Child soldiers in international courtrooms: unqualified perpetrators, erratic witnesses and irreparable victims?

Barbora Holá, Thijs Bouwknegt

Research output: Chapter in Book / Report / Conference proceedingChapterAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

International criminal trials deal with perpetrators and victims of mass atrocity crimes. Child soldiers have appeared in international courtrooms as perpetrators, witnesses and victims. However, these various encounters were often inappropriate, uncomfortable and uneasy. This chapter provides a comprehensive analysis of child soldiers in international courtrooms, focusing on the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the International Criminal Court. It analyses trials with and about child soldiers, describes applicable legal rules, discusses existing practices and identifies core challenges. The chapter unpacks an empirically grounded overview of law’s encounters with child soldiers and then normatively problematizes that encounter. In both international and internationalized courtrooms, child soldiers have been characterized as unqualified perpetrators, erratic witnesses and irreparable victims.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationResearch Handbook on Child Soldiers
EditorsMark A. Drumble, Jastine C. Barrett
PublisherEdward Elgar Publishing, Incorporated
Chapter16
Pages350-373
Number of pages24
ISBN (Electronic)9781788114486
ISBN (Print)9781788114479
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Publication series

NameResearch Handbooks in International law series
PublisherEdward Elgar Publ.

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