Events
1. Monash Law School’s 18th Lucinda Lecture
“Interpreting the Constitution – Words, History and Change” The Honourable Robert French AC Chief Justice of The High Court of Australia
| Venue: | Building 08/R5 Monash University, Clayton Campus | |
| Date: | Tuesday 20 September, 2011 | |
| Time: | 1.00 pm – 2.00 pm | |
| RSVP: | by Friday 9 September, 2011 law-marketing@monash.edu or (03) 9905 2630 |
For further information please see Lucinda lecture
2. The Success and Challenges of Transitional Justice in Sierra Leone
Date: Monday 26 September, 2011
Time: 6.00pm – 7.30pm
Venue: Monash University Law Chambers, 555 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
RSVP: castan.centre@monash.edu or (03) 9905 3327
Full details: http://www.law.monash.edu.au/castancentre/events/2011/sierra-leone.html
Sierra Leone, a country that experienced ten years of one of the most brutish civil wars between 1991 and 2002, can offer answers at least to some of the myriad of accountability questions raised in transitional justice arena. Sierra Leone essentially established two institutions: a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (SLTRC) and the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). The SLTRC assembled together under single roofs many perpetrators of atrocities during the war and victims of the same war, as well as those who could have created the sociological, political and economic environment that led to the war in the first place. The SCSL is a unique hybrid tribunal of local and international law, established to indict, prosecute, and convict those who bear ‘greatest responsibility for war crimes’ committed within the country during the period of the Sierra Leonean civil war. This presentation will look at the political, sociological as well as legal successes and challenges of the SLTRC and SCSL, discussing the ramifications of setting up those two mechanisms simultaneously and the financial implication of setting up the court.
Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai is a lawyer by profession, whose only brother was abducted and killed by rebel forces when Sierra Leone exploded into civil law. In 2003, he established The Society for Democratic Initiatives (SDI) in Sierra Leone, a non-government organization working to entrench democratic governance and to protect and promote human rights. SDI plays a critical role towards democratic development in Sierra Leone given issues arising in the wake of a one-party governing system and a decade long civil war. Although the war officially ended in February 2002, socio-economic progress remains extraordinarily difficult to achieve in a political climate of corruption, harassment, violence and intimidation. Good governance by leaders with the interests of the common people at heart is the key to progress, and SDI’s unflinching commitment to this goal increases the prospect that history does not ever repeat itself.
During Sierra Leone’s transition, Emmanuel worked at both the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
The Victorian Bar kindly acknowledge Travel Bar who have sponsored Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai’s travel to Australia
NB: If this particular educational activity is relevant to your immediate or long term needs in relation to your professional development and practice of the law, then you should claim one ‘unit’ for each hour of attendance.