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SCSL LEGACY

The Legacy of the Special Court for Sierra Leone  

CILPA hosted a symposium, on 17 December 2020 in Freetown, on The Legal Legacy of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. The purpose of this symposium was to examine, from a national perspective, whether the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), which was established jointly through an unprecedented bilateral treaty between the United Nations (UN) and the Government of Sierra Leone in January 2002 and completed its work in December 2013, left a legal legacy for the jurisprudence and practice for the nascent and still unsettled field of international criminal law. With the goal of advancing Sierra Leonean perspectives on the achievements and challenges that confronted the SCSL, and the role that the SCSL played in the country’s transition from conflict to peace, leading experts on the SCSL discussed lessons learned for Sierra Leone as well as other post-conflict situations in Africa and other regions of the world.

Two central themes guided the symposium discussions which was divided into two panels. The first theme, which looked back, assessed whether the SCSL as a mixed national-International penal tribunal made useful jurisprudential contributions on key legal questions with wider implications for the field of international law. In the main, we focused on the impact of the SCSL judicial rulings on greatest responsibility personal jurisdiction, the war crime of child recruitment, forced marriage as a crime against humanity, amnesty, immunity and the relationship between truth commissions and criminal courts.

The second theme, which was more forward looking, sought to assess the continued relevance of the SCSL’s innovative “hybrid” model as States from different regions contemplate how best to fulfill the present demands for accountability. These range from Guinea to Liberia, from the Central African Republic to South Sudan, to Syria and Myanmar. The symposium and book launch, which brought together leading Sierra Leonean experts from academia, legal practice and civil society, should advance greater public understanding of the SCSL’s significant contributions to post-conflict Sierra Leone as well as to the field of international criminal law and justice.

A new book on the symposium theme, The Legal Legacy of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (Cambridge, July 2020) by Professor Charles C. Jalloh, who was the keynote speaker, was also launched at the event. Copies of the book were made available to participants.

Event Series 

CILPA Occasional Papers Presentation: Bringing the African Perspective to the ICC Reform Discussion

December 6, 2023 New York City, USA

Consultants from CILPA’s ICC-Africa Project presented their papers at a side event to the twenty-second session of the Assembly of States Parties organized by CILPA, in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sierra Leone to the United Nations, with the aim of bringing African perspectives to the ongoing ICC reform discourse .

Necessary Voices, Missed Opportunities?

Strengthening the Engagement of Global South States with the Work of the International Law Commission

October 30, 2023 New York City, USA

CILPA in collaboration with the Permanent Missions of Mexico and Sierra Leone to the United Nations in New York hosted an interactive dialogue on Strengthening the Engagement of Global South States with the work of the International Law Commission on the margins of the International Law Week in New York.

The Current and Future work of the International Law Commission

November 4- 5, 2022 Miami, USA

The Florida International University College of Law (“FIU Law”), together with the CILPA convened a public symposium in Miami to discuss The Current and Future Work of the International Law Commission which was followed by a private  workshop on upcoming ILC topics. Special Rapporteurs represented their work in discussion with panelists from practice and academia.

Role of Regional and International Codification Bodies in the Development of International Law

October 26, 2022  New York City, USA

CILPA in collaboration with the Office of Legal Counsel of the African Union Commission organized an interactive dialogue in New York for members from the AUCIL, CAHDI, and the ILC, along with representatives of States and academia, to engage in a preliminary dialogue  with the view to determining what further collaboration might hold for the further codification and progressive development of regional and international law in Africa and internationally. 

Universal Criminal Jurisdiction: A Key Tool in the Fight Against Impunity for Atrocity Crimes in Ukraine and Beyond?

October 25, 2022 New York City, USA

CILPA and the International Bar Association – hosted by Debevoise & Plimpton LLP – convened an interactive dialogue on Universal Criminal Jurisdiction: A Key Tool in the Fight for Atrocity Crimes in Ukraine and Beyond?, in New York, and online. The discussion reflected a range of perspectives from academia, State representatives, experts from the International Law Commission and global civil society. 

Independent Expert Workshop: Bringing the African Perspective to the ICC Reform Discussion

October 7 - 8, 2022 Freetown, Sierra Leone

CILPA commissioned three independent consultants to conduct research into the experience of African States with the aim of identifying key concerns about the ICC reform process and proposing strategic recommendations to feed into the ongoing ICC reform discourse. Bringing together the consultants and invited legal experts, predominantly based in Africa, the Workshop was a working session with detailed examination of specific themes and provisions identified by the consultants.

Independent Expert Workshop: Draft Rules Of Procedure and the Elements of Crimes for the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights

May 13-14, 2022
The Hague, Netherlands

The Independent expert meeting brought together the legal experts who prepared the first drafts of the Rules of Procedure and the Elements of Crime documents in the ACRI Project , the consultant reviewer, and select expert practitioners with relevant experience in the African Court and issues of international dispute settlement. 

SCSL 20th Anniversary - Commemoration and Formal Opening of the Peace Museum Memorial Garden

January 18, 2022 Freetown, Sierra Leone

On 16 January 2002, the United Nations and the Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone signed an historic agreement providing for the establishment of a Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). 16 January 2022  marked the twentieth anniversary of this signing and to celebrate this event CILPA and The Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone convened a commemoration.

SCSL LEGACY - The Legacy of the Special Court for Sierra Leone

December 17, 2020 Freetown, Sierra Leone

The purpose of this symposium was to examine, from a national perspective, whether the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), which was established jointly through an unprecedented bilateral treaty between the United Nations (UN) and the Government of Sierra Leone in January 2002 and completed its work in December 2013, left a legal legacy for the jurisprudence and practice for the nascent and still unsettled field of international criminal law. 

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