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International Criminal Courts and Tribunals

Document Type

Book Section

Publication Date

2020

Publication Title

Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Procedural Law

Abstract

Following the establishment of the International Military Tribunals at Nuremberg and Tokyo following the Second World War, there was a period of nearly 50 years before new international tribunals were set up to respond to atrocities committed during different conflicts. These included the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), the Special Panels with Exclusive Jurisdiction over Serious Criminal Offenses in East Timor (Special Panels for Serious Crimes in the Dili District Court: United Nations Transitional Mission in East Timor), and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL). There have also been internationalized national courts including the Iraqi High Tribunal in Iraq (Iraqi Special Tribunal) and the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Kosovo Specialist Prosecutor’s Office. This entry focuses on truly ‘international’ criminal courts and tribunals, and briefly surveys the basic principles underlying their jurisdiction and operation, as well as some of the complexities that have arisen in practice. I leave to other entries in this encyclopaedia the question of criminal jurisdiction before national courts and tribunals, including the issue of universal (inter-State) jurisdiction (Domestic Prosecution of International Crimes; Universal Jurisdiction).

Keywords

International Criminal Courts and Tribunals Procedure, Territoriality Principle, Universality Principle

Publication Citation

Leila Nadya Sadat, International Criminal Courts and Tribunals, in Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Procedural Law (2020)

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