ABSTRACT
In previous chapters we examined two types of tribunals: those established under Security Council resolutions as ad hoc tribunals, such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and a permanent institution that was created through a treaty, the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Nuremberg Tribunal before these was premised on a treaty between the victorious allies of the Second World War. The judicial institutions examined in this chapter have all been established on different legal bases. Their common feature is that they are domestic tribunals, albeit with international elements. In that sense they can be considered as mixed, or internationalised domestic criminal tribunals. The Sierra Leone Special Court, for example, is an extension of the Sierra Leonean judicial system, established by treaty between the government of that country and the United Nations (UN); the East Timor Special Panels are similarly an extension of the local judiciary, established by law under UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET)’s mandate, as is the case with the jurisdiction of Kosovo courts under the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). The Extraordinary Chambers of Cambodia are premised in toto on Cambodian law, although the relevant law envisages the participation of international judges from a list proposed by the UN Secretary General.1 Finally, the Lockerbie Tribunal is a Scottish court that operated on neutral territory, in the Netherlands, applying Scottish law. Such internationalised domestic tribunals attempt to balance their obligations between domestic and international law and this is not always easy. Moreover, in the majority of the cases, the
countries in which they operate have recently surfaced from devastation. These courts must, furthermore, function in a legal environment where amnesties have been granted and while they may not always be valid under international law, especially where they serve to preserve impunity for serious violations, they may well be deemed to be valid under domestic law.
