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Truth Commissions and Criminal Courts

Truth Commissions and Criminal Courts

Author: Alison Bisset
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9781107008038
Published In: April 2012
Format: Hardback , 232 pages
Jurisdiction: International ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

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This detailed evaluation of the relationship between trials and truth commissions challenges their assumed compatibility through an analysis of their operational features at national, inter-state and international levels. Alison Bisset conducts case-study analyses of national practice in South Africa, East Timor and Sierra Leone, evaluates the problems posed by the International Criminal Court and considers the challenges presented by the possibility of bystander state prosecutions. At each level, she highlights potential operational conflicts and formulates targeted proposals to enable effective coexistence.

• Analysis of operational features means the evaluation is grounded in practice as opposed to accepted but, largely untested, theory

'• Proposals for reform will appeal to those interested in the operational challenges of coordinating multiple transitional justice mechanisms

• Takes into account the challenges posed by the ICC regime

Acknowledgements	viii
Table of cases	ix
List of abbreviations	xv
Introduction	1
1 Truth commissions and trials within the transitional justice framework	9
1 Introduction	9
2 Truth commissions and trials as mechanisms of transitional justice	10
3 Truth commissions, trials and the rights to truth and justice	13
4 The purpose of trials in responding to past human rights violations	19
5 The role of truth commissions in responding to past human rights violations	26
6 The strengths and weaknesses of truth commissions and trials	33
7 Conclusion	42
2 Truth commissions and international jurisdiction to prosecute	44
1 Introduction	44
2 International law obligations to prosecute and the overlap with truth commission mandates	45
3 The jurisdiction of the ICC and its overlap with truth commission mandates	58
4 Possibilities for coordination: sequencing work, dividing labour?	69
5 Conclusion	71
3 Coordinating truth commissions and criminal courts at the national level	74
1 The absence of a common approach	74
2 South Africa’s truth for amnesty model	76
3 Prioritising prosecution in East Timor	85
4 Sierra Leone: an uncoordinated approach	90
5 Lessons from past practice	99
6 Conclusion	102
4 Coordinating truth commissions and ICC operations	104
1 Introduction	104
2 The status of truth commissions under the ICC Statute	106
3 Truth commissions and the obligations to cooperate and provide assistance to the ICC	112
4 The status of confidential information	118
5 The status of self-incriminating evidence	129
6 Access to detainees	134
7 Charting a way forward	137
8 Conclusion	143
5 Truth commissions and prosecutions in bystander states	146
1 Introduction	146
2 Bystander state prosecutions and the expansion of jurisdiction	147
3 Mutual legal assistance, truth commissions and areas of potential conflict	152
4 Truth commissions and extradition	172
5 Judicial cooperation, truth commissions and the principle of ne bis in idem	178
6 Coordinating truth commissions and bystander state prosecutions	183
7 Conclusion	186
6 Conclusion: coordinating truth commissions and trials in the ICC era	187
1 Truth commissions and trials: complementary or incompatible initiatives?	187
2 Truth commissions and national level trials: coordination in a broad framework	189
3 Truth commissions and the ICC: coordination through policy development	191
4 Truth commissions and bystander state prosecutions: coordination through cooperation regime development	195
5 Final remarks	198
Index	200