The Day After. Prosecuting International Crimes Committed in Libya

In 2011, Libya was a theatre of atrocious crimes. Ensuring that those involveddo not go unpunished is now a major challenge for the new Libyan Governmentand the international community. The first part of this article surveys the crimesagainst humanity and war crimes that were reportedly committed by both theGaddafi forces and the insurgents. It also considers the NATO air strikes whichresulted in civilian casualties or damage to civilian objects and might amount towar crimes. The second part of the article discusses the available mechanisms forprosecuting the aforementioned crimes. Firstly, the Security Council referral of theLibyan situation to the International Criminal Court and its limitations are examined,and subsequent developments are explored, including the arrest warrants againstMuammar Gaddafi, his son Saif Al-Islam and Al-Senussi, their capture and Libya’sadmissibility challenge of 1 May 2012. Secondly, the article considers the prospectsfor national proceedings against the alleged criminals. The author arguesthat proceedings before Libyan courts are the only practically available optionto ensure the punishment of the bulk of perpetrators. She also emphasises the importanceof investigations and prosecutions being given equal weighting, whetherthey are of Gaddafi loyalists or revolutionaries.