Over the past 10 years, Case Western Reserve law professors, students and alumni have played several key roles in the historic war crimes case against Liberia’s former president, Charles Taylor. Taylor’s case was the first time in history that an international tribunal has convicted a head of state.

On April 26, 2012, the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) convicted former Liberian president Charles Taylor of 11 counts of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity in neighboring Sierra Leone. On April 30, 2012, the Tribunal sentenced Taylor to 50 years in prison. It was the first time in history that an international tribunal has convicted a former head of state. Over the past 10 years, Case Western Reserve University School of Law professors, students, and alumni have been privileged to have played several key roles in the historic case.

Shortly after his appointment in 2002, David Crane, founding Chief Prosecutor of the SCSL, reached out to Case Western Reserve University School of Law’s War Crimes Research Office, directed by Professor Michael Scharf, and the Public International Law and Policy Group, the NGO Professor Scharf co-founded, for assistance on the most difficult and complicated legal issues facing the Tribunal. Since then, Professors Michael Scharf and Carol Fox, and Adjunct Professors Christopher Rassi and Christopher McLaughlin, supported by a dozen students each year, have provided 32 lengthy research memos to the Chief Prosecutor and his successors.

According to Professor Scharf, "It was one of our memos that provided the research background for the Prosecutor to argue that head of state immunity did not apply to international crimes tried by the SCSL."

This laid the foundation for the Prosecutor to obtain the indictment of Taylor while he was a sitting head of state in 2003.

Professor Scharf says, "The memos we prepared dealt with just about every issue in the trial, from the authority of the Sierra Leone Tribunal to prosecute leaders in Liberia, to the legal contours of aiding and abetting, to the definitions of crimes against humanity, terrorism, pillage, and war crimes." Ultimately, Taylor was convicted of aiding and abetting crimes against humanity, and war crimes - for providing weapons to rebel groups in neighboring Sierra Leone who he knew were engaging in mass atrocities, in return for blood diamonds. In Prof. Scharf's words, "Taylor was convicted of being enabler-in-chief - a theory our work helped support."

Ten years ago, we provided the very first legal intern, Lesley Murray, now a human rights lawyer in Toledo, to the Tribunal’s office in Freetown. Twenty other Case Western Reserve University School of Law interns followed in Murray's footsteps, many more than from any other law school in the world. In 2007, our faculty established a unique international tribunal externship program so students could earn a full semester's worth of credit for interning at the Tribunal's offices in Freetown and The Hague.

Over the past 10 years, Case Western Reserve law professors, students and alumni have played several key roles in the historic war crimes case against Liberia’s former president, Charles Taylor. Taylor’s case was the first time in history that an international tribunal has convicted a head of state.

On April 26, 2012, the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) convicted former Liberian president Charles Taylor of 11 counts of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity in neighboring Sierra Leone. On April 30, 2012, the Tribunal sentenced Taylor to 50 years in prison. It was the first time in history that an international tribunal has convicted a former head of state. Over the past 10 years, Case Western Reserve University School of Law professors, students, and alumni have been privileged to have played several key roles in the historic case.

Shortly after his appointment in 2002, David Crane, founding Chief Prosecutor of the SCSL, reached out to Case Western Reserve University School of Law’s War Crimes Research Office, directed by Professor Michael Scharf, and the Public International Law and Policy Group, the NGO Professor Scharf co-founded, for assistance on the most difficult and complicated legal issues facing the Tribunal. Since then, Professors Michael Scharf and Carol Fox, and Adjunct Professors Christopher Rassi and Christopher McLaughlin, supported by a dozen students each year, have provided 32 lengthy research memos to the Chief Prosecutor and his successors.

According to Professor Scharf, "It was one of our memos that provided the research background for the Prosecutor to argue that head of state immunity did not apply to international crimes tried by the SCSL."

This laid the foundation for the Prosecutor to obtain the indictment of Taylor while he was a sitting head of state in 2003.

Professor Scharf says, "The memos we prepared dealt with just about every issue in the trial, from the authority of the Sierra Leone Tribunal to prosecute leaders in Liberia, to the legal contours of aiding and abetting, to the definitions of crimes against humanity, terrorism, pillage, and war crimes." Ultimately, Taylor was convicted of aiding and abetting crimes against humanity, and war crimes - for providing weapons to rebel groups in neighboring Sierra Leone who he knew were engaging in mass atrocities, in return for blood diamonds. In Prof. Scharf's words, "Taylor was convicted of being enabler-in-chief - a theory our work helped support."

Ten years ago, we provided the very first legal intern, Lesley Murray, now a human rights lawyer in Toledo, to the Tribunal’s office in Freetown. Twenty other Case Western Reserve University School of Law interns followed in Murray's footsteps, many more than from any other law school in the world. In 2007, our faculty established a unique international tribunal externship program so students could earn a full semester's worth of credit for interning at the Tribunal's offices in Freetown and The Hague.