Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone Lectures

“They had slow starts, but they are now exceeding expectations,” said Rapp, who spoke at a Human Rights Institute panel at Columbia Law School on October 30. Professor Sarah Cleveland, Co-Director of the Human Rights Institute, introduced Rapp, who is a former U.S. attorney from the Northern District of Iowa and who has been Chief Prosecutor for the Sierra Leone court since December 2006. Previously he served as Chief of Prosecutions for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).  

The U.N. created special courts to bring justice to victims of genocide and war crimes, and to deter future atrocities by bringing perpetrators to justice. Rapp discussed three courts: Rwanda’s, the International Criminal Tribunal in Yugoslavia (ICTY) and Sierra Leone’s (SCSL).

In Yugoslavia, 160 people have been brought to trial, with only two suspects remaining at large. In Rwanda, where it has been difficult to get cooperation from governments where the crimes occurred, 30 people have been brought to trial.

The sheer magnitude of these international criminal trials has required extraordinary measures. Suspected criminals have been rounded up from countries around the globe. Hundreds of witnesses have testified. The Taylor trial has already had 77 witnesses. The influx of legal teams from countries around the world is also striking – the Rwanda tribunal alone employs people from 90 countries.

Lawyers from internationally diverse legal systems must also converge toward a common goal. Even among U.S. and British attorneys, who practice under the same common law system, stark differences exist, said Rapp. For instance, witness preparation: The U.S. believes preparing witnesses for trial is critical, while British attorneys believe witnesses should go straight to the stand so the judge can share in the revelatory moments.

“British attorneys believe that if a witness says something incriminating during prep, than it should be shared with the judge. Americans say, ‘Get rid of that witness!’ said Rapp, to laughter in the audience.  

Also, there is controversy over whether or not to make the trials “crime-based.” Normally, in domestic trials a great deal of time is spent on documenting the crime. For genocides that happened years ago, however, this can be difficult and extraordinarily time-consuming. Rapp believes these trials should focus on witnesses. “Everyone knows 10,000 people died,” said Rapp. “The issue is who is responsible for it?” 

The U.N. established the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and Yugoslavia in the 1990’s. The Sierra Leone court was created in 2002 as a hybrid—it has some backing from the U.N. but relies heavily on donations from individual countries. Raising money is a constant issue, said Rapp. Last August, the court was down to $6,000. It raised money, but that won’t carry it for long. “We can hold on until February and then we’ll have to see,” he said.

The trials for the Yugoslavia and Rwanda courts are supposed to end this year, with all appeals exhausted by 2010. But Rapp said they will need to 2009 or ’10 to finish the trials. Whether the UN will provide for it is still undetermined. The General Assembly is sympathetic but the Security Council is much tougher, mainly because Russia has apprehensions about the Yugoslavian court. (The extensions are only granted by Security Council Resolution to approve by all five permanent members, including Russia.)

While staying open is a struggle, ultimately, it is closing the courts that may pose the greatest challenges. “Courts go out of business, but the business of courts is still there,” said Rapp. He explained that habeas corpus appeals by prisoners go on, and witnesses could be harassed or even attacked. There is also the question of what to do with the protected archives containing confidential testimony – how to close and leave a protected legacy for the victims. “That,” Rapp said, “is the greatest challenge of the courts’ existence.”

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