Abstract:
A transcript of an interview with Fausto Pocar by Linda Carter and Leigh Swigart. The interview took place on May 20, 2015 at The Hague, Netherlands, and the transcript, which is represented here, has been reviewed and edited from the original audio version. During the interview, Pocar reminisces on initially taking a short term position as ICTY judge in 1999; accepting the Kunarac case as his first despite low rank of accused; inadequate considerations of human rights law in international criminal proceedings at the ICTY; errors committed during the Milošević trial; reasoning behind Pocar's support of self-defense by ICTY accused, and diminishing collegiality at the Tribunals. Pocar also discusses criticisms faced by the Tribunal and Pocar's own reservations regarding the ICTY; human rights violations present in the ICTY Barayagwiza case; Pocar's solution to the issue of concurrent crimes for the same conduct as evidenced by the Celebici decision; plurality of definitions of aiding and abetting in criminal law; necessity to adapt International Criminal Court rules to include provisions that more accurately apply to non-international armed conflicts; influence of politics and pressure from state Governments faced by leaders at the Ad Hoc Tribunals and ICC, and the wave-like nature of progress at the Tribunals and hope for the future of international criminal justice.
