United Nations Security Council Resolution 1503

UN Security Council
Resolution 1503
UN Security Council ; Resolution 1503
	Carla Del Ponte
Date	28 August 2003
Meeting no.	4,817
Code	S/RES/1503 (Document)
Subject	The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
Voting summary	15 voted for; None voted against; None abstained;
Result	Adopted
Security Council composition
Permanent members	China ; France ; Russia ; United Kingdom ; United States ;
Non-permanent members	Angola ; Bulgaria ; Chile ; Cameroon ; Germany ; Guinea ; Mexico ; Pakistan ; Spain ; Syria ;

Last updated December 03, 2023

United Nations Security Council resolution 1503, adopted unanimously on 28 August 2003, after recalling resolutions 827 (1993), 955 (1994), 978 (1995), 1165 (1998), 1166 (1998), 1329 (2000), 1411 (2002), 1431 (2002) and 1481 (2003), the Council decided to split the prosecutorial duties of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) which had previously been under the responsibility of one official, Carla Del Ponte, since 1999.^[1]

Resolution

Observations

The Security Council commended the progress both tribunals had made in contributing to peace and security in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Welcoming steps taken the concerned states in the Balkans and African Great Lakes region, it noted the objective of both tribunals to apprehend all remaining persons at large and called for the co-operation of countries in this regard. The Council urged states to impose measures against individuals assisting fugitives through travel bans and the freezing of assets.

The preamble of the resolution also envisaged the completion of ICTY and ICTR investigations by 2004, trials by the end of 2008 and all work in 2010 by concentrating on the prosecution of senior leaders.^[2] Lower-level officials would be tried at a national level.^[3] The strengthening of national judicial systems was crucial to the ICTY and ICTR completion strategies, including the establishment of a war crimes chamber at the ICTY. It was convinced that both tribunals could complete their work more efficiently if each had its own Prosecutor.^[4]

Acts

Acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, the Council called on the international community to assist national jurisdictions in improving their capacity to prosecute cases transferred from the ICTY and ICTR, encouraging the development of outreach programmes. It called on all states, particularly Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro and the Republic Srpska within Bosnia and Herzegovina to co-operate with the ICTY with regard to Radovan Karadžić, Ratko Mladić and Ante Gotovina.^[4] Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda and the Republic of the Congo, among other states, were requested to co-operate with the ICTR with regard to Félicien Kabuga and the Rwandan Patriotic Army.^[5]^[6]

All states were urged to co-operate with Interpol in apprehending fugitives while the donor community was asked to support High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the creation of a special chamber at the ICTY to deal with serious violations of international humanitarian law. The Presidents and Prosecutors of both tribunals were asked to report on the implementation of the completion strategies.

Finally, the Secretary-General Kofi Annan was instructed to nominate a Prosecutor for the ICTR, while his decision to nominate Carla Del Ponte as Prosecutor at the ICTY was welcomed.

Related Research Articles

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal was an ad hoc court located in The Hague, Netherlands.

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda was an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 955 in order to adjudicate people charged for the Rwandan genocide and other serious violations of international law in Rwanda, or by Rwandan citizens in nearby states, between 1 January and 31 December 1994. The court eventually convicted 61 individuals and acquitted 14.

International criminal law (ICL) is a body of public international law designed to prohibit certain categories of conduct commonly viewed as serious atrocities and to make perpetrators of such conduct criminally accountable for their perpetration. The core crimes under international law are genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression.

Joint criminal enterprise (JCE) is a legal doctrine used during war crimes tribunals to allow the prosecution of members of a group for the actions of the group. This doctrine considers each member of an organized group individually responsible for crimes committed by group within the common plan or purpose. It arose through the application of the idea of common purpose and has been applied by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to prosecute political and military leaders for mass war crimes, including genocide, committed during the Yugoslav Wars 1991–1999.

United Nations Security Council resolution 955, adopted on 8 November 1994, after recalling all resolutions on Rwanda, the Council noted that serious violations of international humanitarian law had taken place in the country and, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, established the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).

United Nations Security Council resolution 1047, adopted unanimously on 29 February 1996, after recalling resolutions 808 (1993), 827 (1993), 936 (1994) and 955 (1994), the Council appointed Louise Arbour as Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

United Nations Security Council resolution 1259, adopted unanimously on 11 August 1999, after recalling resolutions 808 (1993), 827 (1993), 936 (1994), 955 (1994) and 1047 (1996), the Council appointed Carla Del Ponte as Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

United Nations Security Council resolution 1329, adopted unanimously on 30 November 2000, after recalling resolutions 827 (1993) and 955 (1994), the Council enlarged the appeals chambers at both the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), proposed the election of two additional judges at the ICTR and established a pool of ad litem judges at the ICTY.

United Nations Security Council resolution 1411, adopted unanimously on 17 May 2002, after recalling resolutions 827 (1993), 955 (1994), 1165 (1998), 1166 (1998) and 1329 (2000), the Council amended the statutes of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda (ICTR) and the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to address the issue of judges holding dual nationalities.

United Nations Security Council resolution 1431, adopted unanimously on 14 August 2002, after recalling resolutions 827 (1993), 955 (1994), 1165 (1998), 1166 (1998), 1329 (2000) and 1411 (2002), the council established a pool of temporary judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in order for it to complete its work as soon as possible.

United Nations Security Council resolution 1504, adopted unanimously on 4 September 2003, after recalling Resolution 1503 (2003), the Council appointed Carla Del Ponte as Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

United Nations Security Council resolution 1505, adopted unanimously on 4 September 2003, after recalling Resolution 1503 (2003), the Council appointed Hassan Bubacar Jallow as Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).

United Nations Security Council resolution 1512, adopted unanimously on 27 October 2003, after recalling resolutions 955 (1994), 1165 (1998), 1329 (2000), 1411 (2002), 1431 (2002) and 1503 (2003) on Rwanda, the Council increased the number of temporary judges serving at the same time at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) from four to nine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1534</span> United Nations resolution adopted in 2004

United Nations Security Council resolution 1534, adopted unanimously on 26 March 2004, after recalling resolutions 827 (1993), 955 (1994), 978 (1995), 1165 (1998), 1166 (1998), 1329 (2000), 1411 (2002), 1431 (2002) and 1481 (2003), the Council called on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to complete all trial activities by the end of 2008.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1955, adopted unanimously on December 14, 2010, after recalling resolutions 955 (1995), 1165 (1998), 1329 (2000), 1411 (2002), 1431 (2002), 1717 (2006), 1824 (2008), 1855 (2008), 1878 (2008), 1901 (2009) and 1931 (2010) on Rwanda, the Council permitted three judges to complete their cases at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) beyond their terms of office, and increased the number of temporary judges at the tribunal.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1966, adopted on December 22, 2010, after recalling resolutions 827 (1993) and 955 (1994), the Council established a residual mechanism to conclude the remaining tasks of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda (ICTR) and former Yugoslavia (ICTY). It was the final Security Council resolution adopted in 2010.

The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, also referred to as the IRMCT or the Mechanism, is an international court established by the United Nations Security Council in 2010 to perform the remaining functions of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) following the completion of those tribunals' respective mandates.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1684, adopted unanimously on June 13, 2006, after recalling resolutions 955 (1994), 1165 (1998), 1329 (2000), 1411 (2002), 1431 (2002), 1449 (2002), 1503 (2003) and 1534 (2004) concerning the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), the Council extended the terms of 11 judges beyond their expiry dates in order for them to complete the trials in which they were sitting.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1995, adopted unanimously on July 6, 2011, after recalling resolutions 955 (1995), 1503 (2003) and 1534 (2003) on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), the Council permitted temporary judges at the tribunal to vote or stand as candidates in elections to the presidency of the ICTR.

Peter Robinson is an American lawyer who has defended political and military leaders at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunals. His clients include Bosnian Serb President Radovan Karadžić, Rwandan National Assembly President Joseph Nzirorera, Yugoslav Army Chief of Staff Dragoljub Ojdanic, and the lawyer for Liberian President Charles Taylor.

References

↑ "Security Council splits prosecutorial duties for Rwanda, Yugoslavia tribunals". United Nations. 28 August 2003.
↑ Boas, Gideon (2007). The Milošević trial: lessons for the conduct of complex international criminal proceedings. Cambridge University Press. p. lxxxv. ISBN 978-0-521-70039-9.
↑ Henham, Ralph J.; Behrens, Paul (2007). The criminal law of genocide: international, comparative and contextual aspects. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 177. ISBN 978-0-7546-4898-7.
1 2 "Security Council splits prosecutor's job of two UN war crimes tribunals". United Nations News Centre. 28 August 2003.
↑ van den Herik, Larissa J. (2005). The contribution of the Rwanda Tribunal to the development of international law. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 72. ISBN 978-90-04-14580-1.
↑ Peskin, Victor (2008). International justice in Rwanda and the Balkans: virtual trials and the struggle for state cooperation. Cambridge University Press. p. 217. ISBN 978-0-521-87230-0.

External links

Works related to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1503 at Wikisource
Text of the Resolution at undocs.org

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[un-1] "Security Council splits prosecutorial duties for Rwanda, Yugoslavia tribunals". United Nations. 28 August 2003.

[2] Boas, Gideon (2007). The Milošević trial: lessons for the conduct of complex international criminal proceedings. Cambridge University Press. p. lxxxv. ISBN 978-0-521-70039-9.

[3] Henham, Ralph J.; Behrens, Paul (2007). The criminal law of genocide: international, comparative and contextual aspects. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 177. ISBN 978-0-7546-4898-7.

[unnc-4] 1 2 "Security Council splits prosecutor's job of two UN war crimes tribunals". United Nations News Centre. 28 August 2003.

[5] van den Herik, Larissa J. (2005). The contribution of the Rwanda Tribunal to the development of international law. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 72. ISBN 978-90-04-14580-1.

[6] Peskin, Victor (2008). International justice in Rwanda and the Balkans: virtual trials and the struggle for state cooperation. Cambridge University Press. p. 217. ISBN 978-0-521-87230-0.

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