The lecture will discuss the enduring legacy of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), a post-conflict transitional justice institution. Its achievements include contributing to the consolidation of peace and justice in Sierra Leone after 11 years of a brutal civil war, preparing the pathways for upholding the rule of law and contributing towards the advancement of international criminal law with some groundbreaking decisions. As a model of a hybrid international tribunal, the SCSL was designed to circumvent the financial burden on the UN that the earlier Chapter VII model had produced at the ICTY & ICTR, and although intended as a small court with a limited mandate and a ‘shoestring budget’, the court exceeded expectations in its short span (2002-2013), producing a string of firsts in its jurisprudence and helping to chart the way for other bigger tribunals. 

Mohamed A. Bangura is Prosecution Legal Adviser/Evidence Officer at the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone, The Hague. He was previously a Trial Attorney in the Office of the Prosecutor, Special Court for Sierra Leone, where he served throughout the life of the court (2002-2013). He was a member of the prosecution team in all the four major trials conducted by the court, including the Trial of former President of Liberia, Charles Ghankay Taylor. Mr. Bangura started his legal career in Sierra Leone with the firm, Renner-Thomas & Co. where he did mainly civil litigation work. He is a member of the Sierra Leone Bar Association and holds an LLM degree from the University of London and an MSc in Property Law, from London South Bank University.