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Jurisdiction: Nature, Scope, Dimensions, and Complexities

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Universal Jurisdiction: The Sierra Leone Profile

Part of the book series: International Criminal Justice Series ((ICJS,volume 3))

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Abstract

It is worth reiterating that the focus of this study is twofold. The first is to articulate the extent, if any, to which the West African State of Sierra Leone is fulfilling its international obligations to either extradite or prosecute persons suspected of committing crimes in violation of international criminal law by enacting the relevant laws in its municipal law system, thereby recognizing crimes of an international nature and providing for the exercise of universal jurisdiction for the investigation, trial, and conviction of perpetrators of such crimes. The second is to determine the extent to which any non-compliance with such obligations may render Sierra Leone amenable to becoming a safe haven for fugitives from international criminal justice, thereby rendering the country complicit in failure to combat impunity through the exercise of universal jurisdiction. This chapter examines in detail the concept of jurisdiction in all its conceptual dimensions, as well as the universality principle, particularly in the domain of international criminal justice.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Shaw 1997, p. 491.

  2. 2.

    Idem, p. 454.

  3. 3.

    Thompson 1999, p. 19.

  4. 4.

    Shaw 1997, p. 459.

  5. 5.

    Amnesty International 2012, p. 15.

  6. 6.

    Ibid.

  7. 7.

    Ibid.

  8. 8.

    Ibid.

  9. 9.

    Bledsoe and Boczek 1987, p. 127.

  10. 10.

    Thompson 1999, p. 58.

  11. 11.

    Shaw 1997, p. 463.

  12. 12.

    Amnesty International 2012, pp. 15–16.

  13. 13.

    See Anti-Human Trafficking Act No. 14 2005, section 14.

  14. 14.

    See The Anti-Corruption Act No. 12 2008, sections 137.

  15. 15.

    See The Treason and State Offences Act No. 10 1963, section 1(1).

  16. 16.

    See The Criminal Procedure Act No. 32 1965, section 42(1).

  17. 17.

    Shaw 1997, p. 467, Bledsoe and Boczek 1987, p. 104.

  18. 18.

    Amnesty International 2012, p. 16.

  19. 19.

    Shaw 1997, p. 468.

  20. 20.

    Shaw 1997, pp. 468–469, Bledsoe and Boczek 1987, pp. 104–105.

  21. 21.

    The Coinage Offences Act No. 33 1965, section 14(1).

  22. 22.

    Merchant Shipping Act of 1894, sections 98, 99, and 116.

  23. 23.

    Treason and State Offences Act No. 10 1963, section 1(1).

  24. 24.

    Amnesty International 2012, p. 17, Bledsoe and Boczek 1987, p. 106.

  25. 25.

    See Cassese 2008, p. 338, footnote 4.

  26. 26.

    Caplan 2003, pp. 741–781.

  27. 27.

    Janis 2003, pp. 62–63.

  28. 28.

    ICJ Reports, 1970 vol. 3, p. 32.

  29. 29.

    Ibid.

  30. 30.

    Werle 2009, p. 154.

  31. 31.

    Robertson 2002, p. 251. See also Cassese 2008, p. 338, footnote 4, Shaw 1997, p. 470, Bassiouni 2001, p. 81, Bledsoe and Boczek 1987, p. 106.

  32. 32.

    1999 2 All E R 97 at pp. 108–109.

  33. 33.

    Robertson 2002, p. 256.

  34. 34.

    Werle 2009, p. 68.

  35. 35.

    Ibid.

  36. 36.

    Ibid.

  37. 37.

    Werle 2009, p. 69.

  38. 38.

    Ibid.

  39. 39.

    Werle 2009, p. 70.

References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Criminal Justice Studies, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY, USA

    Justice Bankole Thompson

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  1. Justice Bankole Thompson
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Correspondence to Bankole Thompson .

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Thompson, B. (2015). Jurisdiction: Nature, Scope, Dimensions, and Complexities. In: Universal Jurisdiction: The Sierra Leone Profile. International Criminal Justice Series, vol 3. T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-054-1_6

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