The Evolution and Practice of Guilty Pleas in International Criminal Law

Abstract

The author traces the evolution of the concept of guilty pleas in international criminal law as developed by the jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. These international tribunals, alongside their sister hybrid criminal courts, not only irreversibly changed the landscape of international law but played a pioneering role in establishing a credible international criminal justice system, by producing the main body of jurisprudence on guilty pleas in the context of wide-spread international crimes. As a foundation member of the Office of The Prosecutor, in one of two ad hoc international criminal tribunals established since the end of the Second World War, the author was not only privy to many of the challenges encountered by international prosecutors but was also uniquely placed to discuss the plea-bargaining processes adopted by these international criminal courts. Having led the negotiations in three of nine guilty pleas obtained by prosecutors at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the author examines the development and practice of guilty plea negotiations in the context of large-scale international crimes. Well apart from the cost, duration, scale and complexity of prosecuting international crimes, the author concludes that the divergence in legal cultures of various actors in the transitional justice system contributed to the complexity of negotiating guilty pleas before international criminal courts. Nevertheless, the surrounding political circumstances made it imperative for various stakeholders operating therein to embrace the concept of guilty plea negotiations to avoid lengthy and expensive international trials.