World prosecutors meet in Sierra Leone
2011-05-12 19:17
Freetown - Prosecutors from the six international UN-backed courts meet in Freetown this weekend to look at best practices and how to close the tribunals when their work is done, a statement said on Thursday.
The Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) prosecutor, Brenda Hollis, who will host the two-day meeting said it would bring together international and national legal experts, diplomats, civil society and rights activists.
She said it was significant the meeting is to take place in Sierra Leone, as the SCSL "will be the first international court to complete its mandate and transition to a residual mechanism".
Serge Brammertz from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Hassan Bubacar Jallow from the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and Andrew Cayley from the court of Cambodia are attending.
Also present will be Daryl Mundis from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and the deputy prosecutor of the permanent International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda.
"The meeting will give the SCSL an opportunity to reflect on its work, its contribution to justice in Sierra Leone and best practices as embedded in the court system," Hollis said, in a meeting with the country's Vice-President Sam Sumana on Wednesday.
Sierra Leone's special court is wrapping up its final case, the prosecution of Liberian ex-president Charles Taylor for his role in the country's brutal decade-long war which left more than 50 000 dead and thousands mutilated.
- SAPA
