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The ICTJ Criminal Justice Program seeks to promote fair trials at the national or international levels as a response to international crimes, through compiling and disseminating comparative experiences and best practices on these processes. Lasting responses to such crimes require action by the domestic legal system; in the past, however, trials at the domestic level have been rare. This has led to significant advances in international justice efforts, such as the creation of ad hoc international criminal tribunals, various hybrid courts, and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Domestic Prosecutions

Domestic prosecution initiatives can have tremendous impact but also often experience problems of capacity and political will.

In Colombia, ICTJ advised judges, prosecutors and victim representatives on the Peace and Justice Law proceedings against former paramilitaries. ICTJ provided training and technical assistance on prosecutions issues in Argentina and Guatemala, and advised the Peruvian attorney general and civil society groups on strategies to investigate and prosecute crimes committed in 1980–2000. The Center also monitored the landmark trial of Alberto Fujimori in 2009 and provided several amicus curiae briefs in that case.

Likewise, in Africa ICTJ has been involved in analyzing ongoing prosecutions in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Uganda is also seeking to exercise domestic jurisdiction for crimes committed during the conflict in the north, through the creation of a War Crimes Division of the High Court of Uganda stemming from the Juba Peace Process in which ICTJ was involved. In Kenya, ICTJ advised an attempt to set up a Special Tribunal for post-election violence in late 2008 which unfortunately did not succeed.

ICTJ is engaging with efforts to embark on domestic prosecutions for crimes committed in Bangladesh. It has also given technical assistance to documentation efforts, such as a large scale project in Afghanistan to map crimes that happened in 1978–2001. The project is being carried out by the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission.

It remains a challenge to determine whether domestic prosecutions are in good faith and to draw lessons from efforts which fall short of being able to contribute to rebuilding the rule of law or which need to be improved. ICTJ has been at the forefront of international on-the-ground monitoring of the proceedings before the Iraqi High Tribunal (IHT), in particular the trial of Saddam Hussein. The Center has produced detailed analyses of the Special Prosecutor's Office in Mexico and the Ad Hoc Human Rights Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, published a landmark assessment of domestic trials in Serbia, and has been involved in a legal challenge to the new National Prosecution Authority's policies in South Africa. It also participated in a study on U.S. Accountability for abuses committed in the context of counter-terrorism operations.

The prosecution of former heads of state is a particular trend that ICTJ has identified and closely observed over the past few years. Recent efforts have included the trials of Slobodan Milosevic, Charles Taylor, Saddam Hussein, Alberto Fujimori, and Hissène Habré, as well as proceedings against Augusto Pinochet in Chile. Such trials are the subject of a book edited by Ellen Lutz and Caitlin Reiger published in 2008.

In addition, ICTJ prepared a policy tool for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on considerations governing domestic and hybrid prosecution initiatives. It is currently distributed to UN missions around the world. The Center also convened conferences on comparative experiences in domestic prosecutions, such as a major conference in Johannesburg in 2004. As part of its networking activities the ICTJ Criminal Justice Program is continuing to develop policy materials for use by practitioners, such as a landmark manual on the administrative practices of internationalized criminal justice institutions.

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Hybrid Tribunals

ICTJ has specific experience with hybrid tribunals in Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste, Kosovo, Bosnia, Cambodia, and Lebanon. Hybrid courts generally operate where the crimes occurred but employ both domestic and international personnel, and usually have jurisdiction to try international crimes. These courts offer an important model for bolstering national capacity with adherence to international standards while ensuring that the proceedings have relevance for affected communities. ICTJ has produced comprehensive studies on the tribunals in Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste, Kosovo and Bosnia as part of a series on hybrid tribunals.

ICTJ's early involvement with hybrid tribunals concentrated on the Special Court for Sierra Leone. ICTJ advised the Court on its relationship with the TRC, rules of procedure, issues of legacy and outreach-including how ex-combatants would perceive the Court-and other technical matters. The Center also assisted in the establishment of a local NGO, the Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law (CARL-SL), formerly the Sierra Leone Court Monitoring Programme (SLCMP).

ICTJ supports the work of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC, also known as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal) and is currently providing technical advice and capacity building support to that tribunal, particularly in the areas of outreach, legacy and reparations. ICTJ has deployed several consultants to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) was established in 2007, to address acts of terrorism rather than crimes against humanity and war crimes. Nonetheless, ICTJ monitors the work of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, established in 2007, and has produced commentary on the tribunal in collaboration with ICTJ MENA unit as well as conducting trainings for journalists and lawyers in Lebanon. The main focus of its work is to promote discussion on whether the STL contributes to the fight against impunity in Lebanon.

ICTJ has also collaborated with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on another policy tool on legacy issues, measuring the potential for positive impact of hybrid courts on domestic legal systems. ICTJ's work on the ad hoc International Criminal Tribunals has concentrated on legacy and residual issues that may arise after the Tribunals complete their trials and appeals. It has organized two landmark conferences on obligations that will continue after the tribunals close their doors, most recently in February 2010. These conferences assisted to shape policy on residual issues at the Tribunals.

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The International Criminal Court

A fundamental objective of our work during the last three years was to seek to support the International Criminal Court within the first years of its operations. In doing so, ICTJ focused on the following areas:

• Contributing to the peace versus justice debate
• Advising on the Trust Fund for Victims on general experiences with repations program
• Conducting victim surveys on perceptions of justice (Uganda, DRC)
• Stimulating debate on the role of the Court in Africa
• Encouraging debate on complementarity as well as advising domestic initiatives in Uganda, Kenya, DRC and Colombia (see above)

ICTJ maintains a close relationship with the ICC, regularly partaking in both bilateral and multilateral meetings on the Court. It organized an event to assist the Prosecutor’s drafting of a policy paper on the “interests of justice.” In June 2007 ICTJ co-hosted a major conference titled “Building a Future on Peace and Justice” with the governments of Germany, Finland, and Jordan and the Conflict Management Initiative in Germany, which resulted in the formulation of a "Nuremberg Declaration" forwarded to the Secretary General of the United Nations. ICTJ has also produced several documents to study the relationship between peace and justice in various contexts.

ICTJ will be participating in the upcoming Review Conference of the ICC Rome Statute to be held in Kampala, Uganda, May 30 – June 11, 2010.

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(Updated May 2010)