Details

Vorträge:

Prof. H. Harry L. Roque Jr., University of the Philippines College of Law:

"Criminal Nature of Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances under International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law"

Prof. Ibarra M. Gutierrez III, Director Institute of Human Rights, University of the Philippines Law Center:

"Characterization of Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearences under International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law"

Dean Merlin M. Magallona, University of the Philippines Law Center:

"Command Responsibility as Applied in the Philippine Context"

Prof. Zhu Wenqi, Renmin University, Beijing/China:

"Jurisprudence from the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia ICTY, Command Responsibility and Immunities of Heads of State under International Law"

Jürgen Assmann, prosecutor in Hamburg/Germany:

"Principles governing Investigation and Prosecution Procedures in Germany"

Dr. Ben Molino, FIND:

"The Forensics of Impunity"

The training course was primary addressed at prosecutors, who are concerned in these extrajudicial, i.e. illegal, killings in their daily work. They are the persons to identify and prosecute a killing as such an illegal one.

But also representatives of Human Rights Organizations took part in the course, because these organizations have got a special interest in the clarification and prosecution of the killings.

Prof. Harry L. Roque, from the University of the Philippines/College of Law, started the course with a general overview about the problem of extrajudicial killings. He pointed out, that these killings also belong to the domain of public international law. He continued with an excursus of the nature of public international law and humanitarian law, which expounded the position of the international law in comparison to the domestic law. Especially the subjection of the states to the international treaties was underlined.

Because of the erga omnes effect of the prohibition of killings, the international law can fill loopholes in cases the domestic law isn’t sufficient. That’s why the knowledge of the international law by the prosecutors is of such a high importance.

The next speaker was Hon. Cecilia Rachel V. Quisumbing, Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights. She gave a view to the killings by the aspects of Human Rights.

Apart from the extrajudicial killings the problem of enforced disappearances was presented. In particular, the impact of the bereaved family was submitted to the term of torture. Commissioner Quisumbing referred to the obligation of states to hold responsible for violations of principles of law.

Prof. Ibarra M. Gutierrez also emphasizes the state responsibility in his lecture.

He showed case studies of executed extrajudicial killings, by which he pointed out the typical signs of these killings.

Prof. Merlin M. Magallona set the main point of his lecture to the command responsibility. He disposed to the participants a list of elements, which have to be proofed to allow the prosecution of the responsible persons.

Prof. Zhu, former prosecutor of the ICTY/ICTR also linked to this point afterwards.

He gave an impression of his work and pointed out the circumstances under which it has been possible to prosecute the commanders of the genocides.

At last the participants got an introduction in the forensic jurisprudence by Dr. Ben Molino of FIND.

He showed by means of his work which particularities have to be observed in the locations where the victims are found, and which details hint to the point that an extrajudicial killing had taken place.

At the end of the course the participants get the chance to proof their adopted knowledge by the solution of own cases in working groups.