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PROSECUTOR v MOININA FOFANA - DECISION ON PRELIMINARY MOTION ON LACK OF JURISDICTION MATERIAE: NATURE OF THE ARMED CONFLICT - Case No. SCSL-2004-14-AR72(E) [2004] SCSL 13 (25 May 2004)
O
SPECIAL COURT FOR SIERRA LEONE
JOMO KENYATTA
ROAD • FREETOWN • SIERRA LEONE
PHONE: +1 212 963 9915
Extension: 178 7000 or +39 0831 257000 or +232 22 295995
FAX:
Extension: 178 7001 or +39 0831 257001 Extension: 174 6996 or +232 22
295996
IN THE APPEALS CHAMBER
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Before:
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Justice Renate Winter, Presiding Justice George Gelaga King Justice
Emmanuel Ayoola Justice Geoffrey Robertson Justice Raja Fernando
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Registrar:
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Robin Vincent
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Date:
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25 May 2004
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PROSECUTOR
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Against
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MOININA FOFANA (Case No. SCSL-2004-14-AR72(E))
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DECISION ON PRELIMINARY MOTION ON LACK OF JURISDICTION
MATERIAE: NATURE OF THE ARMED CONFLICT
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Office of the Prosecutor:
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Defence Counsel:
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Desmond de Silva
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Michiel Pestman
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Luc Côté
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Victor Koppe
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Walter Marcus-Jones
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Arrow John Bockarie
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Abdul Tejan-Cole
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André Nollkaemper
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Liesbeth Zegveld
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THE APPEALS CHAMBER of the Special Court for Sierra Leone
(“Special Court” or “Court”);
SEIZED of the Preliminary Motion on the Lack of Jurisdiction
Materiae: Nature of the Armed Conflict, (“Preliminary
Motion”) filed on behalf of Moinina Fofana (“Accused”) on 14
November 2003 (“Preliminary Motion”);
NOTING that the Prosecution filed its Response to the Defence
Preliminary Motion on Lack of Jurisdiction Materiae (Nature of the Armed
Conflict) on 24 November 2003 (“Prosecution Response”); and that the
Defence filed its Reply to
the Prosecution Response on 30 November 2003
(“Defence Reply”);
NOTING that the Preliminary Motion was referred to the Appeals Chamber
under Rule 72(E) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence (“Rules”)
on
10 December 2003;
NOTING that the Defence filed Additional Submissions pursuant to Rule
72(G) of the Rules pertaining to the Preliminary Motion based on Lack
of
Jurisdiction: The Nature of the Armed Conflict on 12 January 2004
(“Defence Additional Submissions”); that the Prosecution
filed its
Response to the Additional Submissions on 26 January 2004 (“Prosecution
Additional Response”); and that the
Defence filed its Reply to the
Prosecution Response on 2 February 2004 (“Defence Additional
Reply”);
CONSIDERING THE ARGUMENTS OF THE PARTIES:
The Defence Preliminary Motion
- The
Defence argues that although the Special Court is empowered to adjudicate
violations of international humanitarian law, Articles
3 and 4 of the Statute of
the Special Court (“Statute”) dealing with “Violations of
Article 3 common to the Geneva
Conventions and of Additional Protocol II”
and “Other serious violations of international humanitarian law”
respectively,
limit the jurisdiction of the Court to internal armed conflicts
only. The Defence argues that Article 3 of the Geneva Convention,
taken
together with Article 1 of Additional Protocol II and Article 8(2)(e) of the
Statute of the International Criminal Court (“ICC”),
upon which
Articles 3 and 4 respectively are based, applies exclusively to internal armed
conflicts. According to the Defence, the
fact that the Government of Sierra
Leone was the only state to become a signatory to the Agreement establishing the
Special Court
suggests that both the Government and the United Nations
(“UN”) considered the conflict to be an internal one.
- The
Defence submits that the armed conflict in the period for which the Accused is
indicted is international in character. According
to the Defence, a conflict
will be international if: (i) two or more states are party to it; (ii) a state
that is not involved exercises
control over armed groups or individuals engaged
in the conflict; and (iii) an international or regional organization such as the
UN becomes involved in enforcement and not simply peacekeeping, thereby becoming
a party to the conflict. Applying this test, the
Defence argues that the
conflict was international on the grounds that: (i) Liberian authorities were
involved in the conflict in
controlling the RUF and AFRC and were acting under
the control of and / or could be assimilated with, the organs of the state of
Liberia; (ii) ECOMOG and Nigeria were parties to the conflict; (iii) ECOMOG and
the Government of Sierra Leone controlled the CDF.
The
Prosecution Response
- The
Prosecution contends that the Special Court does not need to determine whether a
conflict is internal or international in character
and that no reference was
made to the distinction in the Statute because it is immaterial. In other
words, nothing in Articles 3
or 4 of the Statute make the nature of the conflict
a jurisdictional criterion.
- The
Prosecution argues that Articles 3 and 4 constitute customary international law
which applies equally to internal or international
armed conflicts. Article 4,
it is argued, could have been taken from Article 8(2)(b) of the ICC Statute
which deals with international
armed conflicts. The Prosecution refers to the
protective purpose of international humanitarian law with respect to victims,
and
argues that its application should not be restricted by the nature of the
conflict.
- The
Prosecution submits as a second line of argument that the nature of the conflict
is a matter to be determined at trial, on the
presentation of evidence.
- Finally,
as a third line of argument, the Prosecution contends that the burden of proof
to establish that the conflict was international
lies with the Defence, and that
they have cited insufficient evidence as yet to support their claim. In
particular, the Prosecution
argues that since it alleges that Charles Taylor
acted in his personal capacity, the indictment against Taylor cannot be taken as
support for the Defence arguments concerning the involvement of Liberia in the
armed conflict.
The Defence Reply
- The
Defence points out that both Prosecution and Defence agree that the Statute of
the Special Court should be understood as applicable
to internal armed
conflicts. Hence it is clear, they argue, that the drafters took Article 4 of
the Statute from Article 8(2)(e)
of the ICC Statute which contains exactly the
same wording.
- Further,
the Defence submits that Articles 3 and 4 cannot be taken out of their context
and applied to international armed conflicts,
for the following
reasons:
- The
jurisdiction of the Special Court is limited by its Statute. The Special Court
would exceed its jurisdiction if, contrary to
the intention of the drafters and
the text of its Statute, it were to assume jurisdiction over the same norms as
applicable in international
armed conflicts.
- Article
3 of the Statute must be construed as incorporating all of the instruments to
which it refers in their entirety, including
their criteria for applicability,
and not simply substantive rules in isolation.
- A
fundamental difference exists between international and internal armed
conflicts, especially as it concerns the legal relevance
of the category of
‘protected persons’.
- The
Defence argues that the Prosecution suggestion that Charles Taylor acted in his
personal capacity and not as head of State has
no basis in the international law
of state responsibility.
- Finally,
the Defence submits that the question of the nature of the conflict should not
be left for trial because: (i) the nature
of the armed conflict directly affects
the power of the court to try the Accused under Articles 3 and 4; and (ii) a
decision on the
matter now is in the interests of judicial efficiency.
Additional Defence Submissions under Rule 72(G)
- The
Defence reiterates its core argument that the Special Court lacks subject matter
jurisdiction to deal with the crimes listed in
Articles 3 and 4 of the Statute
as the jurisdiction under these provisions is limited to internal armed
conflicts while the conflict
in Sierra Leone during the period covered by the
Indictment was of an international nature. The main points of disagreement
between
Prosecution and Defence are highlighted as follows: (i) whether the
wording of Articles 3 and 4 of the Statute can be read to include
or extended to
cover customary law prohibitions which apply in international armed conflicts;
(ii) whether the nature of the conflict
is a matter to be proved at this
preliminary stage or at trial; and (3) whether the available facts sufficiently
attest to the international
character of the conflict in Sierra Leone.
- The
Defence re-emphasizes that the conditions of applicability of the underlying
instruments, including elements concerned with the
personal, temporal and
geographical scope of application, are an integral part of the crimes in
Articles 3 and 4 of the Statute.
The Prosecution conception that humanitarian
law relevant to non-international armed conflict can be substituted for
humanitarian
law relevant to international conflict is described as a
“major
misunderstanding”.[1]
- The
Defence goes on to provide further evidence of the international nature of the
conflict.
Prosecution Response
-
The Prosecution reiterates and summarizes the arguments put forward in its
initial response. As regards the Defence argument as
to the conditions of
applicability that must be satisfied under Articles 3 and 4, the Prosecution
finds this to be logically incoherent
because if the nature of the conflict is
an element of the crime to be proved at trial, the Defence need not raise the
question as
a jurisdictional challenge.
Defence
Reply
- In
its Reply, the Defence urges the Appeals Chamber to hold an oral hearing on the
issues.
HEREBY DECIDES:
I. INTRODUCTION
- The
Preliminary Motion on lack of subject-matter jurisdiction under Articles 3 and 4
of the Statute has been referred to the Appeals
Chamber on the basis that it
raises a serious issue relating to the jurisdiction of the Special Court. The
issue is whether the
characterization of the conflict in Sierra Leone as
internal or international during the period covered by the Indictment against
the Accused is a jurisdictional criterion under Articles 3 and 4 of the Statute,
and whether the jurisdiction of the Court is thus
limited to internal armed
conflicts in relation to charges under these articles. The Defence urges the
Chamber to proceed to determine
the nature of the conflict as a question of fact
before the commencement of trial.
II. ARTICLES 3 AND 4 OF THE
STATUTE
- Articles
3 and 4 of the Statute of the Special Court read as follows:
Article 3: Violations of Article 3 common to the
Geneva Conventions and of Additional Protocol II
The Special Court shall have the power to prosecute persons who committed or
ordered the commission of serious violations of article
3 common to the Geneva
Conventions of 12 August 1949 for the Protection of War Victims, and of
Additional Protocol II thereto of
8 June 1977. These violations shall
include:
- Violence
to life, health and physical or mental well-being of persons, in particular
murder as well as cruel treatment such as torture,
mutilation or any form of
corporal punishment;
- Collective
punishments;
- Taking
of hostages;
- Acts
of terrorism;
- Outrages
upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment, rape,
enforced prostitution and any form of indecent
assault;
- Pillage;
- The
passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous
judgement pronounced by a regularly constituted court,
affording all the
judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples;
- Threats
to commit any of the foregoing acts.
Article 4: Other serious violations of
international humanitarian law
The Special Court shall have the power to prosecute persons who committed the
following serious violations of international humanitarian
law:
- Intentionally
directing attacks against the civilian population as such or against individual
civilians not taking direct part in
hostilities;
- Intentionally
directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles
involved in a humanitarian assistance
or peacekeeping mission in accordance with
the Charter of the United Nations, as long as they are entitled to the
protection given
to civilians or civilian objects under the international law of
armed conflict;
- Conscripting
or enlisting children under the age of 15 years into armed forces or groups or
using them to participate actively in
hostilities.
III. DRAFTING HISTORY OF THE
STATUTE
- Both
parties agree that the Statute was drawn up with an internal armed conflict in
mind. This is supported to some extent by the
travaux
préparatoires which, while not expressly dealing with the issue of
the nature of the conflict, suggest that it was assumed to be non-international.
In his letter to the Security Council dated 9 August 2000, President Kabbah
referred to “the consequences of the civil
conflict”[2] in
Sierra Leone. Security Council resolution 1315 refers to “the very
serious crimes committed within the territory of Sierra
Leone” and
recommends in general terms that the subject matter jurisdiction of the Court
should include “war crimes and
other serious violations of international
humanitarian
law”.[3] In his
Report on the establishment of the Special Court, the Secretary-General
noted:
Violations of common article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and
of article 4 of Additional Protocol II thereto committed in an armed conflict
not of an international character have long been considered customary
international law, and in particular since the establishment of the two
International Tribunals,
have been recognized as customarily entailing the
individual criminal responsibility of the
accused.[4]
- To
the extent that the drafting history of the Statute suggests that the conflict
in Sierra Leone was considered to be internal in
nature, it does not necessarily
follow that the Statute denies the Court jurisdiction over crimes committed
during an international
armed conflict.
IV.
SCOPE OF APPLICABILITY OF ARTICLES 3 AND 4
A. Article 3
- Article
3 of the Statute is explicitly taken from Common Article 3 to the Geneva
Conventions and Additional Protocol II, both of which
apply to internal armed
conflicts.[5] The
question is whether the reference to these two instruments imports a
jurisdictional criterion relating to the nature of the
conflict into Article 3
of the Statute. The Statute makes no specific reference to the nature of the
conflict. However, given the
express reference to Common Article 3 of the
Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol II, on its face it would seem that
Article
3 must be construed as being applicable to internal armed conflicts. As
argued by the Defence, the substantive norms cannot be divorced
from the
criteria essential to their applicability even if those criteria are not
specifically incorporated into the Statute. The
International Criminal Tribunal
for Rwanda (“ICTR”), for example, in interpreting its own Statute,
has found that the
material requirements of applicability of Additional Protocol
II must be satisfied where a specific reference has been made to Additional
Protocol II in counts against an
accused.[6] Notably,
Article 3 of the Statute of the Special Court is taken verbatim from Article 4
of the ICTR Statute.
- Any
obstacle to the application of Article 3 to crimes committed during an
international armed conflict is nevertheless overcome if
the actual violations
included in Article 3, sub-paragraphs (a) to (h), are found to be part of
customary international law applicable
in an identical fashion to both internal
and international armed conflicts. Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions
of 1949 was
designed to reflect certain minimum mandatory rules applicable to
internal armed conflicts that were already included within the
broader framework
of rules applicable to international armed conflicts. In the Akayesu
case, the ICTR Trial Chamber summarized the position as follows:
The
four 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Additional Protocol I thereto
generally apply to international armed conflicts only,
whereas Article 3 common
to the Geneva Conventions extends a minimum threshold of humanitarian
protection as well to all persons affected by a non-international conflict,
a protection which was further developed and enhanced in the 1977
Additional
Protocol II. In the field of international humanitarian law, a clear
distinction as to the thresholds of application
has been made between situations
of international armed conflicts, in which the law of armed conflicts is
applicable as a whole,
situations of non-international (internal) armed
conflicts, where Common Article 3 and Additional Protocol II are applicable, and
non-international armed conflicts where only Common Article 3 is
applicable.[7]
The International Committee of the Red Cross Commentary to the Fourth Geneva
Convention confirms that “th[e] minimum requirement
in the case of
non-international conflict, is a fortiori applicable in international
armed conflicts. It proclaims the guiding principle common to all four Geneva
Conventions, and from
it each of them derives the essential provision around
which it is
built.”[8]
- In
the 1986 Nicaragua case, the International Court of Justice
(“ICJ”) found that Common Article 3:
defines certain
rules to be applied in the armed conflicts of a non-international character.
There is no doubt that, in the event
of international armed conflicts, these
rules also constitute a minimum yardstick, in addition to the more elaborate
rules which
are also to apply to international armed conflicts; and they are
rules which, in the Court’s opinion, reflect what the Court
in 1949 called
‘elementary considerations of humanity’.
[9]
The ICJ went on to say that “[b]ecause the minimum rules applicable to
international and non-international armed conflicts are
identical, there is no
need to address the question whether those actions must be looked at in the
context of the rules which operate
for the one or for the other category of
conflict.”[10]
The ICJ concluded that “general principles of humanitarian law include a
particular prohibition, accepted by States, and extending
to activities which
occur in the context of armed conflicts, whether international in character or
not”.[11]
- The
Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
(“ICTY”) includes in its Article 3 “violations
of the laws or
customs of war” which have been found to include violations of Common
Article 3.[12]
Notably, no express mention is made of Common Article 3 or Additional Protocol
II in the ICTY Statute. The Appeals Chamber of the
ICTY held in the
Tadic decision on jurisdiction that “with respect to the minimum
rules in Common Article 3, the character of the conflict is largely
irrelevant”.[13]
In that case the Appeals Chamber went on to conclude that:
In the
light of the intent of the Security Council and the logical and systematic
interpretation of Article 3 [of the ICTY Statute],
as well as customary
international law, the Appeals Chamber concludes that, under Article 3, the
International Tribunal has jurisdiction
over the acts alleged in the indictment,
regardless of whether they occurred within an internal or international armed
conflict.
Thus, to the extent that Appellant’s challenge to jurisdiction
under Article 3 is based on the nature of the underlying conflict,
the motion
must be
denied.[14]
In the later case of Prosecutor v Delalic, the ICTY Appeals Chamber
addressed directly the question whether Common Article 3 is applicable to
international armed conflicts.
The Appeals Chamber
explained:[15]
Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions may be considered as the
“minimum yardstick” of rules of international humanitarian
law of
similar substance applicable to both internal and international conflicts...It
is both legally and morally untenable that
the rules contained in common article
3, which constitute mandatory minimum rules applicable to internal conflicts, in
which rules
are less developed than in respect of international conflicts, would
not be applicable to conflicts of an international character.
The rules of
common Article 3 are encompassed and further developed in the body of rules
applicable to international conflicts.
It is logical that this minimum be
applicable to international conflicts as the substance of these core rules is
identical.[16]
In the judgment of the Trial Chamber in the Akayesu case before the
ICTR, it was held that the core protections in Protocol II which mirror the
Common Article 3 protections (namely
Articles 4(1) and 4(2) of Additional
Protocol II) form part of customary international
law.[17] It was also
pointed out that the four Geneva Conventions and two Protocols were adopted
primarily to protect the victims and potential
victims of armed
conflicts.[18]
- Article
3, sub-paragraphs (a) to (f), and (h) of the Special Court Statute are taken
directly from Article 4(2) of Protocol II, while
Article 3(g) mirrors Article
3(1)(d) of Common Article 3. There can therefore be no doubt that the norms
embodied in Article 3 of
the Statute form part of customary international law.
Any argument that these norms do not entail individual criminal responsibility
has been put to rest in ICTY and ICTR
jurisprudence.[19]
- It
has been observed that “even though the rules applicable in internal armed
conflict still lag behind the law that applies
in international conflict, the
establishment and work of the ad hoc Tribunals has significantly contributed to
diminishing the relevance
of the distinction between the two types of
conflict.”[20]
The distinction is no longer of great relevance in relation to the crimes
articulated in Article 3 of the Statute as these crimes
are prohibited in all
conflicts. Crimes during internal armed conflict form part of the broader
category of crimes during international
armed
conflict.[21] In
respect of Article 3, therefore, the Court need only be satisfied that an armed
conflict existed and that the alleged violations
were related to the armed
conflict.[22]
- Where
the rules are identical in respect of both internal and international armed
conflict it cannot follow that because the provision
in the Statute is framed in
terms of the treaty provision applicable to internal armed conflicts, the Court
has no jurisdiction to
apply the provision in the context of an international
armed conflict.
- Furthermore,
although it cannot seriously be doubted that there is a distinction between
international and internal armed conflict,
sometimes it is a distinction without
much practical significance since internal conflict can co-exist with
international conflict.
In the Tadic appeal
judgment[23] it was
held that “in case of an internal armed conflict breaking out on the
territory of a State, it may become international
(or, depending upon the
circumstances, be international in character alongside an internal armed
conflict) if (i) another State intervenes
in that conflict through its troops,
or alternatively if (ii) some of the participants in the internal armed conflict
act on behalf
of the other
State.”[24]
Thus, the distinction between internal and international armed conflict may
become blurred but the baseline protections in Common
Article 3 and Additional
Protocol II nevertheless apply.
B. Article
4
- As
observed by the Defence, Article 4 “lacks a specific reference to the
nature of the underlying
conflict”,[25]
and it is not linked to a specific conventional provision. The Defence traces
Article 4 to Article 8(2)(e) of the Statute of the
International Criminal Court
(ICC) and it is true that the wording of Article 4(a) to (c) is identical to
sub-paragraphs (i), (iii)
and (vii) of Article 8(2)(e). However, the fact that
the Statute of the Special Court pragmatically borrows wording from a Statute
that has been painstakingly formulated to define in the most precise terms the
crimes embodied in it does not mean that the entire
context of applicability of
Article 8(2)(e) has also been incorporated.
- The
Special Court Statute does not include the preface to Article 8(2)(e) of the ICC
Statute which refers to “other serious
violations of the laws and customs
applicable in armed conflicts not of an international character, within the
established framework
of international law”. Furthermore, as the
Prosecution points out, the wording in Article 4 also reflects that of Article
8(b), sub-paragraphs (i), (iii) and (xxvi) of the ICC Statute concerning
“serious violations of the laws and customs applicable
in international
armed conflict”. Although Article 4(c) refers to enlisting children
under the age of 15 “into armed
forces or groups”, as in Article
8(2)(e) of the ICC Statute, as opposed to “into the national armed
forces”, as
in Article 8(2)(b), the chosen wording may simply have been
designed to reflect most accurately the circumstances of the acts of
child
recruitment alleged to have occurred in Sierra Leone.
- The
Appeals Chamber finds that there is no merit to the argument that because the
Statute may have been drafted with reference to
an internal armed conflict and
because Article 4 most likely was borrowed from Article 8(2)(e) of the ICC
Statute dealing with internal
conflicts, the Court’s jurisdiction to apply
Article 4 is restricted to internal armed conflicts.
V. FACTUAL QUESTION AS TO THE NATURE OF THE
CONFLICT
- In
the circumstances, the question whether the conflict in Sierra Leone was of an
internal or international character and at which
point, if any, it became
internationalized, does not have any bearing on the applicability of Articles 3
and 4 of the Statute and
therefore need not be considered by the Appeals
Chamber.
- In
any event, the Appeals Chamber is not the proper venue for trial of issues of
fact. In the light of the above, the legal points
raised by the Applicant, such
as the legal criteria for establishing the international character of an armed
conflict are at this
stage academic.
VI. REQUEST FOR ORAL HEARING
- In
its Reply during the ‘additional submissions’ phase following the
referral of the Preliminary Motion to the Appeals
Chamber, the Defence urged the
Appeals Chamber to hold an oral hearing. The Appeals Chamber has not found it
necessary to hear oral
arguments on issues that have been addressed exhaustively
during two rounds of written argument. Oral argument would have been necessary
had the Chamber felt compelled to determine the actual nature of the conflict as
a question of fact, however, this question does
not arise.
VII. DISPOSITION
- This
Preliminary Motion is dismissed.
Done at Freetown this 25th day of May
2004
Justice Winter Presiding
|
Justice King
|
Justice Ayoola
|
Justice Robertson
|
Justice Fernando
|
[Seal of the Special Court for Sierra Leone]
[1] Defence
Additional Submissions, para. 11.
[2] Letter dated 9
August 2000 from the Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone to the United
Nations addressed to the President of
the Security Council, S/2000/786, 10
August 2000.
[3]
S/RES/1315 (2000), 14 August
2000
[4] Report of
the Secretary-General on the establishment of a Special Court for Sierra Leone,
S/2000/915, 4 October 2000, para. 14, emphasis
added. This is in line with
earlier comments made by the Secretary-General, although a statement made in
1995 referring to the “internal
conflict that has raged for the last four
years” (S/1995/975, 21 November 1995, para. 36) which the Defence relies
upon, is
unhelpful since the Court has jurisdiction over acts committed since 30
November 1996 and conflicts may develop from internal to
international.
[5] The chapeau of
Common Article 3 reads: “In the case of armed conflict not of an
international character occurring in the territory
of one of the High
Contracting Parties, each party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a
minimum, the following provisions...”
Article 1 of Additional Protocol II
reads: “This Protocol, which develops and supplements Article 3 common to
the Geneva Conventions
of 12 August 1949 without modifying its existing
conditions of application, shall apply to all armed conflicts which are not
covered
by Article 1 of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12
August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of
International Armed
Conflicts (Protocol I) and which take place in the territory of a High
Contracting Party between its armed forces
and dissident armed forces or other
organized armed groups which, under responsible command, exercise such control
over a part of
its territory as to enable them to carry out sustained and
concerted military operations and to implement this
Protocol.”
[6]
See Prosecutor v Akayesu, Case No. ICTR-96-4-T, Judgement, 2 September
1998, para. 618.
[7]
Prosecutor v Jean-Paul Akayesu, Case No. ICTR-96-4-T, Judgement, 2
September 1998, para. 601, emphasis added.
[8] Pictet, (ed),
Commentary: IV Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons
in Time of War, International Committee
of the Red Cross, Geneva, 1958, p. 14.
[9] Military and
Paramilitary Activities (Nicaragua v United States), (1986) ICJ Reports 14,
para. 218.
[10]
Ibid, para.
219.
[11] Ibid,
para. 255.
[12]
Prosecutor v Delalic et al., Case No. IT-96-21-T, Judgement, 16 November
1998, para.
298.
[13]
Prosecution v Tadic, Case No. IT-94-1-AR72, Decision on the Defence
Motion for Interlocutory Appeal on Jurisdiction, 20 October 1995, para. 102.
[14] Ibid, para.
137.
[15] The
Appeals Chamber referred to the opinion of the International Committee of the
Red Cross that the purpose of Common Article 3
was to “ensure respect for
the few essential rules of humanity which all civilized nations consider as
valid everywhere and
under all circumstances and as being above and outside war
itself”. Prosecutor v Delalic et al. (Celebici case), Case No.
IT-96-21-A, Judgement, 20 February 2001, (”Delalic Appeal
Judgment”), para. 143.
[16]
Delalic Appeal Judgment, paras 147 and 150.
[17] Prosecutor
v Akayesu, Case No. ICTR-96-4-T, Judgement, 2 September 1998, paras
601-17.
[18] Ibid,
para. 603.
[19]
Prosecutor v Tadic, Case No. IT-94-1-AR72, Decision on the Defence Motion
for Interlocutory Appeal on Jurisdiction, 2 October 1995, 128-136, applied
in
Prosecutor v Delalic et al. (Celebici case), Case No. IT-96-21-T,
Judgement, 16 November 1998, para. 307 and Delalic Appeal Judgement,
paras 159-174.
[20]
F. Kalshoven; L. Zegveld, Constraints on the Waging of War, An Introduction
to International Humanitarian Law, ICRC, 2001,
188.
[21] Archbold,
International Criminal Courts, Practice, Procedure and Evidence, Sweet
&Maxwell 2003, 337, 11-26.
[22] Ibid, 338,
11-27.
[23]
Prosecutor v Tadic, Case No. IT-94-1-AR72, Judgement, 15 July 1999.
[24] Ibid, at
para. 84.
[25] Preliminary
Motion, para. 7.
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