International Crime and Punishment - April 2010

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Diplomacy and the Vatican Sex Abuse Scandals

DEVELOPMENTSIn recent weeks the Catholic Church has been besieged by accusations of sexual abuse of children by priests. The accusations are being made across Europe and closely mirror the allegations made by many American Catholics only a few years ago. The media firestorm ignited over Holy Week, with thousands coming forward and alleging sex abuse and subsequent cover ups by the church. Even the Pope himself has been touched by the controversy, as it has been revealed that he played a hand in relocating an alleged child abuser to another parish, in order to avoid criminal prosecution. The revelation that the Pope relocated alleged abusers has prompted calls for his resignation.

April 30, 2010
Matthew Lamm
International Crime and Punishment - April 2010

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The Special Tribunal for Lebanon Enters Its Second Year of Operations, but Challenges Loom

DEVELOPMENTSFour years after United Nations Security Council Resolution 1664 requested its creation, and more than a year after its first plenary session, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) is gearing up to face its most important challenge: the trial phase.To date, the tribunal has released four key suspects (the only people held in custody in relation to the case) for lack of evidence sufficient to indict them, and entered into a number of agreements: most notably, a Lebanese deferment of jurisdiction over the Hariri case to the Netherlands-based tribunal. The tribunal is likely to face much tougher challenges in its second year, as it prepares for the possibility of issuing its first indictments, and fights criticism of its effectiveness.

April 30, 2010
Victor Kotsev
International Crime and Punishment - April 2010

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Tax Evasion Paradise No More: The U.S. and Caribbean Nations Crack Down on Hidden Offshore Accounts

DEVELOPMENTSFor decades, Americans have hidden their assets in a number of offshore accounts with the goal of avoiding paying more taxes. When President Obama signed into law the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act in March of this year, these Americans - who have for years hidden their taxable incomes in foreign banks and other investment schemes in the Caribbean and elsewhere - will now have this money potentially taxed by the U.S. government. Besides banks, the new law also addresses securities houses, derivatives dealers, hedge funds, private equity firms and commodity traders.

April 30, 2010
Adam Benz and John Lyman
International Crime and Punishment - April 2010

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The Rio Tinto Trial in China: A Miscalculation about Rule of Law?

DEVELOPMENTS Last summer, the billion dollar steel industry watched in rapt attention as China cracked down on one of its own. On July 5, 2009, Chinese authorities in Shanghai detained four employees of the Australian mining company Rio Tinto, then later sentenced them to prison terms ranging from seven to fourteen years. Many China watchers and industry insiders considered the sentencing and charges of bribery and commercial espionage to be retaliation for the recent tough iron ore pricing negotiations, and Western media was quick to portray the Rio Tinto incident as a reflection of China’s irreverence toward rule of law and its politicization of the legal system for corporate advantage. However, in examining the Rio Tinto case, the Chinese prosecutors followed legal procedure more precisely than they do in most ordinary criminal trials in China. While there may have been some misuse of criminal process for corporate gain, it appears that the Australian government and Rio Tinto itself may have acted as passive accomplices in its politicization.

April 30, 2010
Elizabeth Lynch
International Crime and Punishment - April 2010

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Gacaca: Rwanda's Experiment in Community-Based Justice for Genocide Crimes Comes to a Close

DEVELOPMENTS In the next six months, Rwanda will complete the most comprehensive post-conflict justice program attempted anywhere in the world. Since 2001, 11,000 community-based courts known as gacaca (pronounced ga-CHA-cha), which are overseen by locally-elected judges and forbid any participation by lawyers, have prosecuted around 400,000 suspected perpetrators of the 1994 genocide. Nearly every Rwandan adult has participated in gacaca in some way, either as a witness, defendant, or by attending weekly hearings. Under gacaca’s plea-bargaining scheme, the vast majority of those convicted of genocide crimes have either had their sentences commuted to community service or, if they were imprisoned, have been reintegrated into the same communities where they committed crimes and now live side-by-side with genocide survivors and their families.

April 30, 2010
Phil Clark
International Crime and Punishment - April 2010