Prosecuting Heads of State: Evolving Questions of Venue - Where, How, and Why?

Authors

Masaya Uchino

Abstract

This note surveys the different venues in which heads of state can be prosecuted. Heads of states have been tried in domestic courts, international criminal tribunals, and special "hybrid" courts. Each of these venues has a distinct set of procedures that provides different boundaries and rules for prosecutors and courts that are charging or trying a case. This note highlights how these differences can significantly impact the outcome of prosecutors' attempts to hold a head of state accountable for his crimes. To illustrate this, this note examines three very different examples of head of state prosecutions: Alberto Fujimori in Peru, Slobodan Milosevic in the International Criminal Tribunal of the Former Yugoslavia, and Charles Taylor in the Special Court of Sierra Leone.

Recommended Citation

Masaya Uchino, Prosecuting Heads of State: Evolving Questions of Venue - Where, How, and Why?, 34 Hastings Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 341 (2011).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_international_comparative_law_review/vol34/iss2/3