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Prof. Michael Scharf

Mr. Michael Scharf
Dean and Professor of Law
Director of the Frederick K. Cox
International Law Center
Case Western Reserve University
School of Law

Biography Biography in PDF
Criminal Law and Procedure
Criminal Procedure
Maintaining Control of War Crimes Trials
Former leaders and their counsel in war crimes trials are especially likely to engage in disruptive behavior in an attempt to derail the proceedings, hoping for a negotiated solution outside the courtroom; to hijack the televised proceedings, hoping to transform themselves through political speeches into martyrs in the eyes of their followers; and to discredit the tribunal by provoking the judges into inappropriately harsh responses which will make the process appear unfair. Drawing from the experience of recent war crimes trials, this lecture provides guidance to jurists on how to maintain control of their courtroom while respecting the rights of the defendant.

Video | Audio
(25/10/2007, 40 minutes)
Criminal Law and Procedure
Criminal Procedure
Maintaining Control of War Crimes Trials
Outline of Lecture PDF document (168 KB)
A. Legal Instruments

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, New York, 16 December 1966, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 999, p. 171.

Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Report of the Secretary-General pursuant to paragraph 2 of Security Council resolution 808 (1993) (S/25704), 3 May 1993.

Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Security Council resolution 955 (1994) of 8 November 1994.

Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Rome, 17 July 1998, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2187, p. 3.
B. Jurisprudence
International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Prosecutor v. Seselj, Decision of 9 May 2003 on the Prosecution’s Motion for Order Appointing Counsel to Assist Vojislav Seselj with his Defence, Trial Chamber II, IT-03-67-PT, in particular para. 20.
C. Documents
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Rules of Procedure and Evidence.
D. Doctrine

M. Scharf, “Amnesty”, in D. Shelton (ed.), Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes against Humanity, 2004, MacMillan Library Reference, Framington Hills, pp. 31-36.

M. Scharf, “Can this Man Get a Fair Trial”,The Washington Post,19 December 2004.

M. Scharf, “Chaos in the Courtroom, Controlling Disruptive Defendants and Contumacious Counsel in War Crimes Trials”, Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law, vol. 39, 2007, pp. 155-170.

M. Scharf, “From the eXile Files: An Essay on Trading Justice for Peace”, Washington and Lee Law Review, vol. 63, 2006, pp. 339-376. 

M. Scharf, “Is it International Enough: The Iraqi Special Tribunal in Light of the Goals of International Justice”, Journal of International Criminal Justice, vol. 2, 2004, pp. 130-338.

M. Scharf, “Jostling Over Justice”, Foreign Policy Magazine,May/June 2006.

M. Scharf, “Making a Spectacle of Himself, Milosevic Wants a Stage, Not the Right to Provide His Own Defense”,The Washington Post,29 August 2004.

M. Scharf, “Order in the Court, Iraqi Style”, The Boston Globe, 25 December 2005.

M. Scharf, “Saddam Hussein on Trial: What Went Awry?”, Journal of International Criminal Justice, Oxford University Press, vol. 5, 2007, pp. 258-270.

M. Scharf, “Self-Representation versus Assignment of Defense Counsel before International Criminal Tribunals”, Journal of International Criminal Justice, vol. 4, 2006, pp. 31-46, 2006.

M. Scharf, “The Amnesty Exception to the Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court”, Cornell International Law Journal, vol. 32, 1999, pp. 507-527.

M. Scharf, “The Functions of Justice and Anti-Justice in the Peace building Process”, Case Western Reserve University Journal of International Law, vol. 35, 2004, pp. 161-190.

M. Scharf, “The Legacy of the Milosevic Trial”, in E. M. Milde, Bringing Power to Justice?, 2006, McGill-Queen's University Press, Monteal, pp. 25-46.

M. Scharf, “The Legacy of the Milosevic Trial”, New England Law Review, vol. 37, 2003, p. 915.

M. Scharf, “The Perils of Permitting Self-Representation in International War Crimes Trials”, Journal of Human Rights, vol.4, 2005, pp. 513-520.

M. Scharf, “Trading Justice for Peace: The Contemporary Law and Policy Debate”, in E. Hughes, W. Schabas and R.C. Thakur, Atrocities and International Accountability: Beyond Transitional Justice, 2007, United Nations University Press, New York, pp. 246-274.

M. Scharf, “Will Saddam Hussein Get a Fair Trial”, Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law, vol. 37, 2005, pp. 21-40.

M. Scharf, Balkan Justice: The Story behind the First International War Crimes Trial since Nuremberg, Carolina Academic Press, Durham, 1997.

M. Scharf and A. Kang, “Avoiding Errors and Missteps: What the Iraqi Special Tribunal Can Learn from the Experience of the ICTY, ICTR and SCSL”, Cornell International Law Journal, vol.38 (3), 2005, pp. 911-947.

M. Scharf and C. Rassi, “Do Former Leaders Have an International Right to Self-Representation in War Crimes Trials”, Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, vol. 20, 2005, pp. 1-42.

M. Scharf and G. McNeal, Saddam on Trial: Understanding and Debating the Iraqi High Tribunal, Carolina Academic Press, Durham, 2006.

M. Scharf and M. Newton, Enemy of the State: the Trial and Execution of Saddam Hussein, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 2008.

M. Scharf and P. Williams, Peace with Justice? War Crimes and Accountability in the Former Yugoslavia, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, 2002.

M. Scharf and V. Morris, an Insider's Guide to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Transnational Publishers, New York, 1995.

M. Scharf and V. Morris, The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Transnational Publishers, New York, 1998.

M. Scharf and W. Schabas, Slobodan Milosevic on Trial: A Companion, Continuum Press, New York, 2002.