Hybrid Courts : the future of International Criminal Law

Abstract

This thesis consists of an exploratory and holistic examination of the 'hybrid court’ judicial body and its future within international criminal law. A hybrid court is a judicial body that incorporates elements from domestic and international courts. In this thesis, one will be analysing these heterogenous judicial mechanisms looking at their positive and negative aspects, thus focusing on the hybrid court structure. Hybrid courts are praised for their ability to avoid the problems and instead merge the advantages of both systems to create a judicial system that (i) upholds international legal standards, whilst simultaneously (ii) retaining a powerful connection with the local community and (iii) building local judicial capacity. The author proceeds to deconstruct the hybrid court model to its most basic level: a hybridity of staff and/or laws. A distinction is made between these inherent features of the hybrid court model and merely common (but not inherent) features of the existing hybrid courts such as their location in the place where the atrocities were committed, and their ad hoc nature. The author continues with a holistic yet thorough examination of the current hybrid courts to determine whether they have realised the potential that is commonly attributed to the model from which they emanate. The legal bases, the degrees of hybridity and the overall perceptions of such courts are also examined. Certain judgements produced by these hybrid courts are also scrutinised (i) to provide a slightly more intricate examination of their functioning and (ii) to substantiate claims made during the work. Throughout the thesis, comparison is made between hybrid courts and the alternative judicial bodies. As a result of this comparison, it can be seen that hybrid courts also fall victim to similar problems that domestic and/or international courts suffer from. Despite the justified criticisms that can be directed at the current hybrid courts and the fact that the hybrid court’s promise is conditioned by numerous external factors, the author still concludes by endorsing this judicial mechanism as a sustainable means towards achieving international justice.