Life after Conviction at International Criminal Tribunals: An Empirical Overview

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 these 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. So far not much has been written about conditions under which international prisoners serve their sentences; factors that justify their (early) release; and what they do after their release. In this article we provide an initial overview of this empirical reality of the postconviction stage at the international criminal tribunals. Since the ICC has adopted a largely similar approach to sentence enforcement, the findings might serve as a starting point for discussion and possible re-assessment of future enforcement of international sentences. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.