Suchergebnisse

Lessons from the International Criminal Court and the Special Court for Sierra Leone

Conference
3,4 May 2012
Freetown, Sierra Leone

International criminal justice has become a weapon in political struggles in different African states. International court and tribunals, whilst often portrayed as legal bastions immune from politics, have proven to be inherently political. Depending on the definition of what counts as 'political', the politics of international criminal justice can be found at different levels. For instance, international criminal courts are created by political decisions, adjudicate crimes which are frequently related to politics, and depend on a mysterious and seemingly magical 'political will' for the enforcement of their decisions. Moreover, recent studies have shown how the International Criminal Court has become implicated in political struggles by making a distinction between the friends and enemies of the international community which it purports to represent.

This conference studies the politics of international criminal justice at these different stages. Some of the main questions include:
• How should the politics of international criminal justice be conceptualized? What theoretical approaches are helpful in articulating the political aspects of criminal courts and tribunals?
• What lessons can be learned from experiences in countries affected by interventions of international criminal courts? What is the political role of international criminal courts in countries such as Sierra Leone, Uganda, Congo, Sudan, Central African Republic or Kenya?
• How can we improve the accountability of those engaged in the politics of international criminal justice?

The conference brings together academics from different disciplines, including international law and political science, and practitioners in the field of law and politics (including diplomats, politicians, judges, legal counsels). While its main focus is on the International Criminal Court and the Special Court for Sierra Leone, contributions from other areas of international criminal justice are welcomed as well.

Submissions and selection
If you would like to participate in the conference, please send us a 500-750 words abstract of the paper you plan to present before February 1st 2012. We will select a maximum of 10 papers that can be presented at the conference. Early submissions are welcomed. If you are invited to present, we would like to receive a short position paper two weeks before the conference. The position paper should be max. 2500 words, outlining the main argument.

Please send your paper proposal to:
Prof. dr. W.G. Werner
w.werner@rechten.vu.nl

Conference fee
The fee for the conference is 100 Euro. The money from the fees will be used to provide financial support for scholars or practitioners from (West-)African countries coming to the conference. If you would like to receive such support, please let us know before February 15th 2012.
Attendees from African countries are entitled to a waiver of the fee.

Mikkel Jarle Christensen (iCourts - Danish National Research Foundation's Centre of Excellence for International Courts) has posted The Elites of International Criminal Justice: Complementing and Challenging the State (Forthcoming in Social Forces) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Criminal law...

On August 11, the last day of the ongoing session of Parliament, the Indian Government tabled a notice that it wished to introduce three new bills on the Floor of the House for consideration. These were proposed statutes to replace the holy trinity of Indian criminal law: The Indian Penal Code of 1860, the Criminal Procedure Code of 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872, were to be replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam respectively. Even though the reform was marketed as an attempt to break from the colonial origins of criminal law, it actually represents a resurgence of the colonial-style authoritarian approach, rather than an effort to build upon the relatively modest progress made half a century ago in advancing individual freedom and civil rights.

Data plays a crucial role in enhancing decision-making within the Criminal Justice System (CJS). The CJS Data Improvement Programme, led by the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office, addresses the challenges of fragmented data across various organisations by fostering a unified approach to data management. By leveraging innovative tools like Splink for data linking, the programme aims to improve policy formulation, operational performance, and system efficiency. This initiative not only promises to refine data-driven strategies across the CJS but also actively seeks participation from skilled data professionals to join and enrich this transformative journey.

We need less intrusive law enforcement, not the treatment of crime as a lark.

On 1 February 2024 Armenia became the 124th State Party to join the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Located in The Hague (the Netherlands), the ICC's mandate is to prosecute individuals for the most serious crimes of international concern, such as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression, […]
La entrada The budgetary instrumentalisation of international criminal justice se publicó primero en Elcano Royal Institute.

By Raphael Oidtmann. What legal principle – that may also be derived from its treaty framework – determined and guided EU support towards Ukraine? This contribution argues that at least certain streams of EU assistance for Ukraine in countering the Russian Federation's aggression – namely those aimed at ending impunity for international crimes – have been organized within a distinct rule of law context.

Re'em Segev (Hebrew University of Jerusalem – Faculty of Law) has posted Actions, Agents, and Consequences (Criminal Justice Ethics, Vol. 42. No. 2, 2023) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: According to an appealing and common view, the moral status...

Megan T. Stevenson (University of Virginia School of Law) has posted Cause, Effect, and the Structure of the Social World on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Essay is built around a central empirical claim: that most reforms and interventions...

Former state lawmaker Jeff Brandes says the Florida Legislature has "ceded its role" to high-profile Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The post Two Credit Certificate Course on International Criminal Law appeared first on Völkerrechtsblog.

Criminal justice advocates say the evidence doesn't back up Republicans' claims that Louisiana's landmark 2017 reforms are to blame for violent crime.

In a ruling that is important beyond Kenya, the Kenyan High Court has delivered a milestone judgment. By striking down a provision of the Kenyan Criminal Code on subversion, the Court takes a significant step towards further doing away with the colonial legacy in the Kenyan legal system. The judgment exemplifies how judges in postcolonial contexts interpret the law against the backdrop of the country's history.

The post Reflections on a Career in International Criminal Law: Intersectionality and Representation appeared first on Völkerrechtsblog.