Current Developments at the Ad Hoc International Criminal Tribunals

The Trial Chamber1 in Bikindi2 confirmed that there is a right to freedom of expression under customary international law, but that it is not absolute.3 There is a ‘discernable hierarchy of expression’, where expressions ‘unequivocally’ of a criminal nature should be sanctioned as such, even though hate speech is not criminalized per se.4 ‘Prohibited expression can take different forms including incitement to hatred alone, to discrimination, or to violence.’5 Artistic expression, including songs, may constitute prohibited speech because a song's lyrics are comparable legally to words used in speech.6 Also, depending on the message conveyed, songs may constitute direct and public incitement to commit genocide.7 The Trial Chamber8 in Nchamihigo9 held that the political group of ‘Hutu political opponents’ could not be considered a ‘protected group’ under the Genocide Convention because this only covers national, ethnic, racial or religious groups.10 However, the killing of Hutu political opponents does not preclude the killing of Tutsis from constituting genocide.11

Commit · Criminology · Freedom of expression · Genocide · Hatred · Human rights · Incitement · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · International Law and Human Rights · Law