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2007•African Journal of International and Comparative LawOpen access

The Contribution of the Special Court for Sierra Leone to the Development of International Law

Charles Chernor Jalloh

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Abstract

This article is the first major study examining whether the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) has made, or is making, any contribution to the development of international law. The author concludes that it has. In this vein, he analyzes the creation of the Defence Office, the Legacy Phase Working Group and the Outreach Section to show that some of the structural novelties introduced through SCSL practice have proven to be worthy of replication within other international criminal courts. Taking as an example the controversy regarding the United Nations Security Council’s power to create ad hoc international criminal tribunals, the paper submits that the SCSL has also made some valuable additions to the formidable body of jurisprudence developed by the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

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What this paper is about

This article is the first major study examining whether the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) has made, or is making, any contribution to the development of international law. The author concludes that it has. In this vein, he analyzes the creation of the Defence Office, the Legacy Phase Working Group and the Outreach Section to show that some of the structural novelties introduced through SCSL practice have proven to be worthy of replication within other international criminal courts. Taking as an example the controversy regarding the United Nations Security Council’s power to create ad hoc international criminal tribunals, the paper submits that the SCSL has also made some valuable additions to the formidable body of jurisprudence developed by the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

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OpenAlex reports 16 citations for this work. Citation counts describe recorded attention and do not establish research quality.

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Available abstract

This article is the first major study examining whether the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) has made, or is making, any contribution to the development of international law. The author concludes that it has. In this vein, he analyzes the creation of the Defence Office, the Legacy Phase Working Group and the Outreach Section to show that some of the structural novelties introduced through SCSL practice have proven to be worthy of replication within other international criminal courts. Taking as an example the controversy regarding the United Nations Security Council’s power to create ad hoc international criminal tribunals, the paper submits that the SCSL has also made some valuable additions to the formidable body of jurisprudence developed by the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

Key concepts: Special court, Sierra leone, Law, Political science, Jurisprudence, International law, Criminal court, Criminal law

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