Today, the International Criminal Court's (ICC) first trial was completed with the sentencing of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo to fourteen years in prison.  Lubanga, of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was found guilty by the Court in March of conscripting child soldiers for use in battle.

This first sentencing is certainly a landmark moment for the ICC.  It's good to see the Court complete a trial and ensure that a vicious warlord will be put away, though it's a bit disheartening to see the length of the sentence is shorter than what the ICC Prosecutor had recommended.  The prosecution had asked for Lubanga to serve 30 years for his crimes.  His sentence is further reduced because the six years he's been in custody will count toward his incarceration, so he will only serve an additional eight years (with the possibility of getting out even sooner due to good behavior).

With all that said, I'm still happy to see some measure of justice done in today's sentencing of Lubanga.  I'm proud to see the ICC reach this milestone moment, and I hope this sentence brings some measure of peace to Lubanga's victims and their families.  I look forward to a future in which the Court succeeds in putting many other war criminals behind bars where they belong.

The Rio+20 summit, intended to develop a global sustainable development agenda, concluded last week.   In the words of author Gwynne Dyer, "rarely has such a large elephant laboured so long to give birth to such a small mouse."  150 world leaders were unwilling and incapable of creating substantive reforms to reduce greenhouse gas emissions because of a lack of political will and competing economic interests.  The United Nations, the G-8, G-20, and other major multinational conferences suffer from many of the same ills.  This begs the question, what is the alternative?

Nonetheless, the past few months were busy for the world's major international institutions.  The International Criminal Court, which is about to celebrate its tenth anniversary, convicted Thomas Lubanga in March marking a major milestone for the international justice community.  However, others have not been so successful.  The United Nations is struggling to resolve the fifteen-month long crisis in Syria that has killed more than 10,000 people.   The most recent G-20 summit also recently concluded in Mexico producing piecemeal economic recovery efforts and meaningless statements about violence in Syria.

Four staffers of the International Criminal Court (ICC) were detained in Libya over the weekend after meeting with Saif Gaddafi, son of the deposed dictator, who has been indicted by the Court.  An ICC team is currently working to secure their release.

ICC President Song has called for the release of the staffers, noting that "These four international civil servants have immunity when on an official ICC mission."

Australian ICC lawyer Melinda Taylor was found carrying documents for Gaddafi that were considered "suspicious" by the Libyan authorities. She and her fellow ICC staff were put under house arrest in the town of Zintan and have been ordered to be held in detention for 45 days.

This latest drama comes as the ICC and Libya remain engaged in a broader tug-of-war over where the younger Gaddafi should be tried.  The Libya situation was referred to the ICC last spring by the U.N. Security Council, and the ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Gaddafi.  The new Libyan government has expressed a strong desire to try Gaddafi in the country, but it is unclear that they have a sufficient judicial system set up to ensure a fair trial.

We will keep you updated as more news becomes available.

Today, hundreds gathered in Freetown, Sierra Leone to watch the sentencing of Charles Taylor, the former head of state of Liberia responsible for widespread terror amongst civilians by aiding the rebels in Sierra Leone. Taylor was found guilty of all 11 charges of War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity, and International Humanitarian Laws on April 26^th in The Hague, Netherlands.  As his 50 year prison sentence was administered concluding the almost four-year-long trial, many victims of the terror in Sierra Leone were relieved to know Taylor will be locked up. The trial of Charles Taylor is not simply a victory for the international court systems and those victimized by the rebels aided by Taylor, it is a message to the rest of the world that the international justice system is prepared to hold all parties responsible for breaches of human rights.

 Taylor will serve his sentence in a British prison for aiding and abetting vast crimes against humanity by rebel forces in Sierra Leone and his personal profiting from the "blood diamonds".  The judgment and sentencing through The Special Court for Sierra Leone is a monumental step in the international court system as a former head of state has not been convicted for war crimes since the Nuremberg Trials in 1945.