International Decision: Prosecutor v. Taylor: Case No. SCSL-03-01-A: Appeals Judgment
American Journal of International Law, Vol. 108, p. 58, 2014
10 Pages Posted: 26 Mar 2014
Date Written: March 20, 2014
Abstract
This case report summarizes the Special Court for Sierra Leone’s (SCSL) last judgment in its most important trial: that involving former Liberian President Charles Taylor. It then discusses the judicial and scholarly disagreement concerning the customary international law standard for aiding and abetting liability between the SCSL Appeals Chamber and the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The SCSL’s clarification that the criminal intent required for aiding and abetting does not require specific direction, as had been suggested by Taylor’s defense and some ICTY jurisprudence, constitutes an important jurisprudential legacy for international criminal law.
Keywords: Special Court for Sierra Leone, Prosecutor v. Charles Ghankay Taylor, Charles Taylor Appeals Judgment, individual criminal responsibility, modes of liability, aiding and abetting, planning, specific direction
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