This important book considers whether the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), which was established jointly through an unprecedented bilateral treaty between the United Nations (UN) and Sierra Leone in 2002, has made jurisprudential contributions to the development of the nascent and still unsettled field of international criminal law. A leading authority on the application of international criminal justice in Africa, Charles Jalloh argues that the SCSL, as an innovative hybrid international penal tribunal, made useful jurisprudential additions on key legal questions concerning greatest responsibility jurisdiction, the war crime of child recruitment, forced marriage as a crime against humanity, amnesty, immunity and the relationship between truth commissions and criminal courts. He demonstrates that some of the SCSL case law broke new ground, and in so doing, bequeathed a 'legal legacy' that remains vital to the ongoing global fight against impunity for atrocity crimes and to the continued development of modern international criminal law.

‘… the book provides a solid foundation on which future scholarship on the SCSL’s legacy can build.’

Eleanor Thompson Source: International Criminal Law Review

‘This book is one that is worth the attention of readers well beyond the study of the Sierra Leone civil war and its aftermath. It is particularly worthwhile for scholars and practitioners in court administration, whose appraisal and understanding of the judicial branch of government in our own respective countries can be greatly enriched by studying the progress of efforts to promote the growth of international criminal law.’

David C. Steelman Source: The International Journal for Court Administration