Meeting in Montenegro on training for judicial staff in war crimes cases

On 20 December 2011 representatives of judicial training institutions from the region met in Podgorica, Montenegro, to discuss effective training for judicial staff involved in war crimes cases. A particular focus at the meeting was the ICL curriculum developed by ICLS, which integrates relevant jurisprudence of the ICTY, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia. The meeting was organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in co-ordination with the ICTY, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and UNICRI, as a follow-up to the EU funded War Crimes Justice Project. A press release from the meeting is available on the OSCE/ODIHR Website.

New resource on capacities of local justice systems to enforce international criminal law

In November 2011, the Open Society Justice Initiative released its book: International Crimes, Local Justice: A Handbook for Policymakers, Donors and Implementers. The book sets out the capacity needed by domestic judicial systems to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The Handbook specifically mentions ICLS as an organisation donors can partner with for expertise on international criminal justice. It also refers to ICLS’ efforts to establish a database of former personnel from international and hybrid war crimes tribunals. The book is available for download on the Open Society Justice Initiative website.

Curriculum on war crimes well received by judges and prosecutors in Sarajevo, Belgrade and Pristina

The training materials produced by ICLS as part of the War Crimes Justice Project (see below) were formally handed over to judicial and prosecutorial training institutions in Belgrade, Pristina, Sarajevo and Zagreb on 31 October. In the press release issued by OSCE-ODIHR, the quality and relevance of the curriculum was praised:

“Such a comprehensive and updateable training curriculum, with a wealth of examples from ICTY and domestic jurisprudence, is something that was missing in the practitioners’ legal training in the region. The curriculum has already helped me greatly in the preparation of a training I recently delivered to my younger colleagues,” said Judge Siniša Važić, the Vice-President of the War Crimes Department of the Belgrade Appellate Court.

“With the delivery of this curriculum, this project has provided the judicial institutions of this region with a very important tool which will contribute to further strengthening national capacities and expertise to handle war crimes cases and deliver justice in line with international standards,” said Thomas Gnocchi, the Head of Political Section at the EU Delegation to Serbia.

“This is the first curriculum developed to date that incorporates the growing body of regional war crimes jurisprudence into war crimes training materials in a holistic manner,” said Chris Engels, WCJP Regional Coordinator.

The training materials were already used by OSCE ODIHR in international criminal law and practice trainings for legal practitioners in the former Yugoslavia. OSCE ODIHR used the materials in trainings for judges and prosecutors in Sarajevo (April 2011), for chamber and prosecution support staff in Belgrade (July and September 2011) and for judges and prosecutors in Pristina (September 2011).

Building capacity in Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia: Development of ICL Training Materials

In July 2011, ICLS finalised training materials in the context of the project: Supporting the Transfer of Knowledge and Materials of War Crimes Cases from the ICTY to National Jurisdictions (“the War Crimes Justice Project”), related to the legacy of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, funded by the European Union and implemented by OSCE ODIHR, ICTY and UNICRI. The training materials consist of a comprehensive, practice-oriented training curriculum on international criminal and humanitarian law and practice, particularly relating to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. It is tailored to the legal frameworks of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia and will be used primarily by national legal training centres and other legal training providers in capacity-building activities for legal practitioners in the three states.

Module 1:

• Introduction
• Uvod

Module 2:

• What is public international law and international criminal law?
• Šta je međunarodno krivično pravo?

Module 3:

• General principles of international criminal law
• Opšta načela međunarodnog krivičnog prava

Module 4:

• International and hybrid criminal courts: an introduction
• Međunarodni, hibridni i nacionalni krivični sudovi koji procesuiraju međunarodna krivična djela

Module 5:

• Domestic application of international criminal law
• Primjena međunarodnog krivičnog prava u domaćim pravnim sistemima

Module 6:

• Genocide
• Genocid

Module 7:

• Crimes against humanity
• Zločini protiv čovječnosti

Module 8:

• War crimes
• Ratni zločini

Module 9:

• Modes of liability: Commission and participation
• Oblici krivične odgovornosti: Izvršilaštvo i saizvršilaštvo

Module 10:

• Modes of liability: Superior responsibility
• Oblici krivične odgovornosti: Odgovornost nadređenog

Module 11:

• Defences and other grounds for excluding liability
• Odbrana i osnove za isključenje odgovornosti

Module 12:

• Basic procedure and evidentiary issues
• Krivični i dokazni postupak

Module 13:

• Sentencing and penalties
• Odmjeravanje kazne

Module 14:

• Witnesses and victims
• Žrtve 
i svjedoci

Module 15:

• Cooperation and mutual legal assistance
• Saradnja
 i međusobna pravna pomoć

Building capacity in Uganda: Workshop for the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal Judges

On 20-21 June 2011, ICLS, Institute for International Criminal Investigations (IICI) and the Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG) organised a workshop with the judges of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal to stimulate discussion on Uganda-relevant international criminal law and practice issues against the backdrop of possible constitutional challenges and appeals arising from war-crimes cases. This was a follow-up to a capacity building programme initiated in 2010, in partnership with IICI, comprising three training and awareness-raising events held in Kampala for Ugandan prosecutors, investigators, judges and defence counsel. The capacity building programme in 2010 and the workshop in 2011 was implemented with the support of the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) with the backing of Uganda’s Justice, Law and Order Sector authorities.

Mapping Progress in Southern Africa: Regional Expert Workshop on Giving Effect to the Law on War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide

On 13-14 June in Pretoria, South Africa, ICLS co-organised a workshop on how to ensure further national progress in Southern Africa in terms of addressing war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The workshop discussed the current status of domestication of a number of international treaties and sought answers to some of the most pressing ratification and implementation challenges. This workshop was co-organised with the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and made possible through the generous support of The Federal Republic of Germany, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the Open Society Foundation for South Africa. The report is available in English, French and Portuguese on the website of the Centre for Human Rights.