NAME OF MECHANISM

YEARS OF OPERATION

MANDATE

Established by the Sudanese authorities by decree, just one day after the ICC opened its investigation into Sudan, The SCCED has jurisdiction over Darfur in relation to :

a)  crimes as constituted within the Sudanese and other penal codes;

b)  charges submitted by Committee set up to look at the Sudanese governments Commission of Inquiry;

c)   any charges as determined by the Chief Justice.This was later expanded to include International Humanitarian Law. 

Structure: SCCED: 3 seats (1 each in the capitals of South, North and West Darfur.

Staff: The prosecution is made up of 5 councillors from the attorney general's office

LATEST UPDATE

January 2008: Despite the fact that the Sudanese Government indicated at its establishment that 160 cases would be brought before the court, as of June 2006 only 13 cases had been brought before the court, and in the year that has passed since then, no further cases have been considered.

Created just one day after the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced its investigation of Darfur, many NGOs argue that the primary purpose of the SCCED was to undermine the work of the ICC, as under the Rome Statute, the ICC cannot conduct trials capable of being undertaken by national authorities. However, since its inception, the SCCED has only considered the cases of low-ranking individuals charged with relatively minor charges such as theft. It has not charged any of the senior commanders for their part in the atrocities. [HRW]

Human Rights Watch has also offered other criticisms, including that the mandate is unclear, that the burden of proof for cases of rape is too high, and that the various immunity processses in place will have a detrimental effect. [Click here] to read the full report.

 OTHER MECHANISMS

Specialised Attorney Office for Crimes Against Humanity