ARREST OF CHARLES TAYLOR AND THE PRINCIPLES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

Abstract

The Sierra Leone Special Court has indicted Liberia's former President Charles Taylor on eleven counts of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and serious violations of international humanitarian law. In April 2006, Charles Taylor was arrested and brought into the court's custody, and he was tried in 2007.  On the 24th February, 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine and many souls were lost. This article discusses three issues evolving international law, expected to be highlighted in Taylor's trial. First, Taylor's prosecution contributes to the ongoing challenge to the norm of head-of-state immunity from prosecution for alleged human rights crimes. Second, the prosecution will employ a relatively new tool in international prosecution—personal culpability based on participation in a joint criminal enterprise. Finally, this case will continue the path-breaking work of the Special Court for Sierra Leone in prosecuting individuals for the crime of enlisting children under the age of fifteen years into armed forces and using them in hostilities.