Former Liberian president Charles Taylor will face 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity on June 4, accused of arming and supporting a rebel group responsible for horrendous atrocities including the murder, rape, mutilation and forced child labor of tens of thousands of people during the Sierra Leone civil war.
Vanderbilt University acting associate professor of law, Michael Newton, is an expert on the trial and war crimes laws.
Newton served as the United States representative on the United Nations Planning Mission for the Sierra Leone Special Court and was also a member of the Special Court academic consortium.
Newton served in the Office of War Crimes Issues at the U.S. Department of State. He negotiated the Elements of Crimes document for the International Criminal Court; coordinated the interface between the FBI and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia; and deployed into Kosovo to do forensics fieldwork to support the Milosevic indictment.
Newton also helped establish the Iraqi Special Tribunal and led the training in international criminal law for its judges, including holding sessions in Baghdad. He still advises the tribunal and is part of the academic consortium supporting it.
Prior to his retirement from active duty, Newton was senior adviser to the U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues, where he implemented a wide range of policies relating to international criminal law and the law of armed conflict. He was one of two U.S. delegates negotiating the “Elements of Crimes” document for the International Criminal Court. Newton is also a member of the International Institute of Humanitarian Law.
Media Contact: Amy Wolf, (615) 322-NEWS
Amy.wolf@vanderbilt.edu