The North Star Project, 2013 Summer Report Number Nineteen, The Hague, The Netherlands — United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

The North Star Project, 2013 Summer Report Number Nineteen, The Hague, The Netherlands — United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

By Ethan Scrivner
The Hague, The Netherlands — United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia Report #3

The UN launched the Hague branch of the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT) this week. The MICT was established by the UN Security Council to carry on some of the basic functions of the ICTY and ICTR once the mandates of those tribunals expire. Arrests of remaining fugitives sought by the ICTR, appeals, and reviews of judgments are all things that will be handled by the MICT. The trials of accused war criminals will still be handled in the same way, applying principles of international law established by the existing tribunals and other bodies such as the International Criminal Court.

Radovan Karadzic, who is currently on trial for on a number of charges, including genocide, has already filed a motion for dismissal of his case as a result of the launch of the MICT. The basis for this motion is an argument that the MICT, established by the Security Council under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, is not a legitimate institution because it is not necessary for the protection of international peace and security. He further argues that because the MICT is illegitimate, its establishment deprives him of a forum in which to bring an appeal after his trial ends. The motion is very unlikely to be successful but demonstrates some of the issues that will arise as the caseload is transferred from the original tribunals to the MICT.

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The North Star Project: Collaboration between The Middle Ground Journal Student Interns, The College of St. Scholastica, and North Star Academy 8th Grade Global Studies Classes, 2013-2014 School Year Summer Reports.

Under the leadership of our North Star host teachers and student interns, The North Star Project has flourished for two years. For a brief summary, please see a recent article in the American Historical Association’s Perspectives on History, at:

http://www.historians.org/perspectives/issues/2013/1305/Opening-The-Middle-Ground-Journal.cfm

This summer we will re-tool and re-design the collaborative program, drawing on the experience of our veteran student interns, ideas from our host teachers, and new projects provided by our incoming student interns. This summer The Middle Ground Journal will share brief dispatches from our North Star Project student interns, particularly from those who are currently stationed, or will soon be stationed abroad. As of the time of this report we have confirmed student interns who will be reporting from Mongolia, Southern China, Shanghai, northeastern China, The Netherlands, Tanzania, Ireland, England, Finland, Russia, and Haiti. We also have students developing presentations on theatrical representations of historical trauma, historical memory, the price individuals pay during tragic global conflicts, and different perceptions of current events from around the world. We will post their brief dispatches here throughout the summer, and report on their interactions with the North Star students and teachers throughout the school year.

Hong-Ming Liang, Chief Editor, The Middle Ground Journal, The College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, MN, USA, June, 2013

(c) 2013 The Middle Ground Journal, Number 6, Spring, 2013. See Submission Guidelines page for the journal’s not-for-profit educational open-access policy.