Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T20:02:00.307Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

10 - Charles Taylor Inc.: Lessons from the Trial of a President, Businessman and Warlord

from Part IV - Where Should the Buck Stop?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2020

Nina H. B. Jørgensen
Affiliation:
University of Southampton
Get access

Summary

Charles Taylor was President of Liberia between 1997 and 2003, trader in arms, timber and minerals and initiator of the first phase of the Liberian civil war. He is currently serving a fifty year prison sentence for his involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity during the armed conflict in Sierra Leone. This chapter examines how the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) established the linkage between Taylor as a high level economic actor in Liberia and international crimes in neighbouring Sierra Leone through modes of liability, in particular aiding and abetting. Further, in view of Taylor's position as head of State for most of the period covered by the SCSL indictment and the nature of groups such as the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), issues of State and organizational responsibility are addressed, including the reasons for prioritising individual criminal responsibility. Finally, the chapter considers the findings and recommendations of the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission concerning the role of economic actors and economic activities in contributing to, and benefiting from the armed conflict in Liberia.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×