Search

Property Rights in Kosovo explores cultural, political and social factors dating as far back as the Ottoman period that have contributed to the present state of property rights. It examines the legacy of the armed conflict and NATO intervention of 1999 in the massive population displacement in the region, and suggests ways to improve the effectiveness of efforts by local and international institutions to address property conflicts.

Seven years after its approval, the ambitious project to demobilize illegal armed groups in Colombia called Justice and Peace is in crisis. The fact that it has only seven convictions, most of which have been appealed and only one upheld on appeal, is seen as proof of its failure after so many years. The government estimates that, at the current pace, the process would take almost a century.

Since 1990, 65 former heads of state or government have been legitimately prosecuted for serious human rights or financial crimes. Many of these leaders were brought to trial in reasonably free and fair judicial processes, and some served time in prison as a result. This book explores the reasons for the meteoric rise in trials of senior leaders and the motivations, public dramas, and intrigues that accompanied efforts to bring them to justice.

In September 1985, ninemembers of Argentina’smilitary junta, whose successive regimes covered the period in Argentine history known as the “dirty war,” walked into a courtroom in downtown Buenos Aires.

This briefing paper focuses on the topic of prosecuting international and other serious crimes in Kenya, including crimes committed in the context of the postelection crisis of late 2007 and early 2008. In particular, it identifies and analyzes obstacles and opportunities for such prosecutions within current legal and institutional frameworks.

This paper analyzes the Maubuti case in Timor-Leste, the third serious crimes case to be brought to trial after the closure of the UN-supported Serious Crimes Unit in 2005. Maubuti was indicted for crimes against humanity including murder, attempted murder, and rape. The decision and procedural aspects of the trial raise serious concerns about the Timorese courts’ capacity to try international crimes. The case further brings into question scores of prior successful prosecutions of crimes against humanity in Timor-Leste.

A new report from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence says States should hold perpetrators of serious crimes accountable for their actions.

Potential political interference, poor evidence gathering and difficulty accessing remote areas are some of the main challenges to prosecuting economic and environmental crimes related to armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Overcoming these challenges was the focus of a two-day workshop for judges and prosecutors in Goma and Bukavu, organized by the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), in collaboration with the United States Institute for Peace.

NEW YORK, March 15, 2012—Brazilian federal prosecutors announced yesterday that they have opened a criminal investigation against a military officer accused of the enforced disappearance of civilians during the 1964–1985 military dictatorship. This is a welcome blow against the use of a 1979 amnesty law to shelter government agents who committed horrific crimes against civilians from accountability.

In the years immediately before the 2015 election, there was a palpable sense of waiting among those working in Burmese civil society. Many of their plans depended on one or two critical developments to take hold: the NLD coming to power and the signing of a nationwide ceasefire agreement. Now, both long-hoped-for events have happened, and Myanmar’s transition to democratic rule continues to move slowly forward.