Courses

    War crimes tribunals have emerged in various capacities and settings based upon the particular needs of the specific post-conflict society. Today we see war crimes prosecuted in entirely international tribunals, in hybrid tribunals and in domestic courts. In conjunction, truth and reconciliation commissions have also emerged as part of the reconciliation process. This course will examine the application of international human rights standards to the procedure of international, hybrid, and domestic war crimes tribunals, including: the International Criminal Court; the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia; hybrid tribunals, such as Kosovo, East Timor, Sierra Leone, and Cambodia; and domestic tribunals, such as Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Iraq. The course focuses upon the application of relevant authorities from international human rights instruments and corresponding commissions, committees and courts, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the American Convention on Human Rights. The course will also look at the operating procedures for complementary truth and reconciliation commissions, such as East Timor and Sierra Leone. Finally, the course will evaluate the relationship between the various forms of war crimes tribunals and truth and reconciliation commissions in bringing justice and reconciliation in a post-conflict society.