JURIST’s Sarisha Harikrishna interviews Professor Dr. John D. Ciorciari, Dean of the Hamilton Lugar School at Indiana University Bloomington on the practical challenges of prosecuting genocide and war crimes in Asia. While international courts have established legal frameworks for addressing mass atrocities, their application in Asia faces distinct obstacles shaped by regional politics and diplomatic [...]
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Amnesty International welcomes conviction of Central African Republic war crimes defendants
Amnesty International on Friday welcomed the conviction by the Central African Republic’s Special Criminal Court (SCC) of six former combatants in the Ndélé 2 case for war crimes and crimes against humanity, calling the decision “a breakthrough in the fight against impunity in the country.” However, Amnesty said that the trial was “tarnished” by the fact [...]
Cambodia parliament passes law imposing harsher penalties for genocide denial
Cambodian lawmakers unanimously passed a revised law on Tuesday that toughens penalties for anyone who denies atrocities, including genocide, by the former Khmer Rouge regime. According to the government, the legislation aims to prevent history from repeating itself, to promote remembrance of Cambodia’s past, and to provide justice to victims. The draft legislation, first approved [...]
The Cambodian government Friday approved a draft law that aims to punish those who ignore, minimize or deny the crimes committed by the communist regime between 1975 and 1979. Under the revised law, the civil penalty for genocide denial will now be increased to one to five years imprisonment and 10 million to 50 million [...]
The Gambia's Hybrid Tribunal: A Bold Experiment in Transitional Justice
The approval of establishment of a hybrid special tribunal in The Gambia represents a significant development in the field of transitional justice, offering a potential model for other nations grappling with legacies of human rights abuses. This innovative mechanism, blending elements of international and domestic justice systems, aims to address the widespread violations committed during [...]
Interview: Zambian Supreme Court Judge Florence Mumba on Women, War, and Justice
Justice Florence Ndepele Mwachande Mumba is a Supreme Court Judge in Zambia. Following eight years as Zambia’s first female High Court Judge, she became Investigator General (Ombudsman) in 1989, serving as International Ombudsman Institute Board Director and Vice-President until 1996. Justice Mumba served on the UN Commission on the Status of Women from 1992 to [...]
On August 21, 2023, Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv hosted a large international conference Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine: Justice to be Served. The conference gathered key figures behind Ukraine’s push to launch a special tribunal. The event was aimed at reinvigorating global efforts to prosecute the crime of aggression against Ukraine, [...]
Khmer Rouge tribunal issues split decision in appeal against ex-navy commander indictments
The Pre-Trial Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) has delivered a split decision in the appeal against co-investigating judges’ conflicting closing orders in the case of former Khmer Rouge navy commander Meas Muth. Muth, who was charged by the ECCC in absentia on March 3, 2015, is believed to have [...]
Former Khmer Rouge leader Kaing Guek Eav, known as “Duch”, died in prison on Wednesday at age 77. The Trial Chamber of The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) convicted Kaing in 2010 of multiple counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity and sentenced him to 35 years of imprisonment. On appeal, the [...]
International tribunal convicts former Khmer Rouge leaders of genocide
The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, a Cambodian court that receives aid through the UN, convicted Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan of genocide, crimes against humanity, and other violations of the Geneva Convention on Friday. The crimes were committed during Cambodia’s Democratic Kampuchea period from April 1975 to January 1979. The court referred to Nuon, the former Deputy [...]