Agreement between the United Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone on the establishment of a Special Court for Sierra Leone

Coming into Force12 April 2002
CitationUNTS v. 2178 (p.137)
Date of Conclusion16 January 2002
Registration Date12 April 2002
Registration Number38342
Subject TermsJudicial matters
Type of DocumentBilateral
ParticipantsSierra Leone,United Nations
Party Submitting the Application for Registrationex officio
No.
38342
United
Nations
and
Sierra
Leone
Agreement
between
the
United
Nations
and
the
Government
of
Sierra
Leone
on
the
establishment
of
a
Special
Court
for
Sierra
Leone (with
Statute). Freetown,
16
January
2002
Entry
into
force:
12
April
2002,
in
accordance
with
article
21
Authentic
text:
English
Registration
with
the
Secretariat
of the United
Nations:
ex
officio,
12
April
2002
Organisation
des
Nations
Unies
et
Sierra
Leone
Accord
entre
I'Organisation
des
Nations
Unies
et
le
Gouvernement
de
Sierra
Leone
relatif
A
la
cr6ation
d'un
Tribunal
sp6cial
pour
la
Sierra
Leone
(avec
statut).
Freetown,
16
janvier
2002
Entree
en
vigueur
:
12
avril
2002,
conform
ment
h
Particle
21
Texte
authentique
:
anglais
Enregistrement aupres
du
Secr6tariat
des
Nations
Unies
:
d'office,
12
avril
2002
Volume
2178,
1-38342
[
ENGLISH
TEXT
-
TEXTE
ANGLAIS
]
AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
THE UNITED
NATIONS
AND
THE
GOVERN-
MENT
OF
SIERRA LEONE
ON
THE
ESTABLISHMENT
OF
A
SPECIAL
COURT
FOR
SIERRA
LEONE
Whereas
the
Security Council,
in
its
resolution
1315
(2000)
of
14
August
2000,
ex-
pressed
deep
concern
at
the very serious crimes
committed
within
the
territory
of
Sierra
Le-
one
against
the
people
of
Sierra
Leone
and
United
Nations
and
associated
personnel
and
at
the
prevailing
situation
of
impunity;
Whereas
by
the
said
resolution,
the
Security
Council requested
the
Secretary-General
to
negotiate
an
agreement
with
the
Government
of
Sierra
Leone
to
create
an
independent
special
court
to
prosecute
persons
who
bear
the
greatest
responsibility
for
the
commission
of
serious
violations
of
international
humanitarian
law
and
crimes
committed under
Sierra
Leonean
law;
Whereas the
Secretary-General
of
the
United
Nations
(hereinafter "the Secretary-Gen-
eral")
and
the
Government
of
Sierra
Leone
(hereinafter
"the
Government") have held
such
negotiations
for
the
establishment
of
a
Special
Court for Sierra Leone
(hereinafter
"the
Spe-
cial
Court
");
Now therefore
the United
Nations
and the
Government
of
Sierra
Leone have agreed
as
follows:
Article
1.
Establishment
of
the
Special Court
1.
There
is
hereby
established
a
Special
Court
for
Sierra
Leone to
prosecute
persons
who
bear
the
greatest
responsibility
for
serious
violations
of
international humanitarian
law
and
Sierra
Leonean
law
committed
in the
territory
of
Sierra
Leone
since 30
November
1996.
2.
The Special
Court
shall
function
in
accordance with
the
Statute
of
the
Special
Court
for
Sierra
Leone. The Statute
is
annexed
to
this
Agreement
and forms
an
integral
part
there-
of,
Article
2.
Composition
of
the
Special
Court
and
appointment
ofjudges
1.
The
Special
Court
shall
be
composed
of
a
Trial Chamber
and
an
Appeals Chamber
with
a
second
Trial
Chamber
to be
created
if,
after the
passage
of
at
least
six
months
from
the
commencement
of
the
functioning
of
the
Special
Court, the
Secretary-General,
the
Prosecutor or
the
President
of
the Special
Court
so
request.
Up to
two
alternate
judges
shall
similarly
be
appointed
after
six
months
if
the
President
of
the Special
Court
so
determines.
2.
The
Chambers
shall
be
composed
of
no
fewer
than
eight
independent
judges
and no
more
than
eleven
such
judges
who
shall
serve
as
follows:
(a)
Three
judges
shall
serve
in
the
Trial
Chamber
where
one
shall
be
appointed
by the
Government
of
Sierra Leone
and two
judges
appointed
by
the
Secretary-General,
upon
Volume
2178,
1-38342
nominations forwarded
by States,
and
in
particular
the
member
States
of
the
Economic
Community
of
West African
States
and the
Commonwealth,
at
the
invitation
of
the
Secre-
tary-General;
(b)
In
the
event
of
the
creation
of
a
second Trial
Chamber,
that
Chamber
shall
be
like-
wise
composed
in
the
manner
contained
in
subparagraph
(a)
above;
(c)
Five
judges
shall serve
in
the
Appeals
Chamber,
of
whom
two
shall
be
appointed
by
the
Government
of
Sierra
Leone
and three
judges
shall
be
appointed
by the
Secretary-
General
upon
nominations
forwarded
by States,
and
in
particular
the
member
States
of
the
Economic
Community
of
West African
States
and
the
Commonwealth,
at the
invitation
of
the
Secretary-General.
3.
The
Government
of
Sierra Leone
and
the
Secretary-General
shall
consult
on
the
ap-
pointment
ofjudges.
4.
Judges
shall
be
appointed
for
a
three-year
term
and
shall
be
eligible
for
re-appoint-
ment.
5.
If,
at
the
request
of
the
President
of
the
Special
Court,
an
alternate
judge
or
judges
have been
appointed
by
the
Government
of
Sierra
Leone
or the
Secretary-General, the
pre-
siding
judge
of
a
Trial
Chamber or
the
Appeals
Chamber
shall
designate
such
an
alternate
judge
to be
present
at
each
stage
of
the
trial
and
to
replace
a
judge
if
that
judge
is
unable
to
continue sitting.
Article
3.
Appointment
of
a
Prosecutor
and
a
Deputy
Prosecutor
1.
The
Secretary-General, after consultation
with
the
Government
of
Sierra
Leone,
shall
appoint
a
Prosecutor
for
a
three-year
term.
The
Prosecutor
shall
be
eligible
for
reap-
pointment.
2.
The
Government
of
Sierra
Leone,
in
consultation
with
the
Secretary-General
and
the
Prosecutor,
shall
appoint
a
Sierra
Leonean
Deputy
Prosecutor
to
assist
the
Prosecutor
in
the
conduct
of
the
investigations
and
prosecutions.
3.
The
Prosecutor
and the
Deputy
Prosecutor
shall
be
of
high
moral
character
and pos-
sess the
highest
level
of
professional
competence and
extensive experience
in
the
conduct
of
investigations
and
prosecutions
of
criminal cases.
The
Prosecutor
and the
Deputy Pros-
ecutor
shall
be
independent
in
the
performance
of
their
functions and shall
not
accept
or
seek
instructions
from
any
Government or
any
other source.
4.
The
Prosecutor
shall
be
assisted
by such
Sierra Leonean
and
international
staff
as
may
be
required
to
perform
the
functions
assigned
to
him
or
her
effectively
and
efficiently.
Article
4.
Appointment
of
a
Registrar
1.
The
Secretary-General,
in
consultation
with
the
President
of
the
Special
Court,
shall
appoint
a
Registrar
who
shall
be
responsible
for
the
servicing
of
the
Chambers
and the
Of-
fice
of
the
Prosecutor,
and
for
the
recruitment
and
administration
of
all
support
staff.
He
or
she
shall also
administer
the
financial
and
staff
resources
of
the
Special
Court.

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