DOMAC

Impact of International Criminal Procedures on Domestic Criminal Procedures in Mass Atrocity Cases

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Although considerable attention has been given to the establishment and operation of international criminal courts and other international or internationalized mechanisms for determining individual and state responsibility in mass atrocity situations, their capacity remains limited and national courts continue to carry most of the burden of prosecuting the vast majority of perpetrators. However, efforts of the international community to ensure the proper utilization of national courts, as well as the coordination of their operations with international courts have been limited until now – leading to an incomplete response to highly complicated situations. As a result, awkward situation may arise where high-ranking suspects, with the greatest responsibility for atrocious crimes, are tried before international courts under better conditions than lower-ranking suspects tried before national courts; furthermore, failure to prosecute low-level perpetrators at the domestic level might exacerbate the collective exoneration of communities generated inadvertently by international criminal proceedings; finally, ineffective domestic prosecutions perpetuate the image of impunity and leave victims unsatisfied. The proposed collaborative project focuses on the actual interaction between national and international courts involved in prosecuting individuals in mass atrocity situations. It explores what impact international procedures have on prosecution rates before national courts, their sentencing policies, award of reparations and substantive and procedural legal standards. It comprehensively examines the problems presented by the limited response of the international community to mass atrocity situations, and offers methods to improve coordination of national and international proceedings and better utilization of national courts, inter alia, through greater formal and informal avenues of cooperation, interaction and resource sharing between national and international court'

Introduzione (Teaser)

There is much to be gained from examining the impact that international procedures have on prosecution rates before national courts. In so doing, it illuminates the problems of the international community's limitations regarding mass atrocity situations in order to make improvements.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The establishment and operation of international criminal courts determine individual and state responsibility in situations of mass atrocity. A considerable amount of attention has been given to this topic, yet there is a limited capacity for national courts to carry out the burden of prosecution. Though the international community aims to ensure proper utilisation of national courts, the coordination of their operations has been limited. This leads to incomplete responses to highly complex situations.

Funded by the EU, the 'Impact of international criminal procedures on domestic criminal procedures in mass atrocity cases' (http://www.domac.is/ (DOMAC)) project focused on the interaction between national and international courts in prosecuting individuals in mass atrocity situations. Thus, methods to improve coordination of national and international proceedings as well as better utilisation of national courts were offered.

Various patterns of relationships between international criminal courts and domestic jurisdictions were analysed. The extensive work produced many results. A report covering the prosecution and trial of international crimes by selected western states was produced in the quest to end impunity.

A main achievement involved focusing on identifying the main efforts directed to developing local capacity to prosecute individuals for crimes under international law. Another main focal point of the research was gaining a deeper understanding of the influence of capacity development and related initiatives and processes. As such, it primarily zeroed in on the experience of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia and Sierra Leone. This enabled an illustration of very different situations in terms of existing capacities and legal and cultural contexts.

Findings have been disseminated at conferences and through the website. They will contribute to improving academic and professional discourse on the relationship between international courts and national courts. The results will also contribute longterm to the study of international criminal justice and to future reforms in the field.