Article 17, (Ratification) Act, 2011

Disposition of Assets On the completion of the work of the Residual Special Court, any assets inherited from the Special Court or acquired by the Residual Special Court shall become the property of the Government of Sierra Leone. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the following duly authorized representatives of the United Nations and of the Government of Sierra Leone have signed this Agreement in two originals in the English language. For the United Nations For the Government of Sierra Leone Peter Taksoe-Jensen Abdul Serry Kamal Assistant Secretary-General Minister of Justice and for Legal Affairs Attorney-General Date: 29th July, 2010 Date: 11th August, 2010 STATUTE OF THE RESIDUAL SPECIAL COURT FOR SIERRA LEONE The Residual Special Court established by the Agreement between the United Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone on the Establishment of a Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone (“the Agreement”) shall function in accordance with the provisions of the present Statute. Article 1 Competence 1. The purpose of the Residual Special Court is to carry out the functions of the Special Court for Sierra Leone that must continue after the closure of the Special Court. To that end, the Residual Special Court shall: maintain, preserve and manage its archives, including the archives of the Special Court; provide for witness and victim protection and support; respond to requests for access to evidence by national prosecution authorities; supervise enforcement of sentences; review convictions and acquittals; conduct contempt of court proceedings; provide defence counsel and legal aid for the conduct of proceedings before the Residual Special Court; respond to requests from national authorities with respect to claims for compensation; and prevent double jeopardy. 2. The jurisdiction of the Residual Special Court is limited to 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. That is, the Residual Special Court shall have the power to prosecute the remaining fugitive special Court indictee if his case has not been referred to a competent national jurisdiction, and to prosecute any cases resulting from review of convictions and acquittals. Article 2 Crimes against humanity The Residual Special Court shall have the power to prosecute persons who committed the following crimes as part of a widespread or systematic attack against any civilian population: (a) Murder; (b) Extermination; (c) Enslavement; (d) Deportation; (e) Imprisonment; (f) Torture; (g) Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy and any other form of sexual violence; (h) Persecution on political, racial, ethnic or religious grounds; (i) Other inhumane acts. Article 3 Violations of Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions and of Additional Protocol II The Residual Special Court shall have the power to prosecute persons who committed or ordered the commission of serious violations of Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August, 1949 for the Protection of War Victims, and of Additional Protocol II thereto of 8 June 1977. These violations shall include: (a) Violence to life, health and physical or mental well-being of persons, in particular murder as well as cruel treatment such as torture, mutilation or any form of corporal punishment; (b) Collective punishments; (c) Taking of hostages; (d) Acts of terrorism; (e) Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment, rape, enforced prostitution and any form of indecent assault; (f) Pillage; (g) The passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples; (h) Threats to commit any of the foregoing acts. Article 4 Other serious violations of international humanitarian law The Residual Special Court shall have the power to prosecute persons who committed the following serious violations of international humanitarian law: (a) Intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities; (b) Intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles involved in a humanitarian assistance or peacekeeping mission in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, as long as they are entitled to the protection given to civilians or civilian objects under the international law of armed conflict; (c) Conscripting or enlisting children under the age of 15 years into armed forces or groups or using them to participate actively in hostilities. Article 5 Crimes under Sierra Leonean Law The Residual special Court shall have the power to prosecute persons who have committed the following crimes under Sierra Leonean law: (a) Offences relating to the abuse of girls under the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Act, 1926 (Cap. 31): (i) Abusing a girl under 13 years of age, contrary to section 6; (ii) Abusing a girl between 13 and 14 years of age, contrary to section 7; (iii) Abduction of a girl for immoral purposes, contrary to section 12. (b) Offences relating to the wanton destruction of property under the Malicious Damage Act, 1861: (i) Setting fire to dwelling-houses, any person being therein, contrary to section 2; (ii) Setting fire to public buildings, contrary to sections 5 and 6 (iii) Setting fire to other buildings, contrary to section 6. Article 6 Individual Criminal responsibility 1. A person who planned, instigated, ordered, committed or otherwise aided and abetted in the planning, preparation or execution of a crime referred to in Articles 2 to 4 of the present Statute shall be individually responsible for the crime. 2. The official position of any accused persons, whether as Head of State or Government or as a responsible government official, shall not relieve such person of criminal responsibility nor mitigate punishment. 3. The fact that any of the acts referred to in Articles 2 to 4 of the present Statute was committed by a subordinate does not relieve his or her superior of criminal responsibility if he or she knew or had reason to know that the subordinate was about to commit such acts or had done so and the superior had failed to take the necessary and reasonable measures to prevent such acts or to punish the perpetrators thereof. 4. The fact that an accused person acted pursuant to an order of a Government or of a superior shall not relieve him or her of criminal responsibility, but may be considered in mitigation of punishment if the Residual Special Court determines that justice so requires. 5. Individual criminal responsibility for the crimes referred to in Article 5 shall be determined in accordance with the respective laws of Sierra Leone. Article 7 Referral of cases to national jurisdictions 1. The Residual Special Court shall have power, and shall undertake every effort, to refer the case of the remaining fugitive Special Court indictee to a competent national jurisdiction for investigation and prosecution, if the Special Court has not referred the case to a national jurisdiction. 2. After the referral, the Residual Special Court shall monitor the case through cooperation with international or regional organizations. 3. The Residual Special Court may revoke the referral only if: (a) The national jurisdiction is unwilling or unable to prosecute the accused; or (b) The national court proceedings are not impartial or independent, are designed to shield the accused from international criminal responsibility, or the case is not diligently prosecuted; and (c) The accused has not yet been found guilty or acquitted. Article 8 Concurrent Jurisdiction 1. The Residual Special Court and the national courts of Sierra Leone shall have concurrent jurisdiction. 2. The Residual Special Court shall have primacy over the national courts of Sierra Leone in matters falling within Article 1 (2) above. At any stage of proceedings, the Residual Special Court may formally request a national court to defer to its competence in accordance with the present Statute and the Rules of Procedure and Evidence. Article 9 Non bis in idem 1. No person shall be tried before a national court of Sierra Leone for acts for which he or she has already been tried by the Special Court for Sierra Leone or the Residual special Court. 2. Should the remaining fugitive Special Court indictee be tried by a national court, the Residual Special Court may try him subsequently, or may refer his case to a competent national jurisdiction, only if: (a) The act for which he was tried was characterized as an ordinary crime; or (b) The national court proceedings were not impartial or independent, were designed to shield him from international criminal responsibility, or the case was not diligently prosecuted. 3. In considering the penalty to be imposed on a person convicted of a crime under the present Statute, the Residual Special Court shall take into account the extent to which any penalty imposed by a national court shall take into account the extend to which any penalty imposed by a national court on the same person for the same act has already been served. Article 10 Amnesty An amnesty granted to any person falling within the jurisdiction of the Residual Special Court in respect of the crimes referred to in Articles 2 to 4 of the present Statute shall not be a bar to prosecution. Article 11 Roster of Judges 1. There shall be a roster of no fewer than 16 judges who may be assigned to the Trial Chamber and Appeals Chamber. The judges shall not receive any remuneration or other benefits for being on the roster, but shall be remunerated on a pro-rata basis if called upon by the President to serve the Residual Special Court. 2. The judges shall be persons of high moral character, impartiality and intergrity who possess the qualifications required in their respective countries for appointment to the highest judicial offices. They shall be independent in the performance of their functions, and shall not accept or seek instructions from any Government or any other source. 3. Ten judges shall be appointed to the roster by the Secretary-General and six judges shall be appointed to the roster by the Government of Sierra Leone. Additional judges shall be appointed, when necessary, by the Secretary-General in consultation with the Government of Sierra Leone. In the appointment of judges, particular account shall be taken of the experience of former judges of the Special Court, the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, the International Criminal Court, and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. 4. Judges shall be appointed to the roster for a six-year term and shall be eligible for reappointment. Article 12 The President 1. The judges on the roster shall elect a President, who shall serve as the duty judge of the Residual Special Court to handle any judicial work, including but not limited to contempt proceedings, that arises but that does not require convening a Trial Chamber pursuant to Article 13 (1) or Appeals Chamber pursuant to Article 13 (2). 2. The President shall in as far as possible carry out his or her functions remotely and shall be present at the seat of the Residual Special Court only as necessary to carry out functions. The President shall be remunerated on a prorata basis. Article 13 Assignment of Judges 1. In the event that the need arises for a trial or to review a judgement, the President shall have the authority to convene a Trial Chamber consisting of two judges appointed by the Secretary-General and one judge appointed by the Government of Sierra Leone. The judges shall elect a presiding judge from amongst themselves. 2. In the event of an appeal, the President shall have the authority to convene an Appeals Chamber consisting of three judges appointed by the Secretary-General and two judges appointed by the Government of Sierra Leone. The judges shall elect a presiding judge from amongst themselves. 3. In exceptional circumstances, the President may also designate from the roster an additional duty judge to exercise judicial functions that cannot be carried out by the President or by a Trial Chamber or Appeals Chamber which has been convened already. 4. The judges assigned to the Chambers and any additional duty judge shall be present at the seat of the Residual Special Court only as necessary at the request of the President to carry out their functions. In so far as possible, they shall carry out their functions remotely. Article 14 The 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 reappointment. 2. The Prosecutor shall be of high moral character and intergrity, and shall possess the highest level of professional competence and extensive experience in the conduct of investigations and prosecutions of international criminal cases. The Prosecutor shall be independent in the performance of his or her functions and shall not accept or seek instructions from any Government or any other source. 3. The Prosecutor shall be responsible for the investigation and prosecution of the remaining fugitive Special Court indictees, of any cases of contempt of court that may arise, and of any cases resulting from review of convictions and acquittals. The Prosecutor shall act independently as a separate organ of the Residual Special Court. 4. The Prosecutor shall have the power to question suspects, victims and witnesses, to collect evidence and to conduct on-site investigations. In carrying out these tasks, the Prosecutor shall, as appropriate, be assisted by the Sierra Leonean authorities concerned. 5. The Prosecutor shall in so far as possible carry out his or her functions remotely and shall be present at the seat of the Residual Special Court only as necessary to carry out functions. The Prosecutor shall be remunerated on a prorata basis. Article 15 The Registrar 1. The Secretary-General, in consultation with the President of the Residual Special Court, shall appoint a Registrar for a three-year term. The Registrar shall be eligible for reappointment. 2. The Registrar shall be of high moral character and intergrity, and shall possess the highest level of professional competence. The Registrar shall be independent in the performance of his or her functions and shall not accept or seek instructions from any Government or any other source. 3. The Registrar shall be responsible for the servicing of the Residual Special Court, and for the recruitment and administration of staff. The Registrar shall also administer the financial resources of the Residual Special Court. 4. The Residual Special Court shall retain a small number of staff commensurate with its functions. The Registrar shall also create and maintain a roster of suitably qualified potential staff who may be called on as necessary to perform functions required by the Residual Special Court. Particular account shall be taken of the experience of former staff of the Special Court, the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, the International Criminal Court, and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. 5. The Registrar shall be based permanently at the seat of the Residual Special Court. Article 16 Rules of Procedure and Evidence 1. The Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the Special Court for Sierra Leone obtaining at the time of the closure of the Special Court shall apply mutatis mutandis to the conduct of the legal proceedings before the Residual Special Court. 2. The President may convene a plenary meeting of five international judges and three Sierra Leonean judges from the roster of the Residual Special Court to amend the Rules of Procedure and Evidence or adopt additional rules where the applicable Rules do not, or do not adequately, provide for a specific situation. In so doing, they may be guided, as appropriate, by the Criminal Procedure Act, 1965, of Sierra Leone. Article 17 Rights of the Accused 1. All accused shall be equal before the Residual Special Court. 2. The accused shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing, subject to measures ordered by the Special Court and/or the Residual Special Court, including for the protection of victims and witnesses. 3. The accused shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty pursuant to this Statute. 4. In the determination of any charge against the accused pursuant to the present Statute, he or she shall be entitled to the following minimum guarantees, in full equality: (a) To be informed promptly and in detail in a language which he or she understands, of the nature and cause of the charge against him or her; (b) To have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his or her defence and to communicate with counsel of his or her own choosing; (c) To be tried without undue delay; (d) To be tried in his or her presence, and to defend himself or herself in person or through legal assistance of his or her own choosing, to be 2. The judgment shall be rendered by a majority of the judges of the Trial chamber, and shall be delivered in public. It shall be accompanied by a reasoned opinion in writing, to which separate or dissenting opinions may be appended.