Recent cases undertaken by members of the International Practice Group include cases before the following courts:
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International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) |
The ICTY was established pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 808 (1993) and is mandated to prosecute ‘persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991.’ Prosecutor v Tadic
Dusko Tadic was the first defendant to be tried by the ICTY. In May 1997 he was convicted of charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes relating to torture and murders which took place at the notorious Omarska concentration camp in Prijedor.
Sylvia de Bertodano appeared for the defence.
Prosecutor v. Nikolic
Momir Nikolic was an officer in the Bosnian Serb army. He pleaded guilty to charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes in relation to the massacre at Srebrenica in 1995. His sentence of 27 years imprisonment was reduced to 20 years on appeal.
Rock Tansey QC appeared for the defence on appeal.
Prosecutor v Milosevic
Slobodan Milosevic was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia between 1989 and 2000. He was indicted by the ICTY while he was President of Yugoslavia. He was tried on three indictments in respect of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes alleged to have been committed in Kosovo, Croatia and Bosnia. Mr Milosevic died on 11 March 2006 after four years of trial.
Gillian Higgins was assigned counsel for the defence.
Prosecutor v Seselj
Dr. Vojislav Seselj is President of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS), currently the majority party in Serbia. He is a member of the Assembly of the Republic of Serbia. He is charged with crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war. His trial started in late 2006.
Dr. Seselj is representing himself. David Hooper and Professor Andreas O’Shea acted as standby counsel, until the assignment of such counsel was withdrawn by a decision of the Appeals Chamber in December 2006.
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International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) |
The ICTR was established pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 955 (1994) and is mandated to prosecute genocide and other serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in Rwanda and in neighbouring countries during the year 1994.
Prosecutor v Musema
Alfred Musema was the Director of Gisovu Tea Factory in Kibuye prefecture, Rwanda. He was tried for genocide and crimes against humanity in respect of massacres in Bisesero, Rwanda. In January 2000, he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Sylvia de Bertodano and Gillian Higgins appeared for the defence.
Prosecutor v Nahimana (‘The Media Trial’)
Ferdinand Nahimana was a Professor of History and one of the founders of RTLM radio station which was alleged to have been used as a tool to incite genocide in Rwanda. In December 2003 he was convicted of charges including genocide and direct and public incitement to commit genocide in relation to radio broadcasts in 1994. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and his appeal is pending.
Diana Ellis QC, Gillian Higgins and Joanna Evans appeared for the defence
Prosecutor v Rwamakuba
Andre Rwamakuba was Minister for National Education and a member of the cabinet in the Rwandan interim government of 1994. In September 2006, he was acquitted of charges of genocide, complicity in genocide and crimes against humanity.
David Hooper and Professor Andreas O’Shea appeared for the defence.
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International Criminal Court (ICC) |
The ICC was established by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, adopted on 17 July 1998 by the United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court. The Court has jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crimes of aggression.
Prosecutor v Lubanga
Thomas Lubanga was the founder and leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He is the first defendant before the International Criminal Court (ICC) and is charged with war crimes of enlisting, conscripting and using child soldiers to participate in hostilities.
Joanna Evans is on the advisory panel to the Women’s Initiative for Gender Justice who are acting on behalf of victims from the DRC.
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Special Panels for Serious Crimes in East Timor (Dili, East Timor) |
The Special Panels for Serious Crimes (SPSC) in the Dili District Court were established in 2000 by the United Nations Transitional Authority in East Timor. Between 2001–2005 they heard cases in respect of crimes committed during the violence surrounding the 1999 East Timorese referendum in favour of independence from Indonesia.
Sylvia de Bertodano was a public defender in East Timor in 2001-2 and represented a number of defendants including Jose Cardoso, who was charged with crimes against humanity in respect of rapes, torture and murders which occurred during the time he was a militia commander in the Lolotoe district of East Timor. He was convicted and sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment.
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Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) |
The Special Court for Sierra Leone was set up jointly by the Government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations. It is mandated to try those who bear the greatest responsibility for serious violations of international humanitarian law and Sierra Leonean law committed in the territory of Sierra Leone since 30 November 1996.
Prosecutor v Hinga Norman
Sylvia de Bertodano was one of three experts who drafted the amicus curiae brief for UNICEF and No Peace Without Justice on the recruitment of child soldiers as a war crime under customary international law. The brief was submitted at the request of the Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
Prosecutor v Gbao
Augustine Gbao was a senior officer and commander of the former Revolutionary United Front and is charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. His trial is ongoing.
Professor Andreas O’Shea appears for the defence.
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Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Court of BiH) |
On 3 July 2002 the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the Law on the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, promulgated on 12 November 2000 by the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, establishing the Court of BiH in Sarajevo. Within its criminal jurisdiction, the Court of BiH tries cases of genocide, war crimes, organized crime, economic crime and corruption.
The Prosecutor v Simsic
On 11 September 2006, Mr. Boban Simsic was convicted of aiding and abetting enforced disappearance and rape as crimes against humanity.
Gillian Higgins advised the Defence on appeal.
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European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) |
The ECtHR was brought into being by the European Convention on Human Rights on 1 November 1998. Any Contracting State or individual claiming to be a victim of a violation of the Convention may lodge directly with the Court in Strasbourg an application alleging a breach by a Contracting State of one of the Convention rights.
Muhyettin Osmanoglu v. The Republic of Turkey
This case concerns the disappearance of Atilla Osmanoglu, the Applicant’s son, from Diyarbakir in south-east Turkey on 25 March 1996. The Applicant submits that Turkey has breached Articles 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The case is currently pending before the European Court of Human Rights.
Gillian Higgins and Joanna Evans act for the Applicant on behalf of the Kurdish Human Rights Project (“KHRP”)
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