Talk by a Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone: We analyze the role of victims

Mr. Mohamed A. Bangura, Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL for its acronym: Special Court for Sierra Leone), gave a lecture to the students of the Master in 

Mr. Mohamed A. Bangura, Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL for its acronym: Special Court for Sierra Leone), gave a lecture to the students of the Master in Diplomacy and International Public Service, within the framework of the HOPE project, organized by the Danish Refugee Council and promoted by the European Volunteer Program, EU Aid Volunteers.

Mr. Bangura made a presentation on the participation of victims before the ad hoc international tribunals, in which the students participated actively giving their vision and contributions.

The Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone began his conference by referring to the origin and legal nature of the SCSL:

ORIGIN AND NATURE OF THE SPECIAL COURT FOR SIERRA LEONE

• The SCSL was created by an agreement between the United Nations and the government of Sierra Leone with the objective of judging the persons most responsible for the serious violations of Sierra Leone’s humanitarian law and law committed since November 30, 1996.

It’s a hybrid and ad hoc tribunal, whose composition includes members of Sierra Leone and members of other nationalities and which was created specifically to deal with international crimes committed during a defined period of time. The Court started its operations in 2002 and by 2014 it had already fulfilled its mandate.

The most relevant procedure was the one that ended with the imprisonment of the former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor; two other defendants died during the procedure; nine are serving prison sentences in Rwanda and one more is in search and capture

• Currently, the Special Court for Sierra Leone is in operation and is in charge, among other issues, of continuing to provide protection to victims, of procedures related to persons who are currently serving prison sentences as a result of proceedings before the SCSL., the management of the files, the tracking of the search warrant and the capture of the accused who is in flight. 

RETRIBUTING JUSTICE VS RESTORATIVE JUSTIC

One of the most interesting parts was Mr. Bangura’s reflection on the evolution of the role of victims before international tribunals, at which time he highlighted the difference between two ways of understanding justice procedures: retributive and restorative.

• In retributive justice, which is the traditional approach, what is sought is the punishment of those responsible for committing crimes, in this case, international crimes.

• In restorative justice, a more recent model, the objective is to try to repair the damage caused to people and society, not the punishment of those responsible.

THE ROLE OF VICTIMS

The speaker pointed out that retributive justice has for many years been the dominant approach in common wealth systems, in which victims have had almost no role in criminal proceedings: It was not until the 1970s that some sectors, including the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the European Union, began to call for a greater role for victims.

However, neither the Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, nor the Tribunal established to judge international crimes in Rwanda and neither the SCSL allow a relevant participation of the victims.

AND THE ROLE OF VICTIMS IN THE SCSL?

Despite these limitations that derive from the terms in which the mandate is defined in the SCSL Statute, the prosecution office tried to take the victims in the conflict in Sierra Leone to the center of the procedural proceedings through its appearance as witnesses.

• In general, in each of the proceedings before the SCSL, forty percent of the witnesses, who in some cases were more than 70, were victims of the crimes that were being judged.

• Bangura noted that some studies have confirmed that the population in Sierra Leone and also in Liberia approves the performance and results of the SCSL.