Ending Impunity: The Case for War Crimes Trials in Liberia

29 Pages Posted: 27 Jul 2009 Last revised: 12 Oct 2017

See all articles by Charles C. Jalloh

Charles C. Jalloh

Florida International University (FIU) - College of Law

Alhagi Marong

United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

Abstract

This paper argues that Liberia owes a duty under international law to investigate and prosecute the heinous crimes, including torture, rape and extra-judicial killings of innocent civilians, committed in that country by the various warring parties in the course of 14 years of brutal conflict. The authors evaluate the options for prosecution, starting with the possible use of Liberian courts. They argue that even if willing, the national courts are unable to render credible justice that protects the due process rights of the accused given the collapse of legal institutions and the paucity of financial, human and material resources in post-conflict Liberia. As an alternative, they suggest that because the Special Court for Sierra Leone initiated the accountability process with the indictment of former President Charles Taylor in 2003, and given the close links between the Liberian and Sierra Leonean conflicts, the Sierra Leone tribunal would be a more appropriate forum for international prosecutions of the high level perpetrators of gross human rights and humanitarian law violations in Liberia during the nineties.

Keywords: impunity, international law, heinous crimes, international criminal law, international human rights, Liberia, Liberian courts, national courts, Special Court for Sierra Leone, SCSL, trial of President Charles Taylor, international criminal tribunals, Sierra Leone tribunal, due process

Suggested Citation

Jalloh, Charles C. and Marong, Alhagi, Ending Impunity: The Case for War Crimes Trials in Liberia. African Journal of Legal Studies, Vol. 1, p. 53, 2005, University of Pittsburgh Legal Studies Research Paper Series, Florida International University Legal Studies Research Paper No. 17-27, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1438702

Charles C. Jalloh (Contact Author)

Florida International University (FIU) - College of Law ( email )

11200 SW 8th Street
RDB Hall 1097
Miami, FL 33199
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.law.fiu.edu

Alhagi Marong

United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda ( email )

Chambers Support Section
P.o.Box 6016
Arusha
Tanzania

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