Past and Present International Tribunal Prosecutors Issue the Chautauqua Declaration

On Wednesday, August 25, Prof. David Crane (former prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone), joined by Sir Desmond de Silva and Stephen Rapp—also of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Whitney Harris and Henry King (International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg), Hassan Jallow (International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda), Robert Petit (Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia), David Tolbert (International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia), convened in Chautauqua, New York and, in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the 1907 Hague Convention, issued the First Chautauqua Declaration. The Hague rules were some of the first codes of conduct that world powers consented to in order to control combatants. The Chautauqua Declaration now joins this historic tradition of ensuring that law governs the destructive forces of warfare.

According to The Post Journal, the Chautauqua Declaration “asserted the necessity of enforcing international laws of war to prevent the recurrence of atrocities.” The group of prosecutors, who have dedicated their professional careers sought to reinforce the notion that rulers are not above the rule of law, and that law triumphs over the rule of the gun. The prosecutors are responsible for bringing those to justice who bear the “greatest responsibility” for war crimes, including “genocide, enslavement, systematic rape and forced pregnancy.” (The Post Standard). Furthermore, the prosecutors fight the indifference of world leaders and impunity in general by prosecuting those persons who undeniably had knowledge of the crimes and/or gave orders to subordinates to commit heinous crimes in violation of the laws of war. So, while blood may not be directly on the hands of the leaders, those in the position of power “were part of a chain of command that carried knowledge and authority…their involvement is not credibly deniable,” argued Robert Petit.

Sir Desmond de Silva summed up the purpose of the conference in stating, “Let word go out to warlords and leaders all over the world. However powerful, however mighty, however feared you may be, the law is above you.”

For more on this topic, see:

The Post Journal – Jackson Center Conference Trumpets Rule of Law – 8/30/07

The American Society of International Law – The International Humanitarian Law Dialogs: The Laws of War: Past, Present, and Future

International Law and Policy blog – The Chautauqua Declaration – 8/30/07

The Chautauqua Declaration