Sierra Leone: Special Court - Promises and Pitfalls

The Special Court for Sierra Leone has moved with relative rapidity to bring to justice those who bear the greatest responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity during the country’s eleven-year civil war. However, senior court officials have acknowledged that they underestimated the difficulty of achieving recognition and international cooperation. The International Crisis Group (ICG) warns that the court needs to be careful not to appear to be subject to outside influence if it wants to fulfil its mandate with impartiality and provide a “new model” for international justice.