ISSN 2581-5369
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Case of Charles Taylor from the Perspective of International Criminal Responsibility on Crimes against Humanity
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Ritika Singh
Student at Christ University, Pune, Lavasa, India
Abstract
An‬†important‬†body‬†of‬†jurisprudence‬†regarding‬†the‬†idea‬†of‬†individual‬†criminal‬†responsibility‬†in‬ crimes‬†against‬†humanity‬†was‬†established‬†by‬†the‬†Charles‬†Taylor‬†case,‬†which‬†is‬†a‬†landmark‬†in‬†international‬†criminal‬†law.‬†In‬†2012,‬†the‬†Special‬†Court‬†for‬†Sierra‬†Leone‬†found‬†former‬†Liberian‬†President‬†Taylor‬†guilty‬†of‬†aiding‬†and‬†abetting‬†war‬†crimes‬†and‬†crimes‬†against‬†humanity‬ committed‬†by‬†the‬†Revolutionary‬†United‬†Front‬†(RUF)‬†in‬†Sierra‬†Leone.‬†Even‬†though‬†they‬†did‬ not‬†directly‬†commit‬†the‬†murders,‬†his‬†trial‬†showed‬†how‬†international‬†legal‬†concepts‬†might‬†be‬†used to hold powerful political figures responsible for atrocities.‬â€â€ Important‬†legal‬†ideas,‬†such‬†as‬†assisting‬†and‬†abetting‬†culpability,‬†command‬†responsibility,‬†and‬†the‬†threshold‬†for‬†individual‬†criminal‬†responsibility,‬†were‬†reaffirmed‬†by‬†the‬†Taylor‬†case‬ verdict.‬†The‬†prosecution‬†was‬†successful‬†in‬†its‬†claim‬†that‬†Taylor‬†gave‬†the‬†RUF‬†material,‬ logistical,‬†and‬†financial‬†support,‬†allowing‬†crimes‬†against‬†humanity‬†to‬†be‬†committed.‬ According‬†to‬†the‬†court's‬†ruling,‬†indirect‬†participation—whether‬†through‬†encouragement,‬ facilitation, or resource provision—qualifies as guilt under international law.‬ The‬†paper‬†examines‬†Taylor's‬†trial‬†from‬†the‬†standpoint‬†of‬†personal‬†criminal‬†culpability,‬ evaluating‬†the‬†facts,‬†the‬†legal‬†system,‬†and‬†the‬†court's‬†reasoning‬†that‬†resulted‬†in‬†his‬†conviction.‬ It‬†also‬†assesses‬†the‬†case's‬†wider‬†ramifications‬ for‬†international‬†law,‬†specifically‬†with‬†regard‬†to‬ the‬†part‬†played‬†by‬†political‬†figures‬†in‬†disputes‬†and‬†the‬†accountability‬†systems‬†put‬†in‬†place‬†by‬ international‬†courts.‬†The‬†report‬†states‬†that‬†Taylor's‬†conviction‬†established‬†a‬†precedent‬†for‬ future‬†trials‬†of‬†state‬†leaders‬†involved‬†in‬†serious‬†human‬†rights‬†violations‬†and‬†maintained‬†the‬ idea‬†that‬†aiding‬†and‬†abetting‬†war‬†crimes‬†and‬†crimes‬†against‬†humanity‬†is‬†a‬†necessary‬†basis‬†for‬ individual‬†criminal‬†responsibility.‬†When‬†evaluating‬†the‬†efficiency‬†of‬†international‬†justice‬ systems‬†and‬†their‬†contribution‬†to‬†preventing‬†future‬†crimes‬†against‬†humanity,‬†the‬†case‬†serves‬ as a crucial point of reference.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
Keywords
- Crime
- humanity
- criminal responsibility
- liability
- Charles Taylor
- humanity
Type
Research Paper
Information
International Journal of Law Management and Humanities, Volume 8, Issue 3, Page 1635 - 1644
DOI: https://doij.org/10.10000/IJLMH.119887Creative Commons
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution -NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits remixing, adapting, and building upon the work for non-commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Copyright © IJLMH 2021