Atrocity crimes – war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide – are being committed in conflicts around the world today, from Syria to Myanmar. These crimes have been extensively documented by United Nations investigative commissions, human-rights fact finders, journalists and national governments. But documenting atrocities is not enough. The victims deserve justice, and perpetrators of these atrocities must be held accountable.

The unfortunate reality though is that today, there is not an international consensus in favor of justice for atrocity crimes. While 25 years ago the Security Council was able to establish the international tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, it is unlikely that the same bold steps will be taken today.

Nonetheless, efforts to achieve justice continue, with a recent proliferation of alternative solutions and models. Successful “hybrid” tribunals have been established, such as the Extraordinary African Chambers in Senegal and the Special Criminal Court for Central African Republic. Similarly, criminal investigative bodies are gathering evidence in the anticipation of future trials, such as the IIIM in Syria, the Investigative Team to promote accountability for Da’esh, and the Mechanism to Collect Evidence in Myanmar.

Dr. Serge Brammertz, Chief Prosecutor of the ICTY and IRMCT, will provide a survey of recent developments in international criminal justice, with a particular focus on today’s accountability mechanisms, their mandates and the challenges they face.

About the speaker: 

Serge Brammertz, Prosecutor of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), has served for more than a decade in senior positions charged with investigating and prosecuting grave international crimes.

He was Chief Prosecutor of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia from January 2008 until its closure in December 2017. From January 2006 to December 2007 he was Commissioner of the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Previously, in September 2003 he was the first Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, where he initiated the first ICC investigations in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Darfur.

Prior to his international appointments, Prosecutor Brammertz was first a national magistrate then the head of the Federal Prosecution of the Kingdom of Belgium. Prosecutor Brammertz holds a law degree from the University of Louvain-la-Neuve, a degree in Criminology from the University of Liège and a PhD in international law from the Albert Ludwig University in Freiburg, Germany, where his thesis was on the topic “Cross-border Police Cooperation”.
Prosecutor Brammertz is currently Vice President of the Executive Committee of the International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) and since 2016, visiting professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).