The Special Court for Sierra Leone was established through signature of a bilateral treaty between the United Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone in early 2002, making it the third modern ad hoc international criminal tribunal. It has tried various persons, including former Liberian President Charles Ghankay Taylor, for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed during the latter half of the Sierra Leonean armed conflict. It completed its work in December 2013. A new Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone, based in Freetown and with offices in The Hague, has been created to carry out its essential “residual” functions.
This volume, which consists of three books and a CD-ROM and is edited by two legal experts on the Sierra Leone Court, completes the set of edited Law Reports started in 2012. Together, the Law Reports fill the gap of a single and authoritative reference source of the tribunal’s jurisprudence. The law reports are intended for national and international judges, lawyers, academics, students and other researchers as well as transitional justice practitioners in courts, tribunals and truth commissions, and anyone seeking an accurate record of the trials conducted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone.