The document provides background information on several international criminal tribunals and courts: 1. The Tokyo and Nuremberg tribunals established after World War II to prosecute war criminals from Japan and Germany. They set precedents for international prosecution and defined war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace. 2. The European Court of Human Rights ensures states comply with the European Convention on Human Rights. It decides complaints of human rights violations against states. 3. The Special Court for Sierra Leone prosecuted those bearing greatest responsibility for serious crimes during Sierra Leone's civil war. It had jurisdiction over international crimes and some domestic laws. 4. Other courts discussed include the International Criminal

1. ICJ
ICC
IGGY
ICGR
STL
ECCC
SCSL
European court of human rights
Tokyo tribunals
Nuremembal tribunals
Background, jurisdiction, composition, responsibility punishment

2. Tokyo
• The Tokyo Tribunal: Precedent for Victor’s Justice II
• The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), also known as the Tokyo Trial or
the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, was a military trial convened on April 29, 1946
Broader temporal jurisdiction
Composition
military trial convened on April 29, 1946 to try leaders of the Empire of Japan for crimes against
peace, conventional war crimes, and crimes against humanity leading up to and during the
Second World War.[1] It was modeled after the International Military Tribuna l (IMT) formed several
months earlier in Nuremberg, Germany to prosecute senior officials of Nazi Germany.[2]
Responsibility
With the convening of the Tokyo Tribunal, the Allied Powers and especially the U.S. Government
and GHQ (SCAP) had a particularly strong interest in the reaction of the Japanese people to the
Tokyo Tribunal and their sense of war responsibility. For the Japanese, the initial shock came with
the first war arrest warrants by the Occupation Forces on September 11, 1945. When the U.S.
forces sought to execute these warrants, former Prime Minister Tojo Hideki unsuccessfully
attempted to take his own life. The sensation caused by the attempted suicide of the man who had
been responsible for issuing the admonition in the Senjinkun (Imperial Japanese Army Field
Service Code) to “live without the humiliation of being taken prisoner and die without leaving a
blemish on your name” wasimmense.

3. • Nuremberg tribunals
• Background
• The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies against representatives of defeated Nazi
Germany for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries and other crimes in World War
II. Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany invaded many countries across Europe, inflicting 27
million deaths in the Soviet Union alone.
• Jurisdiction
• International jurisdiction is important in a proceeding such as dealing with the Nazis’ crimes
because of the impact it has across the world.
•
Composition
The following acts, or any of them, are crimes coming within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal for
which there shall be individual responsibility:
1. CRIMES AGAINST PEACE: namely, planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of
aggression, or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances, or
participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the foregoing;
2. WAR CRIMES: namely, violations of the laws or customs of war. Such violations shall include,
but not be limited to . . . murder, ill-treatment of prisoners of war or persons on the seas, killing of
hostages, plunder of public or private property, wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages, or
devastation not justified by military necessity;
3. CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY: namely, murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, and
other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population, before or during the war; or
persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds in execution of or in connection with any
crime within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, whether or not in violation of the domestic law of the
country where perpetrated.
Responsibility
The fact that the defendant acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior shall not
free him from responsibility, but may be considered in mitigation of punishment if the Tribunal determine
that justice so requires.
–ARTICLE 8, Charter of the International Military Tribunal, 8 August 1945

4. Punishment
he Nuremberg Trials was an important turning point in international criminal law. Before World
War II, government officials slipped past punishment for their crimes. During the Holocaust, the Germans
terrorized and tortured the Jews using their military forces. But because they were of the military, they
were not be punished for the mass murder of the Jews and other persecuted groups. At the end of the
Holocaust, world civilization was shocked by the gruesome details of the tortured Jews in the
concentration camps. The Nuremberg Trials took place in the hopes of putting a stop to cruel acts similar
to the Holocaust from ever occurring again. Unfortunately, history repeated itself, but the principles
established by the Nuremberg Trials influenced the laws that were established on modern international la

5. The European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (‘ECtHR’) was established on 21 January 1959, with a mandate
(under Article 19 of the European Convention on Human Rights) to ensure that States which signed up to
the European Convention on Human Rights stuck by their assumed obligations.
Jurisdiction
The ECtHR is a regional human rights judicial body based in Strasbourg, France. The Court has
jurisdiction to decide complaints that allege violations of the European Convention on Human Rights and
are submitted by individuals, or States, against States parties to the European Convention.
Composition
The court is composed of 46 judges, the number reflecting that of the countries that have signed the
European Convention on Human Rights, even though the judges rather sit as individuals and not
represent ants of their nations; they are elected by a Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for
a nine-year term and may not be re-elected.
Responsibility
The Convention established the European Court of Human Rights (generally referred to by the initials
ECtHR). Any person who feels their rights have been violated under the Convention by a state party can
take a case to the Court. Judgments finding violations are binding on the States concerned and
they are obliged to execute them.
Punishment
The European Union is strongly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances, and fighting it is a
foremost priority of its external human rights policy. While most countries in the world have abolished
capital punishment, death sentences continue to be handed down and carried out in a number of
countries.

6. SCSL
Foundation
The Special Court for Sierra Leone, or the "Special Court"[1] (SCSL), also called the Sierra Leone
Tribunal, was a judicial body set up by the government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations[2] to
"prosecute persons who bear the greatest responsibility for serious violations of international
humanitarian law and Sierra Leonean law" committed in Sierra Leone after 30 November 1996 and during
the Sierra Leone Civil War. The court's working language was English.[1] The court listed offices
in Freetown, The Hague, and New York City.[3]
Jurisdiction
· The SCSL is a hybrid court with jurisdiction over prosecuting perpetrators of grave international crimes
and certain selected crimes under Sierra Leonean law
Or
The SCSL had the jurisdiction to try any persons who committed crimes against humanity against civilians
that included: murder; extermination; enslavement; deportation; imprisonment; torture; rape, sexual
slavery, forced prostitution or any other form of sexual violence; persecution on the basis of politics, race,
ethnicity or religion; and other "inhumane acts." In addition, the court would have jurisdiction to prosecute
those who violated the Geneva Convention of 1949, as well as Sierra Leone's Prevention of Cruelty to
Children Act, 1926 for the abuse of girls and Malicious Damage Act 1861. However, the court does not
have jurisdiction over those under the age of 15. Further, it was superior to any court of Sierra Leone and
could take precedence in cases of possible conflicting jurisdiction. Previous amnesties contrary to the
remit of the court would be invalid.[1]
Responsibility
The SCSL’s statute describes the Court’s “competence” as extending to “persons who bear the greatest
responsibility for serious violations of international humanitarian law and Sierra Leonea n
law” committed in that country’s decade-long civil war.
Pipunishment
Punishment
All sentences should be carried out within Sierra Leone, unless there was no capacity to deal with the
accused, at which point any states pursuant to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda or the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia who have acceded a willingness to host the
accused for the tenure of their sentence can hold the prisoner. Enforcement would be carried out by the
court. For a detailed discuss of the sentencing practice and punishments imposed by the Special Court

7. for Sierra Leone read Shahram Dana, The Sentencing Legacy of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, 42
Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law 615 (2014).
Commuting sentences would be up to the state in consultation with the court.[1]
Composition
The STL is composed of four organs: Chambers, which consists of a Pre-Trial Judge, a Trial Chamber,
and an Appeals Chamber; the Registry, responsible for the administration of the Tribunal; the Office of
the Prosecutor; and the Defense Office.
Jurisdiction
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), also referred to as the Lebanon Tribunal or the Hariri Tribunal,
is a tribunal of international character applying Lebanese criminal law to carry out the investigation and
prosecution of those responsible for 14 February 2005 assassination of Rafic Hariri, the former Lebanese
prime minister, and the deaths of 21 others, as well as those responsible for connected attacks.
Responsibility
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), also referred to as the Lebanon Tribunal or the Hariri Tribunal, is
a tribunal of international character applying Lebanese criminal law to carry out the investigation and
prosecution of those responsible for 14 February 2005 assassination of Rafic Hariri, the former Lebanese
prime minister, and the deaths of 21 others, as well as those responsible for connected attacks.
Punishments
Statute of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

8. The Tribunal was established by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1757 of 30 May 2007,
which included as its annex the Tribunal’s Statute. The STL Statute defines the jurisdiction, structure and
other important aspects related to the work of the Tribunal.
Lecture by Judge Ralph Riachi - The Special Tribunal for Lebanon and international criminal law:
contradictory or complementary?
Judge Ralph Riachi Vice-President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon
Summary of President Cassese's speech
Remarks by President Cassese, Hearing of 16 February 2011

9. Eccc
The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) is a special Cambodian court which
receives international assistance through the United Nations Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Trials
(UNAKRT). The court is also informally known as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal or the Cambodia Tribunal.
Jurisdiction
It is a domestic court with Cambodian legal proceedings, the ECCC is comprised of both Cambodian and
international lawyers and judges who work to enforce domestic and international laws. The ECCC’s
jurisdiction is limited to Cambodian atrocity crimes committed between April 17, 1975, and January
6, 1979.
Composition
The trial court shall be an Extraordinary Chamber composed of five professional judges, of whom three
are Cambodian judges, with one as president, and two are foreign judges; and before which the Co-
Prosecutors shall present their cases. The president shall appoint one or more clerks of the court to
participate.

10. ICJ
The ICJ only has jurisdiction based on consent, not compulsory jurisdiction. It does not enjoy a
full separation of powers, with permanent members of the Security Council being able to veto
enforcement of cases, even those to which they consented to be bound.

11. Background
International criminal court is an international justice system. It is working since 2002, it is known for
making the judgment bias on the African issue. The ICC or the international criminal court work to
prosecute and provide justice for the crimes, like genocide, war crimes, and the crime against humanity.
The ICC or the international criminal court deals with the outrageous cases, where the national courts
were failed for judgment. It is highly praised for working as the Rome statute.
It is situated in Hague, Netherlands, it is meant to complement the judiciary system, and it gets involved in
the case if there are some conditions like the countries court were unable to proceed the case and if the
case is referred by the united council of the united nation. The ICC has the Rome statute into force, which
is a multilateral treaty, which behaves as an international criminal court or the ICC’s foundational and
governing document.
The international criminal court or the ICC works as on some principal, President, the office of prosecutor,
registry, and the judicial division. In which the president is the senior one, and it got elected by the judicial
division, that goes through the cases before the actual hearing of the ICC. After that comes the office of
the prosecutor, the one who goes through the investigation of the case or the crime, and initiates the
proceeding before the judicial division.
Jurisdiction
The ICC has jurisdiction only over crimes committed after the entry or force of the statute i.e. by the
earliest July, 2002. The ICC covers a narrow range of international crimes, those that are traditionally
considered as crimes against the international community: crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity,
war crimes and the crime of aggression.
Punishment
the International Criminal Court has no competence to impose a death penalty. The Court can impose
lengthy terms of imprisonment of up to 30 years or life when so justified by the gravity of the case.

12. Background
he International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is a United Nations court of law
dealing with war crimes that took place during the conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990’s. Since its
establishment in 1993, it has irreversibly changed the landscape of international humanitarian law
and provided victims an opportunity to voice the horrors they witnessed and experienced.
In its precedent-setting decisions on genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, the Tribunal
has shown that an individual’s senior position can no longer protect them from prosecution.
It has now shown that those suspected of bearing the greatest responsibility for atrocities committed
can be called to account, as well as that guilt should be individualised, protecting entire communities
from being labelled as “collectively responsible”.