The
Special Panels for Serious Crimes - Dili, East Timor:
On
May 20, 2005 the Special Panel for Serious Crimes (SPSC) completed
more than four years of trials arising from crimes committed during
the 1999 violence following the referendum in which East Timorese
voted overwhelmingly for independence from Indonesia.
Although the work of the SPSC was cut short by a decision of the
United Nations to end the UNMISET missions of which it was a part,
it completed 55 trials, most involving relatively low level defendants.
In the course of these trials, 84 individuals were convicted and
3 acquitted. Detailed reports about many of these cases can be found
at the website of the Judicial System Monitoring Programme, which
monitored the activities of the Special Panel on an ongoing basis.
By arrangement with the SPSC and its coordinating Judge, the Honorable
Phillip Rapoza, the U.C. Berkeley War Crimes Studies Center agreed
to provide continuing public access to electronic
copies of official versions, provided by the Tribunal, of indictments,
motions, and judgments from these 55 cases. Our goal is to ensure
continued public access to these important records.
Serious
Crimes Unit - Dili, East Timor
Prosecution Section for The Special Panels for Serious Crimes
Through
a further agreement with the Deputy Prosecutor General for Serious
Crimes, Mr. Carl Da Faria, the U.C. Berkeley War Crimes Studies
Center also agreed to take over and maintain the
website of the Serious Crimes Unit (SCU), which was responsible
for prosecuting these cases.
The
website ncludes a database compiled by the SCU staff that provides
information on all of the cases prosecuted in the Serious Crimes
process. The original files from the SPSC and SCU were handed over
to the government of East Timor and it is uncertain if, when, or
under what conditions public access will be provided to them. Although
the last activities of the SPSC and SCU came to an end on June 30,
2005, it is vitally important to preserve the legacy of their efforts
and achievements in a form easily available to researchers, practitioners,
and the general public.
The
trials before the Special Panel for Serious Crimes in East Timor
form an important part of the ongoing global enterprise aimed at
providing accountability for major violations of international humanitarian
law. They also provide a cornerstone of the historical record of
the 1999 violence in East Timor. Although they received scant international
media attention while they were being conducted, the jurisprudence
of these trials, the historical documentation they contain, and
their contribution to contemporary efforts towards achieving international
justice, deserve serious public attention.
Special
Reports and Papers
The
trial monitors and other researchers periodically produce special
reports and papers providing thematically coherent, in-depth analysis.
All past reports can be browsed and downloaded through the Special
Reports Archive.
Current
Reports on East Timor:
