Life after Conviction at International Criminal Tribunals -- Empirical Overview
Posted: 13 Feb 2014 Last revised: 17 Aug 2016
Date Written: September 1, 2013
Abstract
As of July 2013 the ICTY, ICTR and SCSL have together convicted and sentenced over 120 perpetrators of international crimes committed during the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone, respectively. Only 13% of the convicts serve life imprisonment. The vast majority has been sentenced to determinate sentences. According to the tribunals’ Statutes convicted persons serve their sentences in a country designated by a tribunal. The enforcement of sentences, including any commutation of sentences, is governed by the laws of the countries of imprisonment. 'International prisoners' have been scattered around Europe and Africa and almost half of the convicts have already been (early) released. It is largely unknown under what conditions international prisoners serve their sentences, what factors justify their (early) release and what they do after their release. In this article we provide a detailed overview of this empirical reality of the post-conviction stage at the international criminal tribunals.
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