Organisation of the Courts

On the 25 th October 1999, the Security Council of the United Nations adopted Resolution 1272, whereby it was decided to create a United Nations Transitional Administration of East Timor (UNTAET) to which will be entrusted overall responsibility for the administration of East Timor, and which will be competent to exercise all legislative and executive functions, including the administration of justice.

By regulation 2000/11 of the 6th March 2000, UNTAET created a judicial system, based on international norms concerning the administration of justice. Article 10 of the ruling conferred jurisdiction to the Dili District Tribunal to prosecute the following crimes:

• Genocide
• War Crimes
• Crimes Agains Humanity
• Murder
• Sexual Offences
• Torture

In accordance with article 10.3 of the UNTAET Regulation 2000/11 and article 1.1 of the Regulation 2000/15, a special judicial mechanism was added to the District Court of Dili. In addition, and in conformity with the dispositions of the above Regulations, another judicial mechanism was added to the Court of Appeals of Dili to hear and decide on appeals lodged against the judgements handed down by the Trial Chamber. Together, both these mechanisms are known under the name of the “Special Panels for Serious Crimes”.

Composition

In accordance with articles22.1 and 22.2 of UNTAET Regulation 2001/15 these two panels (the Trial Chamber and Appeals Court), are composed of two international judges and one East Timorese judge. However, in certain cases of special importance or gravity, article 22.2 allows for 3 international judges and 2 East Timorese judges to sit in the Court of Appeal in Dili.

According to the dispositions of Regulation 2000/16 dated 6 June 2000 (article 14), the prosecution is led by the Deputy General Prosecutor for Serious Crimes who reports functionally to the Prosecutor-General of Timor Leste. The former is in charge of the Serious Crimes Unit (SCU), responsible for conducting investigations and preparing indictments of those responsible for serious violations of Human Rights committed in East Timor in 1999. The SCU mandate ended in 2005.

Jurisdiction

In accordance with Regulation (2000/15) establishing the Special Panels, they have “exclusive jurisdiction” to judge serious human rights violations committed during the conflict in East Timor. At any stage of the proceedings, in relation to cases of such serious criminal offences, a panel may have deferred to itself a case which is pending before another panel or court in East Timor.

Violations such as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, murder, sexual offences and torture are all included in detail. Regulation 2000/15 defines more specifically, in articles 5 and 9, the applicable legal basis when considering such violations. Whereas the definition of acts of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and torture are all based on internationally recognised definitions, sexual aggression, and murder have their legal basis in the laws applicable under the Timorese criminal code.

The exclusive jurisdiction of the Special Panels applies only insofar as the offence was committed in the period between 1 January 1999 and 25 October 1999 and covers sexual offences, murder and torture. All other crimes over which they have jurisdiction are not subject to such period constraint.

By virtue of article 2.2 of Regulation 2000/15, the crimes in question must have been committed within the territory of East Timor and must have been committed by an East Timorese citizen or against a citizen of East Timor in order to come under the jurisdiction of the Special Panels.