The Year 2012 in International Criminal Courts and Tribunals: A Retrospect

Abstract

2012was a vintage year for international criminal law. After ten years in existence, the International Criminal Court (ICC) rendered the first two judgments of its history, as well as a decision spelling out the principles governing reparations to victims. Former President of Liberia Charles Taylor was convicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), marking the first time a former head of state was convicted by an international tribunal since Nuremberg.1 Judgments delivered by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY ), now on the verge of reaching the end of its mandate, gave rise to fierce controversy. The legitimacy of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) was—unsuccessfully—challenged. Not to be outdone, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) concluded their first cases against former members of the Khmer Rouge regime. These important decisions have already been, or will undoubtedly be, abundantly commented upon.2 Rather than superficially touching upon what others have analysed, or will analyse in extensive depth, this short note selectively focuses on specific issues. It identifies and comments on dominant themes in the past year's decisions—threads running through the case law which, by their nature, reflect the controversies, orientations, and evolutions that have nourished the field since its earliest developments. This note will accordingly discuss three main points. The first is partly political in nature: it concerns the diverse forms of criticism and challenges that international criminal tribunals faced in 2012. The second is more substantive: it considers how the concept of reasonable doubt