Recent Grad Publishes Article in Touro International Law Review

Aleksandra Stankovic, Class of 2010,  published an article,  Guilty Until Proven Guilty: Rule 61 of the ICTY,   14 Touro Int’l L. Rev. 95.  The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is a United Nations court dealing with war crimes that took place during the conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990’s.  Rule 61 of the ICTY Rules of Procedure and Evidence,

“… in effect, allows the Court to conduct the equivalent of a trial in absentia when an arrest warrant does not yield the apprehension of the alleged war criminal.2 Although this trial does not produce a final, binding verdict, it allows for the issuance of an international arrest warrant upon the determination that “there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accused has committed all or any of the crimes in the indictment.”3

While the use of Rule 61 has allowed the Court to put greater pressure on countries to extradite alleged war criminals (thereby supposedly increasing the Court‟s efficiency and relevance in international law), it has significantly diminished the due process rights of those on trial at the ICTY.4 It has done this mainly by heavily publicizing the findings5 of the Rule 61 hearing, which, though similar to a trial in absentia, lacks the important element of defense counsel participation.6″

Aleksandra Stankovic, Guilty Until Proven Guilty: Rule 61 of the ICTY,   14 Touro Int’l L. Rev. 95, 97.

Stankovic asserts that, “Rule 61 should either be changed to better accommodate the defendant‟s rights by allowing defense counsel participation, or should be eliminated from use in the ICTY.”  Id. at 96.

Congratulations to Aleksandra on the publication of this well-written and interesting article.

If you are interested in getting an article published, see our prior post: C|M|LAW Student Gets Published (and so can you!)

Photo: ICTY in La Haya, Nederlands By ICTY staff  via Wikimedia Commons