Let’s Play “Pass the War Criminal”

In a strange game of “pass the war criminal”, the Sierra Leone Special Court is now requesting that the International Criminal Court in the Hague provide a venue for the trial of alleged war criminal Charles Taylor. This request comes one day after the Sierra Leone Court acquired custody of Mr. Taylor from Liberia, which had only minutes before received custody of Mr. Taylor from Nigeria (which had recently re-captured Taylor). The idea here is that Mr. Taylor’s presence in Sierra Leone would be too disruptive. I understand that, but transferring him to Holland is not exactly a sign of strength on the part of the Sierra Leone Court either.

One question all this raises is whether international criminal tribunals strengthen or weaken local governmental or judicial institutions. All of this suggests that the ICT activity is weakening local governments. This may be worth it in order to achieve justice, but it is a cost.