A: Through: SIC De

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

A: Through: SIC De International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Tribunal Penal International pour le Rwanda Amha lntematlonal Conference Centre P.O.Bax 6016,Arusha, Tanzania - B.P. 6016,Arusha, Tanzanie Tel: 255 27 2504207-11 2504367-72 or 1 212 963 2850 Fax: 255 27 2504000/2504373or 1 212 963 2848149 OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTOR BUREAU DU PROCUREUR To: Office of the Registrar Date: July 26,2002 Attn: Dr. Koffi Afande A: Co-ordinator, Trial Chamber III Through: Barbara MULVANE~ SIC de: Senior Trial Attorney From: Drew White De: Legal Advisor Subject: Motion for Judicial Direction - filing with Registry -- Dear Sirs: Accompanying this letter please find the Prosecutor's Motion for Judicial Direction, dated July 26, 2002, for filing and circulation to all four defence counsel. We believe the Annex A that is attached to the Motion has previously been sent by the Registry to translation. If you have any additional queries, please do not hesitate to contact this office, through the Senior Trial Attorney, Ms Barbara Mulvaney. 0-egal Advisor Tribunal Penal International pour le Rwanda UN~TED-NATIONS NATIONS UNIES International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda IN TRIAL CHAMBER I11 Before: Judge Lloyd George WILLIAMS, Presiding Judge Pave1 DOLENC . .I I- Judge Andresia VAZ i:(1" ' I Registrar: Mr Adama DIENG Date of Filing: 26 July 2002 THE PROSECUTOR v Theoneste BAGOSORA w* + d Gratien KABILIGI - >.3 Aloys NTABAKUZE Anatole NSENGIYUMVA Case No.: ICTR-98-41-T PROSECUTOR'S MOTION RESPECTING DISCLOSURE COMPLIANCE AND FOR FURTHER DIRECTIONS WITH REGARD TO THE TRIAL CHAMBER'S ORAL ORDER OF 28 JUNE 2002 Prosecution Counsel Defence Counsel Ms Barbara MULVANEY Mr Raphael CONSTANT Mr Drew WHITE Mr Jean Yaovi DEGLI Mr Segun JEGEDE Ms Sylvia OLYMPIO Ms Chstine GRAHAM Mr Clemente MONTEROSSO Mr Rashid RASHID Mr Andre TREMBLAY Mr Kennedy OGETTO Mr Gershom Otachi BW'OMANWA I. PROSECUTION'S REQUEST 1) The Prosecution hereby sets forth its state of compliance in respect of the Trial Chamber's order of 28 June 2002. It further asks for directions on how to proceed with regard to the issue of outstanding disclosure obligations due to non-availability of translations into both working languages of the Tribunal. In the alternative, the Prosecution seeks an order directing the Registrar to use all means at his disposal to finalize all outstanding translation requests from the Prosecution in this case as soon as is reasonably possible.1 11. PROSECUTION'S SUBMISSIONS 2) During the Status Conference held on 28 June 2002, the Trial Chamber directed the Prosecution to discharge any outstanding disclosure obligations in both working languages of the Tribunal no later than 30 July 2002. From the context of the Conference, it was uncertain whether that direction pertained specifically to disclosure obligations relating to the upcoming 4 week trial segment commencing September 2nd,2002, or more broadly to every disclosure obligation throughout the course of the trial, or to some other combination of disclosure issues. 3) In any event, the Prosecution has disclosed to the Defence all material that it knows to be in its possession concerning witness statements and exhibits, which is both relevant and disclosable, in redacted or unredacted form, excepting for recently-translated items in the process of being catalogued and provided. The Prosecution therefore submits that it has fulfilled its disclosure obligation to the extent it is physically possible. In order to give the Trial Chamber a better understanding of the status of the disclosure process and the availability of translations, the Prosecution submits the following. 4) The Prosecution understands that the Trial Chamber's order requires it to finalise the disclosure process of material which falls under Rules 66, 67, 69, 75 and 94bis. Accordingly, the Prosecution must disclose to the Defence the following categories of documents: 1 See Minutes of Proceedings pursuant to Rule 35 of the Rules and Article 44 of the Directive for the Registry on Court management, dated 1 July 2002, line 1. A) redacted witness statements of protected witnesses pursuant to Rules 66(A)(ii), 69 and 75; B) unredacted witness statements of protected witnesses no later than 35 days before the protected witness testifies at trial pursuant to the Trial Chamber's orders of 29 November and 5 December 2001; C) unredacted witness statements of unprotected witnesses pursuant to Rule 66(A)(ii) of the Rules; D) expert witness reports pursuant to Rule 94bis; and E) exhibits that the Prosecution intends to offer pursuant to Rule 66(B) and the April 2002 agreement reached between the Prosecution and the Defence. A. Disclosure of REDACTED witness statements of protected witnesses 5) The Prosecution has disclosed to the Defence, in at least one of the working languages of the Tribunal, the redacted witness statements of all 150 protected witnesses on the Prosecution's active witness list. Out of these, the majority of the redacted witness statements have been disclosed to the Defence in French, whereas the redacted witness statements for approximately 2 dozen witnesses have been disclosed to the Defence in English only, and another approximately 2 dozen witnesses have been disclosed to the Defence in both French and English. Most of these statements were provided in 1998, 1999 and 2000. B. Disclosure of UNredacted witness statements of protected witnesses 6) In respect of this category of witness statements, the Prosecution submits that it has disclosed, in at least one of the working languages of the Tribunal, the unredacted statements of all protected witnesses who are scheduled to appear during the first trial segment ( 2 - 26 September, 2002 ). Witness statements have been disclosed to the Defence in both French and English, except for two witnesses. One outstanding translation is that of witness XAM, consisting of 2 pages. The Prosecution submitted for the first time that statement for translation to LCSS on 25 September 2001. Subsequently, re-submissions were sent to the LCSS on 7 December 2001 and 2 July 2002. To date, the Prosecution has not received any translation of that document. The second outstanding translation is for witness CE, who provided 5 'statements' in French, only one of which has been translated into English. Those items were originally submitted for translation on July 28, 1998, ( CE-1 & 2 ) and November 2 & December 10, 1998, ( CE-4 ). Although it is possible these items for XAM and CE might be translated before July 3oth, it is unlikely they will be able to be catalogued, filed and delivered before that date. C. Disclosure of UNredacted witness statements of UNprotected witnesses The Prosecution submits that disclosure of all disclosable material that it knows to be in its possession, in at least one of the working languages, has been made for all unprotected witnesses. There are 42 witnesses in this category, including experts and investigators, as of July 19, 2002. This category has never had a fixed number of witnesses because of continual additions and deletions. Statements for 15 witnesses have been disclosed in both working languages of the Tribunal. Witness statements for 10 witnesses have been disclosed only in French whereas witness statements for 2 witnesses have been disclosed only in English. There are 15 witnesses who have no formal 'statements' as such. Of those 15, 4 are authors of significant publications; 4 are witnesses who must be dealt with through high-level diplomatic channels; 4 are investigative witnesses; 2 are witnesses who have created no statement but are believed to possess significant information and 1 is a witness who has given prior testimony and made other publicly printed statements. 10) Requests for translations of the witness statements which have been disclosed in only one working languages have been made to the Language and Conference Services Section (LCSS) on a wide variety of different dates between the period of 1996 and the present. The Prosecution has advised the LCSS of the importance of these translations. 11) In accordance with what has already been submitted orally during Status Conferences held on 3 April and 28 June 2002, the Prosecution further informs the Trial Chamber that it has, in respect of some of the unprotected witnesses, not provided a pro forma witness statement to the Defence. In 3 many instances, the Prosecution has disclosed information available in the public domain, such as official reports, books, news articles and interviews, which indicates and discloses with sufficient clarity the issues to which the Prosecution expects the witness to testify to at trial. The reason therefore is threefold: First, the materials in the public domain may be superior because they are more comprehensive, or original writings, or well-documented; Second, pro forma statements may not be readily available, either because of witness inaccessibility, diplomatic restriction, or budgetary constraint. Third, the principle of judicial economy . The Prosecution takes the view that it would be an imprudent waste of time and resources, as well as an unnecessary expense to dispatch investigators on distant missions to take a pro forma statement when there is public material available which puts the Defence on sufficient notice as to the nature of the expected evidence that the witness will provide during trial. D. Disclosure of expert witness reports. 12)The Prosecution has disclosed to the Defence in English the full statement of its first expert, Dr. Alison Des Forges, as well as filed the same document before the Trial Chamber. In accordance with Rules 3(A) and (E) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence ("Rules) and Article 13(6) of the Directive for the Registry, the Registry on March 2gth, 2002 served the Defence with a translated version from English to French of the same document. 13) The Prosecution further sees a need to inform the Trial Chamber of the very recent request from Mr.
Recommended publications
  • JOURNEY to JUSTICE Continued from Page 145 a Continual Anxiety Over Her Personal Safety
    J O U R N E Y t o J USTICE Barbara Mulvaney pursued criminals from Malibu to Miami before her own life and family fell apart. Then she found a new mission: bringing the accused perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide to a reckoning By KENNETH MILLER Photographed by ALESSANDRA PETLIN 138 HAIR AND MAKEUP KIM GOODWIN FOR CLOUTIERAGENCY COM STYLIST MICHAEL CIOFFOLETTI SHIRT AND JACKET EILEEN FISHER ILLUSTRATION OPPOSITE PAGE JOSE FERNANDEZ : . : . : . , : C International t o 2OO7, January Mulvaney, he United Nations Nations United he riminal Tribunal riminal n a rare break from from break rare a n 139 139 “Everyone has rewritten history to protect themselves,” Mulvaney says, with rueful cynicism. “How the hell can you blame them?” On this warm December afternoon, Mulvaney is enduring a round of testimony she finds merely irritating. The witness, a Belgian colonel who was second in command of U.N. peacekeepers in Rwanda during the genocide in 1994, has recently turned against the prosecution. The colonel, Luc Marchal, lost 10 of his own men on the first day of the massacre, and has spent the past decade publicly agonizing over whether he could have done more to stop the killing. But now he is testifying for one of the accused; he has joined a minority of international observers who believe that Tutsi rebels brought the massacre on their own people by provoking the Hutu. In his dealings with the Rwandan military before To reach Trial Chamber 1 the slaughter, Marchal insists, “I can say sincerely that [the of the United Nations International Criminal U.N.] received high-quality cooperation.” Tribunal for Rwanda, you take a creaky His claim sends a ripple of reaction around the packed elevator to the fourth floor of a conference gallery.
    [Show full text]
  • Dead Men Tell No Tales: Rule 92
    NOTES "DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES": RULE 92 BIS-HOW THE AD HOC INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNALS UNNECESSARILY SILENCE THE DEAD ARI S. BASSIN* The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the Interna- tional Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda adopted Rule 92 bis-Proofof Facts Other than by Oral Evidence-as a good faith attempt to hone the rules of evidentiary admissibility and provide a better balance between fairness and efficiency. While Rule 92 bis provides certain benefits, this Note argues that because of the unique nature and purpose of the Tribunals, this Rule is not the optimal framework within which to determine the admissibility of deceased witness statements. Applying Rule 92 bis to priorstatements of deceased witnesses needlessly reinforces existing incen- tives to kill important witnesses before they can testify in person at the Tribunals and unnecessarily limits the admissibility of testimony of classes of victims that sur- vived the initial crimes but did not live long enough to testify in person in front of the Tribunals. This Note presents two ways that the Tribunals could admit written statements of deceased witnesses while maintaining many of the important benefits of Rule 92 bis, and consequently, provide a better balance between fairness and efficiency than is currently achieved under Rule 92 bis. INTRODUCTION Over the past sixty years the international community has made extraordinary progress in developing an internationalized system designed to prosecute and document war crimes and crimes against humanity. This trend began with the Nuremberg trials after World * Copyright © 2006 by Ari S. Bassin. J.D., 2006, New York University School of Law; M.P.P., 2001, University of Sydney, Australia; B.A., 1998, Duke University.
    [Show full text]
  • Cour Pénale Internationale International Criminal Court
    ICC-01/04-01/07-176-AnxA 01-02-2008 1/196 SL PT OA2 Cour Pénale Internationale International Criminal Court Original : English N° : ICC-01/04-01/07 Date: 1 February 2008 THE APPEALS CHAMBER Before : Judge Philippe Kirsch, Presiding Judge Judge Georghios M. Pikis Judge Navanethem Pillay Judge Sang-Hyun Song Judge Erkki Kourula Registrar : Mr Bruno Cathala SITUATION IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO IN THE CASE OF THE PROSECUTOR v. GERMAIN KATANGA Public ANNEX A to the Defense Document Providing Additional Details on the "Defense Appeal Brief concerning the First Decision on the Prosecution request for Authorisation to redact Witness Statements" The Office of the Prosecutor Defence Counsel Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Prosecutor Mr David Hooper Ms Fatou Bensouda, Deputy Prosecutor Ms Caroline Buisman Mr Eric MacDonald, Trial Lawyer Mrs. Florence Darques-Lane, Legal Adviser n° ICC-01/04-01/07 1/5 1 February 2008 ICC-01/04-01/07-176-AnxA 01-02-2008 2/196 SL PT OA2 2/5 Authorities 1. In the present filing the Defence, pursuant to authorisation of the Appeals Chamber,1 submits a number of authorities which supports the issue raised in the Defence Application to Request Leave to Provide Additional Details and Authorities on the "Public Defence Appeal Brief concerning the First Decision on the Prosecution Request for Authorisation to Redact Witness Statements "." 2. A brief survey of the jurisprudence of international criminal jurisdictions demonstrates that the Single Judge erroneously enlarged the scope of application of rule 81(2) of the Rules by considering as Prosecution sources those individuals - whose identity and identifying information could be redacted pursuant to the said rule - who, despite not being Prosecution witnesses for the purpose of the confirmation hearing, have been or are about to be interviewed by the Prosecution: (ICC) The Prosecution v.
    [Show full text]
  • ORIGINAL: ENGLISH TRIAL CHAMBER I Before: Judge Erik Møse
    International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda ORIGINAL: ENGLISH TRIAL CHAMBER I Before: Judge Erik Møse, presiding Judge Jai Ram Reddy Judge Sergei Alekseevich Egorov Registrar: Adama Dieng Date: 18 December 2008 THE PROSECUTOR v. Théoneste BAGOSORA Gratien KABILIGI Aloys NTABAKUZE Anatole NSENGIYUMVA Case No. ICTR-98-41-T JUDGEMENT AND SENTENCE Office of the Prosecutor: Counsel for the Defence: Barbara Mulvaney Raphaël Constant Christine Graham Allison Turner Kartik Murukutla Paul Skolnik Rashid Rashid Frédéric Hivon Gregory Townsend Peter Erlinder Drew White Kennedy Ogetto Gershom Otachi Bw’Omanwa The Prosecutor v. Théoneste Bagosora et al., Case No. ICTR-98-41-T TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION........................................................................................ 1 1. Overview ................................................................................................................... 1 2. The Accused ............................................................................................................. 8 2.1 Théoneste Bagosora ................................................................................................... 8 2.2 Gratien Kabiligi ....................................................................................................... 10 2.3 Aloys Ntabakuze ...................................................................................................... 10 2.4 Anatole Nsengiyumva .............................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Press Clippings
    SPECIAL COURT FOR SIERRA LEONE OUTREACH AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE PRESS CLIPPINGS Enclosed are clippings of local and international press on the Special Court and related issues obtained by the Outreach and Public Affairs Office as at: Friday, 9 December 2011 Press clips are produced Monday through Friday. Any omission, comment or suggestion, please contact Martin Royston-Wright Ext 7217 2 Local News Photographers Conclude Workshop on War Relics / Concord Times Page 3 AdvocAid and GIZ Conduct Training for Female Prison Officers… / Standard Times Page 4 International News The Still-unconvincing ICC / Business World Online Pages 5-6 Prosecution Requests Life Imprisonment for Captain Nizeyimana / Hirondelle News Agency Page 7 Rwanda Genocide Tribunal to Intensify Hunt for Nine Remaining Fugitives / AP Page 8 Kabila, Tshisekedi, Congo and the International Criminal Court / San Francisco Bay View Pages 9-12 3 Concord Times Friday, 9 December 2011 4 Standard Times Friday, 9 December 2011 Note: Sabrina Mahtani worked at the Defence Office. 5 Business World Online Friday, 9 December 2011 The still-unconvincing ICC By Jemy Gatdula Opinion Thursday last week I had the honor of being invited to talk as reactor at the Regional Forum on the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court organized by LAWASIA Philippines and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. There I again raised my doubts -- not as to the need for the ICC (which is a different issue all its own) but on the wisdom of the Philippines joining it at this time. To reiterate, the ICC is a permanent institution, exercising jurisdiction over persons for the most serious crimes of international concern.
    [Show full text]
  • Nov-Dec 2011 News Letter
    ICTRPublished by the Comm unicationNewsletter Cluster—ERSPS, Immediate Office of the Registrar United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda NOV-DEC 2011 The Editorial Committee wishes you a Happy and Prosperous New Year! ICTR Completion Strategy: President Updates UN Security Council The President of the Interna- the Appeals Chamber delivered tional Criminal Tribunal for two appeal judgments, in the Rwanda (ICTR), Judge Khalida Setako and Munyakazi cases. Rachid Khan, on November 7 The Appeals Chamber also ren- presented to the United Nations dered 1 decision disposing of an Security Council an updated re- interlocutory appeal, 4 decisions port on the implementation of the concerning post-appeal requests, Tribunal Completion Strategy. and 64 pre-appeal orders and The report covered the period decisions. Two other appeal from 13 May 2011 to 4 November judgements were still expected to 2011. According to Judge Presi- be delivered in 2011, for a total dent Khan, the Tribunal had com- of six appeal judgments for the pleted the work at the Trial level year. Judge Khan assured the with respect to 76 of the 92 ac- Council that four appeal judg- cused, which included two refer- ments are to be delivered in rals to national jurisdictions, two 2012, five by the end of 2013 Judge Khalida Rachid Khan withdrawn indictments, and two and the remaining three appeal indictees who died prior or in the judgments will be delivered in Contents course of the trial. The Tribunal 2014. ICTR Completion Strategy .................. 2 has delivered 50 first-instance Appeals Chamber Affirms referral of judgments involving 70 accused, With regard to staff manage- Uwikindi case to Rwanda ...................
    [Show full text]
  • War Crimes Prosecution Watch
    Case School of Law Logo WAR CRIMES PROSECUTION EDITOR IN CHIEF FREDERICK K. COX Rochelle Swan INTERNATIONAL LAW CENTER WATCH MANAGING EDITORS Michael P. Scharf and Nicole Cellone Brianne M. Draffin, Advisors Volume 5 - Issue 22 Elisabeth Herron January 31, 2011 SENIOR TECHNICAL EDITOR David O'Brien War Crimes Prosecution Watch is a bi-weekly e-newsletter that compiles official documents and articles from major news sources detailing and analyzing salient issues pertaining to the investigation and prosecution of war crimes throughout the world. To subscribe, please email [email protected] and type "subscribe" in the subject line. Opinions expressed in the articles herein represent the views of their authors and are not necessarily those of the War Crimes Prosecution Watch staff, the Case Western Reserve University School of Law or Public International Law & Policy Group. Contents INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT Central African Republic & Uganda All Africa: Uganda: On the Trail of the LRA Open Society Justice Initiative: Witness: Central African Rebels Did Not Harm Civilians All Africa: Witnesses Testify That Bemba's Fighters Raped Men, Women, and Children Open Society Justice Initiative: MLC Soldier Said Patasse Ordered Killings Darfur, Sudan Sudan Tribune: France Protests to the UN Over Transporting of Sudanese War Crimes Suspect Reuters Africa: Sudan Protecting Darfur Suspects: Justice Minister Reuters Africa: South Sudan Considers ICC Membership: Minister Democratic Republic of the Congo (ICC) ICC: New Suspect in the ICC’s Custody:
    [Show full text]
  • Lst-Oo-'5B-PT\Aoo J T -\A- -Lolo L\000 - Q 66Q Lnternationalcriminal Tribunal for Rwanda Tribunalp6nal International Pour Le Rwanda
    lSt-oo-'5B-PT\aoo j t -\a- -lOlO L\000 - q 66q lnternationalCriminal Tribunal for Rwanda TribunalP6nal International pour le Rwanda ArushaInternational Conference Centre P.O.Box6016, Arusha, Tanzania - B.P. 6016, Arusha, Tanzanie Tel: +255(27\ 2504207-11 2504367-72ot + 1(21 2) 963-2850 Fax +255(27) 2504000/4373or +1 (212')963-2U449 OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTOR-BUREAU DU PROCUREUR Date: 17December 2010 Ref: ICTR-2OOO-55C-PT To: Mr. John PHILPOT From: Drew WHITE (DefenceCounsel) (ProsecutionCounsel) Through: NouhouDiallo (LO, CoordinatorTC I) Cc: Subject: REFILED SecondAmended Indictment: English& French l. Furtherto the Trial Chamber'sDecision dated 15 December2010 and filed 16 December,ordering conections to the SecondAmended Indictment that wasfiled on 29 September2010, please find herewiththe Englishoriginal of the SecondAmended Indictment with the ordered conections, now having been re-signedand dated for today'sdate, plus a copyofthe Frenchtranslation. Pleasenote that the paragraphnumbering remains unchanged. Thank you and bestregards. tt+ga Prosecutor y N izeyimana ICTR-00-5 5-PT CORRECTEDSecond Amended Indictment 1.7/ l 2/ 10 InternationalCriminal Tribunal for Rwanda ,/,6.\. ofi'"qx wWTribuna|P6na||nternationa|pour|eRwanda Arusha lnternational Confurencs Centre P.O.Box 6016,Arusha, Tanzanla Telt 255 27 2fi1207 -11A367-72 or | 212 963 2850- Fax: 255 27 25U00014373or 1 212 963 28/,8 TRIAL CHAMBER III Before: JudgeLee Muthoga,Presiding Judge JudgeSeon Ki Park JudgeRobert Fremr Registrar: AdamaDieng Filedon: l7 December2010 THEPROSECUTOR
    [Show full text]
  • SCSL Press Clippings
    SPECIAL COURT FOR SIERRA LEONE OUTREACH AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE PRESS CLIPPINGS Enclosed are clippings of local and international press on the Special Court and related issues obtained by the Outreach and Public Affairs Office as at: Friday, 8 October 2010 Press clips are produced Monday through Friday. Any omission, comment or suggestion, please contact Martin Royston-Wright Ext 7217 2 International News Rwanda Tribunal Asks UN Chief to Help Host Acquitted Man / Agence France Presse Page 3 Int'l Court to Rule on Halting First Trial / Associated Press Page 4 Opening of captain Nizeyimana's trial postponed to January 17 / Hirondelle News Agency Page 5 3 Agence France Presse Thursday, 7 October 2010 Rwanda tribunal asks UN chief to help host acquitted man ARUSHA, Tanzania — The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has asked the UN secretary-general to help find a host country for an acquitted man, Andre Ntagerura, a court spokesman said Thursday. The transport minister in Rwanda's government during the genocide of Tutsis in 1994, Ntagerura was acquitted of any part in the mass slaughter after his trial in February 2004, and again on appeal two years later. He currently lives in a safe house at the expense of the ICTR near its premises at Arusha, in northern Tanzania. The premises are shared by General Gratien Kabiligi, who was acquitted in December 2008, and Protais Zigiranyirazo, known as "Monsieur Z," who was acquitted by the court of appeal in November 2009. The ICTR, which was set up by the UN Security Council in 1994 to try key suspects in the genocide that claimed about 800,000 lives, is trying to find host countries to take in people who have been tried and acquitted.
    [Show full text]
  • Gregory Townsend*
    Domestic Court Records before the ICTR By Gregory Townsend* 1. Introduction This article analyses the case law about obtaining, disclosing, and using Rwandan domestic judicial records in proceedings before the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). It focuses on the ICTR decisions that address the issue of witness statements made before Gacaca courts in Rwanda,1 as well as the Prosecution’s disclosure practices for these particularly important records in the past few years. This article arrives at the conclusion that the ICTR case law and Prosecution practice have advanced, helping to develop international criminal law, and the latter has come to be what is popularly referred to as a ‘best practice.’ 2. ICTR Case Law on Rwandan Records 2.1. The Cyangugu Approach (‘Possession is nine tenths of the law’) Early ICTR case law on Rwandan judicial records2 often focused on the lack of an obligation on the Prosecution to make any affirmative efforts to obtain and disclose such records, including Gacaca * Chief, Court Support Services Section, ICTY Registry (supervising the witness protection and support, legal aid, and court operations units); previously employed by the ICTR in: (1) Registry (1998-1999); (2) Chambers (1999-2000), and; (3) Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) (2000-2003 and 2005-2007 on the Butare, Seromba, and Bagosora cases); STL OTP; SCSL Registry in The Hague; ICTY OTP; UNMIK; and the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the United Nations, the ICTY, or the ICTR. This article stems from a presentation originally delivered as part of a panel on ‘Sexual Violence Crimes and the Assessment of Evidence’ at the International Symposium on the Legacy of the ICTR that took place in Arusha, Tanzania on 6 November 2014.
    [Show full text]
  • Rwanda: an Untold Tropical Nazism
    UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Cross-examining the past Transitional justice, mass atrocity trials and history in Africa Bouwknegt, T.B. Publication date 2017 Document Version Other version License Other Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Bouwknegt, T. B. (2017). Cross-examining the past: Transitional justice, mass atrocity trials and history in Africa. General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl) Download date:27 Sep 2021 4. Cross-examining the past. Rwanda: An Untold Tropical Nazism Witness statements are the building blocks upon which the prosecution directly bases its case. The testimony of witnesses at trial is the principal form of evidence that the Prosecutor places at the disposal of the Trial Chambers.973 You have asked me if there is such a thing as objective truth.
    [Show full text]
  • Press Clippings
    SPECIAL COURT FOR SIERRA LEONE OUTREACH AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE Ferry in the fog. Credit: Lawrence Sesay, CITS PRESS CLIPPINGS Enclosed are clippings of local and international press on the Special Court and related issues obtained by the Outreach and Public Affairs Office as at: Wednesday, 26 January 2011 Press clips are produced Monday through Friday. Any omission, comment or suggestion, please contact Martin Royston-Wright Ext 7217 2 Local News Final Judgement Awaits Taylor / The Exclusive Page 3 Rwanda Rebel Leader Callixte Mbarushimana Sent to ICC / For di People Page 4 For Providing Security to the Special Court... / Concord Times Online Page 5 International News Violence Campaign by Security Forces, Militias / Human Rights Watch Pages 6-11 Rwandan Rebel Leader to Face War Crimes Charges / CNN Page 12 A Guide to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon / Independent Media Review Analyst Pages 13-14 STL Registrar Says Accused Names May Be Made Public in '6 to 10 Weeks' / Naharnet Page 15 Captain Nizeyimana Ordered Soldiers to kill Tutsi Lady, Witness Claims / Hirondelle News Agency Page 16 3 The Exclusive Wednesday, 26 January 2011 4 For di People Wednesday, 26 January 2011 5 Concord Times Online Monday, 24 January 2011 For Providing Security to the Special Court... Departing Mongolian Peacekeepers Honoured The UN envoy to Liberia has paid tribute to the last contingent of the Military Guard Force stationed in Sierra Leone for their untiring efforts and dedication in providing security for the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Ellen Margrethe Løj made the statement Tuesday, 18 January, during a medal awards ceremony for the 150 strong Mongolian contingent stationed in Freetown.
    [Show full text]