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Bangladesh establishes tribunal for 1971 war crimes

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Bangladesh officials on Thursday announced the establishment of a special war crimes tribunal that will hear cases against individuals accused of war crimes during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. According to Law Minister Shafique Ahmed, the tribunal will include three high court judges and six investigators retired from civilian, law enforcement, and military careers. The trials investigating the 1971 war crimes will take place under the recently amended International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973. Officials estimate that Pakistani soldiers and local militia participated in more than three million killings and 200,000 rapes. On Monday, the Bangladesh Cabinet ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Although the ratification will not directly affect Bangladesh's pending war crimes trials for the 1971 Liberation War because the ICC can only hear cases arising since its formation in 2002, it will require the country to update its laws to reflect provisions of the statute. Last month, the Bangladeshi government announced that the prosecutors and investigators for the country's war crimes tribunal should be appointed in March. In July, Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to improve war crimes laws to bring justice to victims of the 1971 war. Last April, the UN agreed to advise the Bangladeshi government on the organization and operation of the tribunal.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on March 26, 2010 (boomark / email).