International Crime

Overview

Doughty Street Chambers has had a long-standing commitment to the development of international criminal institutions for holding the world's worst human rights abusers to account. Members of Doughty Street have been instrumental in developing an effective, credible and fair international criminal justice system, and have appeared at all of the major international criminal tribunals.

Members of the team have appeared in many groundbreaking cases at international criminal courts and Geoffrey Robertson QC has served as the first President of the Special Court of Sierra Leone. Members of the team have also provided advice to Governments, NGOs and victims groups on international criminal prosecutions; assisted with the advocacy and legal training of prosecution and defence advocates appearing before them; and worked within the international tribunals in positions ranging from judge's assistants to principal defenders and legal consultants for the Prosecution.

Cases

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia:

• Prosecutor v Naser Oric - (defended the wartime commander of Srebrenica in Bosnia & Herzegovina in his trial and appeal before the ICTY from 2003-2008. Orić was fully acquitted of all charges on appeal).
• Prosecutor v Rasim Delic - (case involving the highest-ranking officer in the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who was convicted on the basis of superior responsibility for crimes committed by mujahedin in Bosnia).
• Prosecutor v. Stanisic - (case involving the Head of the State Security of Serbia).
• Prosecutor v Momcilo Krajisnik (case involving former Speaker of the Bosnian Serb Assembly).
• Prosecutor v Prlic and others - (IT-04-74) - (represented UN international organisation during testimony of former staff member in closed session proceedings at International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia).
• Prosecutor v Isak Musliu - (IT-03-66) - (defended ex-member of Kosovo Liberation Army accused of War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity).
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• Prosecutor v Brdjanin - (IT-99-36-AR73.9) - (represented Washington Post reporter Jonathan Randal at ICTY in establishing qualified privilege for war correspondents.
• Prosecutor v Tabakovic (represented a Bosnian Muslim accused of contempt at the ICTY).

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda:

• Prosecutor v. Baglishema - (represented accused facing charges of War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity and Genocide).
• Prosecutor v. Bagaragaza - (represented Chief of the Tea Factories).

Special Court for Sierra Leone:

• Prosecutor v. Sesay (represented leader of the Revolutionary United Front)
• Prosecutor v Moinina Fofana - (SCSL-2004-14-T) (defended ex-member of Civil Defence Forces).
• Prosecutor v Morris Kallon - (defended ex-member of Revolutionary United Front in proceedings before Appeals Chamber challenging legality of establishment of Special Court (2004) 16 BHRC 227 and status of amnesty granted under international law (2004) 16 BHRC 252)

Members have done advisory work in relation to the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), and the UN International Independent Investigation Commission investigating political assassinations in Beirut, including the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister. They have also represented States during negotiations to establish the International Criminal Court.

Members of Chambers are on the list of approved counsel [for defence and, where applicable, victim representation] at the International Criminal Court, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

Members of the team have also written leading practitioner guides in the field and provided lectures and training on international criminal and humanitarian law both here and abroad. Principal texts include:

• Crimes Against Humanity: The Struggle for Global Justice (Geoffrey Robertson QC, 3rd Edition 2006)
• International Criminal Practice (3rd edition, Transnational Publishers-Oxford University Press: 2003) by John R.W.D. Jones and Steven Powles;
• The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: A Commentary (edited by Antonio Cassese, Paola Gaeta and John R.W.D. Jones) (Oxford University Press, 2002, 3 volumes);