The United Nations International Criminal Tribunals: The Former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone, William A. Schabas

The United Nations International Criminal Tribunals: The FormerYugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone is the first book entirelydevoted to these three United Nations jurisdictions, providinga comprehensive account of their respective mandates and ofthe main characteristics of their work. The author, William A. Schabas, Director of the Irish Centrefor Human Rights in Galway and former Commissioner     

Some Innovations in the Statute of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

The Statute of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon contains severalremarkable innovations. One major novelty is its mandate. Whileits subject matter jurisdiction includes terrorism, this isdefined solely on the basis of Lebanese law. It does not coverany international crime, but exclusively offences defined underthe Lebanese Penal Code. Unusually for a court of internationalcharacter, its activities could be limited to a single case:the attack of 14 February 2005 which killed Rafiq Hariri and22 others; the Special Tribunal will try other cases only ifthey are found to be connected to this attack. As its jurisdictionmirrors the mandate of the UN International Independent InvestigationCommission, the Statute of the Special Tribunal contains originalprovisions regulating its relationship with this body, as wellas with the Lebanese judicial authorities, which enjoy concurrentcompetence. Other important innovations concern the applicableprocedural law, which includes provisions concerning a pre-trialjudge, the role of the judges in conducting the hearings, theparticipation of victims in proceedings, and the possibilityof holding trials in absentia. These latter aspects are allcharacteristic of Romano Germanic criminal systems, and reflectthe intention of the drafters to draw up a more efficient internationalcriminal procedure.