National Prosecutions Research Articles

WILL THE SCORPION STILL STING? The future of the Directorate of Special Operations

Following the politico-legal row that has engulfed the National Prosecuting Authority’s Directorate of Special Operations (otherwise known as the Scorpions), President Mbeki appointed Judge Sisi Khampepe on 1 April 2005 to head a commission of enquiry (known as the Khampepe Commission) to review the mandate and location of the DSO and make recommendations. On receipt of the Commission’s recommendations, the President, in consultation with Cabinet, has made a decision on the future of the Scorpions. This article analyses the implications of the decision and raises critical questions related to the past and the future.

The Law of International Criminal Procedure and Domestic War Crimes Trials

AbstractThis article deals with the question of possible effect of the law of international criminal procedure for domestic war crimes trials. With the increasing number of national prosecutions for war crimes this question will gain in relevance.The article starts with an exploration of the origin and development of the law of international criminal procedure, to reach the conclusion that because of the lack of a strong foundation it is difficult to discern firmly established rules in this field. Next, two areas are examined where the law of international criminal procedure is capable of producing effect for national trials: human rights and rules that have developed in the specific context of war crimes prosecutions.Whether rules of international criminal procedure are formally effective in the domestic legal order remains to be seen. There is no clear obligation under international law to do so. Furthermore, the law of international criminal procedure may be difficult to harmonise with domestic inquisitorial systems.In spite of these difficulties, the article concludes that national courts will increasingly face similar procedural problems in complex war crimes trials as international criminal tribunals and will be happy to learn from their experiences.

National Prosecution of Genocide from a Comparative Perspective

National Prosecution of Genocide from a Comparative Perspective HELMUT KREICKER Head of the Section “International Criminal Law” at the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law, Freiburg, Germany I. Introduction 1. From international law reforms to national law reforms The field of international criminal law has gained much attention since the world order fundamentally changed after the breakdown of the socialist sys- tem at the end of the eighties. The two UN-Tribunals were established in 1993 and 1994. In 1998, the first permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) was founded with the adoption of the Rome Statute. 1 Only

Book Review: Organised Crime: A Catalyst in the Europeanization of National Police and Prosecution Agencies, edited by Monica den Boer. (Maastricht: EIPA, 2002)

Book Review: <i>Organised Crime: A Catalyst in the Europeanization of National Police and Prosecution Agencies</i>, edited by Monica den Boer. (Maastricht: EIPA, 2002)

The Fight Against Organised Crime in Europe: A Comparative Perspective

This article provides an overview of the measures and actions taken by the Member States of the European Union in their fight against organised crime and transborder crime. The Action Plan to Combat Organized Crime adopted by the Ministers for Justice and Home Affairs during the Dutch EU Presidency, submitted some 30 recommendations with respect to greater harmonisation regarding the fight against organised crime in the EU Member States. The author gives a concise summary of the most relevant changes and the structural characteristics per Member State, paying attention to developments in the specific countries and the organisations involved. One of the conclusions reached is that few or no reforms within national investigative and prosecution authorities may be directly traced back to the regulatory impulses of the EU. Although the EU Action Plan has not yet realised a convergence of the systems, the European process of integration has increased the mutual transparency and knowledge of one another's systems.

International Criminalization of Internal Atrocities

For half a century, the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials and national prosecutions of World War II cases remained the major instances of criminal prosecution of offenders against fundamental norms of international humanitarian law. The heinous activities of the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia and the use of poison gas by Iraq against its Kurdish population are among the many atrocities left unpunished by either international or national courts. Some treaties were adopted that provide for national prosecution of offenses of international concern and, in many cases, for universal jurisdiction; but, with a few exceptions, these treaties were not observed. Notwithstanding the absence of significant prosecutions, an international consensus on the legitimacy of the Nuremberg Principles, the applicability of universal jurisdiction to international crimes, and the need to punish those responsible for egregious violations of international humanitarian law slowly solidified. The International Law Commission, veterans of the Nuremberg and Tokyo proceedings, individuals such as Rafael Lemkin (who advocated the adoption of the Genocide Convention) and a handful of academics (most notably M. Cherif Bassiouni), among others, helped keep alive the heritage of Nuremberg and the promise of future prosecutions of serious violators of international humanitarian law.