work had been completed
and there would not be any additional prosecutions in the khmer rouge case9.

The Special Court for Sierra Leone

The Special Court for Sierra Leone was set up in 2002 as the result of a request to the United Na-
tions in 2000 by the Government of Sierra Leone for "a special court" to address serious crimes
against civilians and UN peacekeepers committed during the country's decade-long (1991-2002)
civil war10.
Negotiations between the United Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone on the structure of
the court and its mandate, produced the world's first "hybrid" international criminal tribunal, man-
dated to try those "bearing the greatest responsibility" for crimes committed in Sierra Leone after 30
November 1996, the date of the failed Abidjan Peace Accord11. It was the first modern international
tribunal to sit in the country where the crimes took place, and the first to have an effective outreach
programme.

8 Kheang Un,”Khmer rouge ribunal a politically compromised search for justice” 72 JAS 783 (2013).
9 Mak Remissa,“No more khmer rouge prosecutions says Cambodia” The guardian, Nov 19 2018.
10 "Special Court for Sierra Leone > ABOUT". Sc-sl.org. 30 November 1996.
11 UN Peacemakers Files, available at: https://peacemaker.un.org/sites/peacemaker.un.org/files/
SL_961130_PeaceAgreementSierraLeone-RUFSL.pdf ( Visited on 28 June 2019 ).
It had jurisdiction to try persons who committed crimes against humanity, in addition to prosecute
those who violated the Geneva Convention of 1949, as well as local  penal laws.
In 2012, former Liberian President Charles Taylor became the first African head of state to be con-
victed for his part in war crimes after which, in 2013 the Sierra Leone tribunal became the first
court to complete its mandate and transition to a residual mechanism12.

Military Tribunal for Far East.

The International Military Tribunal for the Far East(IMTFE), also known as the Tokyo Trial, was
a military trial convened on April 29, 1946, to try the leaders of the Empire of Japan for joint con-
spiracy to start and wage war, conventional war crimes and crimes against humanity13. It was
formed by a special proclamation by the supreme commander of the allied forced and the Charter of
the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (CIMTFE)14. The charter followed the model set
by the Nuremberg trials. The Tribunal was established to implement the Cairo Declaration15,
the Potsdam Declaration16, the Instrument of Surrender, and the Moscow Conference.The terms of
reference for the Tribunal were set out in the IMTFE Charter, issued in1946.
Eleven countries provided judges and prosecutors for the court.Twenty-nine Japanese military and
political leaders were charged with 55 separate counts. The defendants included former prime min-
isters, former foreign ministers and former military commanders.Two defendants died during the

12 RSCSL, available at: http://www.rscsl.org/ ( Visited on 28 June 2019).

13 "United Nations Security Council Resolution 1757 (2007)", Annex - Agreement between the United Na-
tions and the Lebanese Republic on the establishment of a Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Article 21(2), 30
May 2007.
14 https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/atrocity-crimes/Doc.3_1946%20Tokyo%20Char-
ter.pdf, ( Visited on 28 June 2019).
15 https://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/122101.pdf?v=d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e,
( Visited on 28 June 2019).
16 http://www1.udel.edu/History-old/figal/hist371/assets/pdfs/potsdam.pdf ,( Visited on 28 June 2019).
proceedings and one was ruled unfit to stand trial. All remaining defendants were found guilty of at
least one count. Sentences ranged from seven years' imprisonment to execution.
The tribunal was adjourned on November 12, 194817.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon, also referred to as the Lebanon Tribunal, is a tribunal of interna-
tional character18  applying Lebanese criminal law19 to carry out the trials of those responsible for
the 14 February 2005 assassination of Rafic Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister, and the
deaths of 21 others20. The Tribunal opened in March 2009 and has primacy over courts of
Lebanon21. The tribunal also has jurisdiction over other attacks in Lebanon in 2004-05 if it is proven
that they are connected to the attack of 14 February and are of similar nature. The tribunal also has
jurisdiction over crimes carried out on any later date in connection to the 14 February attack, sub-
ject to consent of the parties and the UN security Council, thus becoming the first of its kind to
recognise terrorism as a discrete crime.

The tribunal was established following a request by the government of Lebanon to the UN. Al-
though the agreement was not ratified, the UN brought its provisions into force through the UN Se-
curity Council Resolution 1757.The tribunal initially mandated for three years was later extended to
allow the tribunal to complete its work, as there was no timeline for the judicial work to be com-
pleted.22

17 Bix, Herbert, “Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan”, (2001).

18  "Statute of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon", Preamble, 30 May 2007.
19 "Statute of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon", Article 2, 30 May 2007.
20  "STL-11-01/T/TC: The Prosecutor v. Salim Jamil Ayyash, Hassan Habib Merhi, Hussein Hassan
Oneissi, and Assad Hassan Sabra Redacted Version of the Amended Consolidated Indictment". STL. 12 July
2016.
21 "Statute of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon", Article 4(1), 30 May 2007.
22 "United Nations Security Council Resolution 1757 (2007)", Annex - Agreement between the United Na-
tions and the Lebanese Republic on the establishment of a Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Article 21(2), 30
May 2007.
Nuremberg tribunal

The Nuremberg tribunal was held after World War II by the Allied forces under international

law and the laws of war in November 1945. It prosecuted prominent leaders of Nazi Germany, who
participated in war crimes. They helped form judicial precedent in matter of wars and were instru-
mental in creating the International Criminal Court. The Nuremberg indictments also mention geno-
cide for the first time in international law23.
The legal basis for the tribunal was established by the London Charter24, which was made after a se-
ries of negotiations between Britain, the US, Soviet Union and France in August 1945, it restricted
the trial to punishment of the major war criminals of the European Axis countries
Some 200 German war crimes defendants were tried at Nuremberg, and 1,600 others were tried un-
der the traditional channels of military justice25. The legal basis for the jurisdiction of the court was
that defined by the Instrument of Surrender of Germany. Political authority for Germany had been
transferred to the Allied Control Council which, having sovereign power over Germany, could
choose to punish violations of international law and the laws of war. The tribunal completed its
mandate in Oct 1946 having sentenced twelve main accused to death and seven to prison sentences.

23  K. Arao,"The trial of German major war criminals : proceedings of the International Military Tribual sit-
ting at Nuremberg Germany”, 42 YLJ 126 (2018).
24 Nuremberg trials, available at: https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/atrocity-crimes/
Doc.2_Charter%20of%20IMT%201945.pdf, ( Visited on 28 June 2019).
25 Nazi war criminals, available at: https://www.historyhit.com/nazi-war-criminals-convicted-at-the-nurem-
berg-trials/ ( Visited on 28 June 2019).