Cover Page
The handle http://hdl.handle.net/1887/54852 holds various files of this Leiden University dissertation.
Author: Tonutti, A.
Title: The role of modern international commissions of inquiry: a first step to ensure accountability for international law violations?
Issue Date: 2017-09-05
The Role of Modern International Commissions of Inquiry
The Role of Modern International Commissions of Inquiry
A First Step to Ensure Accountability for International Law Violations?
PROEFSCHRIFT
ter verkrijging van
de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden,
op gezag van Rector Magnificus prof. mr. C.J.J.M. Stolker, volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties
te verdedigen op dinsdag 5 september 2017 klokke 11.15 uur
door
Alessandro Tonutti
geboren te San Daniele del Friuli (UD) Italy in 1986
Promotoren: prof. dr. W.A. Schabas
dr. E.G. Sommario (Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy)
Promotiecommissie: prof. dr. C. Stahn
prof. dr. J.Gilbert (University of East London, UK) prof. dr. R. Murphy (National University of Ireland, Galway)
prof. dr. M.L.P. Loenen dr. S. Vasiliev
Lay-out: Anne-Marie Krens – Tekstbeeld – Oegstgeest
© 2017 A. Tonutti
The author certifies that the thesis he has presented for examination for the Ph.D. degree in ‘Politics, Human Rights and Sustainability’ of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna is solely his own work other than where he has clearly indicated that it is the work of others.
Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent.
The author warrants that this authorisation does not, to the best of his belief, infringe the rights of any third party.
Behoudens de in of krachtens de Auteurswet van 1912 gestelde uitzonderingen mag niets uit deze uitgave worden verveelvoudigd, opgeslagen in een geautomatiseerd gegevensbestand, of openbaar gemaakt, in enige vorm of op enige wijze, hetzij elektronisch, mechanisch, door fotokopieën, opnamen of enige andere manier, zonder voorafgaande schriftelijke toestemming van de uitgever.
Voorzover het maken van reprografische verveelvoudigingen uit deze uitgave is toegestaan op grond van artikel 16h Auteurswet 1912 dient men de daarvoor wettelijk verschuldigde vergoedingen te voldoen aan de Stichting Reprorecht (Postbus 3051, 2130 KB Hoofddorp, www.reprorecht.nl). Voor het overnemen van (een) gedeelte(n) uit deze uitgave in bloemlezingen, readers en andere compilatiewerken (art. 16 Auteurswet 1912) kan men zich wenden tot de Stichting PRO (Stichting Publicatie- en Reproductierechten Organisatie, Postbus 3060, 2130 KB Hoofddorp, www.cedar.nl/pro).
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm or any other means without written permission from the publisher.
‘If the minds of men can be turned even for a short time away from passion, race antagonism and from national aggrandizement to a contemplation of individual and national losses due to war and to the shocking horrors that modern warfare entails, a step and by no means a short one, will have been taken toward the substitution of justice for force in the settlement of international differences’.
Nicholas Murray Butler,
Acting Director of the International Commission to Inquire into Causes and Conducts of the Balkan Wars
22 February 1914
Acknowledgments
Writing a PhD Thesis is a lengthy, passionate and at the same time difficult task. It represents a sort of a journey which goes through different stages, a unique combination of emotional moments in which you feel pervaded by enthusiasm and passion and situations where frustration and despair seem to prevail. It is an exercise that requires dedication, passion and sacrifice. I have engaged in this journey five years ago and decided to write my disserta- tion while at the same time working in the field as a human rights defender.
Hence, I cannot capture in few lines all those faces, situations, emotions that have accompanied me in such a path. However, to a few of them I should devote specific attention.
First of all I would like to thank my family: my mother, my father and my brother as well as the enlarged Barazzetto and Tonutti clans. They are those that have empowered me with all the material and intellectual tools to embark in such a journey. In particular, my parents have not only supported and sponsored me in all the different steps of my education, but, more importantly, they have instilled in me the belief that through education come emancipation, critical thinking and awareness. These tools are essential not only to shed light on the truth in the blurred fog that pervades everyday life but also to use such truth to make the right choices. If I am now in the condition to test myself everyday in embarking in such an exercise I have only to thank my parents and in particular my dad, who is now engaged in fighting its most difficult battle.
There is another person who I met right at the moment when I started this PhD journey. Her name is Letizia. While our relationship has lasted the duration of such journey, I hope that the unique mixture of feelings, empathy, mutual respect and admiration that bounds us will continue after the end of this experience.
I then cannot but thank the two institutions, which has sponsored and
‘housed’ this PhD. Scuola Superiore Sant’ Anna in Pisa and Leiden University.
They have not only provided me with outstanding academic and professional inputs and tools but also, and most importantly, have represented the fertile ground for me to meet and exchange personal life experiences with a unique group of people. In addition, I would like to sincerely pay tribute to my two supervisors for their dedication in accompanying me in the course of this journey. Prof. William A. Schabas for its insightful and always revealing comments and suggestions. Dr. Emanuele Sommario for his steadfast support
VIII Table of contents
in supervising my work and assisting me with enthusiasm and dedication in pursuing various projects and extracurricular activities. His support, perseverance and kindness in constantly backing and motivating me have represented unique and precious gifts.
Finally, but not least importantly, I would like to pay tribute to the place where most of my research has taken place: Palestine. It is impossible to capture together all those people, emotions, moments that have characterized my four years there. I can just say that in Palestine I found the despair that made me realising how my work was needed. At the same time, I found there a unique pulse of humanity and faith that made me realising how my work was worth it. For this reason I would like to thank and dedicate my thesis to all those Palestinians, Israelis and internationals that everyday, despite all the enormous obstacles, pursue in their ordinary choices of life the course of justice, human rights, humanity and mutual respect to confront a context pervaded by oppression, violence, racism, segregation and occupation. They have been one of the greatest lessons for this journey as well as a source of inspiration for the following ones.
Table of contents
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xiii
INTRODUCTION 1
1 Context and Aim of the Research 1
1.1 Research Context 1
1.2 Research Aim 2
2 Research Question, Research Overview and Research Methodology 3
2.1 Research Question 3
2.2 Research Sub-Questions 3
2.3 Research Overview 3
2.4 Research Methodology 5
1 THEORIGIN ANDEVOLUTION OFINTERNATIONALINQUIRIES: A HISTORICAL
OVERVIEW 7
1.1 Introduction 7
1.2 Commissions of Inquiry: A Historical Overview of the Practice 10 1.2.1 An insight on traditional fact-finding: the Hague and the
League of Nations inquiries (1899-1946) 10 1.2.2 Commissions of inquiry investigating violations of
international law in context of armed conflicts: the
pioneering experiences (1913-1943) 12
1.2.3 The role of international inquiries in the period 1945-1990 40 1.2.4 International commissions of inquiry established in the
period 1990-2016 44
1.3 Commissions of Inquiry: Institutional Instruments and
Codifications 56
1.3.1 Introduction 56
1.3.2 The Hague Conventions and the traditional fact-finding
model 57
1.3.3 Codification of fact-finding in the UN Charter 57 1.3.4 The 1991 UN General Assembly Declaration on Fact-Finding 58
1.3.5 Fact-finding in the R2P framework 60
1.3.6 Guidelines on human rights fact-finding and the 2015
OHCHR codification 62
1.3.7 The International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission 66 1.4 Defining ‘Commissions of Inquiry/Fact-finding Missions’ for the
Scope of the Comparative Thematic Analysis 71
X Table of contents
2 COMMISSIONS OFINQUIRY INTOPRACTICE: A COMPARATIVETHEMATIC
ANALYSIS OF THEMOSTRELEVANTEXPERIENCES OFCOMMISSIONS OF
INQUIRY 75
2.1 Introduction 75
2.2 The Subject Matter: Commissions of Inquiry, Fact-Finding
Missions and Other Human Rights Investigations 75
2.3 Thematic Areas Selected 76
2.4 Thematic Comparative Analysis of the Practice of Commissions of
Inquiry 76
2.4.1 Mandate 76
2.4.2 Standard of proof 85
2.4.3 Impact of cooperation/non-cooperation by the parties 91 2.4.4 Selection, collection and use of sources and evidence 105 2.4.5 Legal analysis and contribution to the development of
international law 118
2.4.6 Contribution in the areas of international criminal law and
accountability 148
3 COMMISSIONS OFINQUIRY AT THECURRENTSTAGE: IMPACT ANDWAY
AHEAD 185
3.1 Impact of Commissions of Inquiry on the Response by the
International Community 185
3.1.1 Introduction 185
3.1.2 Perspectives from which to assess impact 186 3.1.3 Impact of commissions of inquiry: an assessment of the
practice 187
3.1.4 Conclusions and lessons learnt 206
3.2 The Modern Role of Commissions of Inquiry: An Appraisal 207
3.2.1 Introduction 207
3.2.2 Evolution in the role of commissions of inquiry: main
features 208
3.2.3 The role of commissions of inquiry in modern international
law: an appraisal 209
3.2.4 The modern role of commissions of inquiry: which
legitimacy? 210
3.2.5 Concluding remarks 212
3.3 Modern Commissions of Inquiry: Between Challenges, Lessons
Learnt and Way Forward 212
3.3.1 Challenge 1: lack of institutionalisation, guidelines, harmonisation and controversies around commissions of
inquiry’s nature and discipline 213
3.3.2 Challenge 2: interplay of political and technical dimensions in the commissions of inquiry’s life cycle: the risk to
produce short circuits 217
3.3.3 Challenge 3: the interaction of commissions of inquiry with
international tribunals 220
Table of contents XI
4 CONCLUSIONS 225
SUMMARY 227
SAMENVATTING(DUTCH SUMMARY) 231
BIBLIOGRAPHY 235
CURRICULUM VITAE 251
List of abbreviations
CAR Central African Republic
CHR United Nations Commission on Human Rights DRC Democratic Republic of the Congo
ECCC Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia ECOSOC United Nations Economic and Social Council
EU European Union
HRC United Nations Human Rights Council ICC International Criminal Court
ICJ International Court of Justice ICL International Criminal Law
ICRC International Committee for the Red Cross ICTR International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
ICTY International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia IDF Israeli Defense Forces
IHFFC International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission IHL International Humanitarian Law
IHRL International Human Rights Law
IIFFMCG International Independent Fact-Finding Mission on the Conflict in Georgia
ILO International Labour Organisation IS/ISIS Islamic State
JRR Justice Rapid Response
LTTE Liberation Tigers for Tamil Eelam MSF Médicins Sans Frontières
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
OHCHR United Nations Office for the High Commissioner on Human Rights
OPT Occupied Palestinian Territory OTP ICC Office of the Prosecutor PNA Palestinian National Authority R2P Responsibility to Protect
UN United Nations
UNGA United Nations General Assembly UNSC United Nations Security Council UNSG United Nations Secretary General UNWCC United Nations War Crimes Commission
UNTAET United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor
US United States
