Law Commons^™

Do Former Leaders Have An International Right To Act As Their Own Lawyer In War Crimes Trials?, Michael P. Scharf, Christopher Rassi

Faculty Publications

Picture what would happen if former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein sought to represent himself at his war crimes trial before the Iraqi Special Tribunal. While doing so, assume that the judge presiding over his case decided to follow the precedent of the Trial Chamber of the International

Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) that tried the case of Slobodan Milosevic, which held: "[U]nder customary international law, the defendant has a right to counsel, but he also has a right not to have counsel."

Errors And Missteps: Key Lessons The Iraqi Special Tribunal Can Learn From The Icty, Ictr, And Scsl, Michael P. Scharf, Ahran Kang

Faculty Publications

In a few months, the trial of Saddam Hussein and other former Iraqi regime leaders will begin before the Iraqi Special Tribunal (IST). The IST is a unique "internationalized-domestic tribunal" whose Statute and Rules of Procedure are modeled upon the UN-created Yugoslavia War Crimes Tribunal (ICTY), Rwanda Genocide Tribunal (ICTR), and the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), but whose judges are all Iraqis and whose courtroom is in Baghdad. There is much the IST can learn both from the successes and missteps of the ICTY, ICTR, and SCSL; many of the issues that will arise in the trials of …

Will Saddam Hussein Get A Fair Trial?, Michael P. Scharf

Faculty Publications

Debate between Dr. Curtis F. J. Doebbler and Professor Michael P. Scharf