Center for Justice and Accountability
Encyclopedia
The Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) is a non-profit international human rights organization based in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1998, CJA represents survivors of torture and other grave human rights abuses in cases against individual rights violators before U.S. and Spanish courts. CJA has pioneered the use of civil litigation in the United States as a means of redress for survivors from around the world.
and the rule of law
. Often, the impact of CJA's casework extends beyond redress for the immediate plaintiffs and can serve as a catalyst for transitional justice
movements abroad. While CJA works to close off the United States as a safe haven for violators of human rights, the organization also supports efforts to prosecute violators in national courts around the world.
In August 1998, The Center for Justice & Accountability filed its first case, Mehinovic v. Vuckovic, on behalf of a Bosnian
torture and detention camp survivor. Since then, CJA has pursued an extensive docket of human rights cases, winning favorable verdicts in all cases that have gone to trial. As of early 2009, CJA has filed high profile cases against the following former military or political leaders who were responsible for systematic human rights abuses:
In recognition of its accomplishments, CJA was awarded the Third Thomas J. Dodd Prize in International Justice and Human Rights
on October 1, 2007. The Dodd Prize is awarded biannually by the University of Connecticut
to an individual or group who has made a significant effort to advance the cause of international justice and global human rights.
(ATS) (also known as the Alien Tort Claims Act) and the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA). These statutes grant U.S. courts jurisdiction
to hear civil actions filed against perpetrators of gross human rights violations, even when those violations took place overseas.
Since the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal
's landmark 1980 decision in Filartiga v. Pena-Irala
, this class of civil action has opened up U.S. federal courts to the implementation of international law and human rights safeguards:
The authors of International Human Rights Litigation in U.S. Courts—the authoritative manual for ATS and TVPA litigation—echo the Filartiga ruling:
Legal scholar Beth van Schaack has argued that these broader objectives place human rights litigation in line with the public impact litigation model pioneered by the American civil rights movement. Both strategies aim to effect systemic social change through the legal process. In the majority of CJA's cases however, the primary focus remains on direct client advocacy: the needs of a client take first priority, while a case's broader impact remains a second order effect. (cf. "With All Deliberate Speed: Civil Human Rights Litigation as Tool for Social Change")
Underpinning CJA's mission is the principle of universal jurisdiction
. With roots in the ancient body of law related to piracy and slave-traders, this doctrine of international law
holds that certain crimes are so egregious that the perpetrators may be held accountable wherever they are found. Since the Nuremberg Trials
of 1945-49, modern jurisprudence has extended the doctrine to encompass the following crimes: genocide
, crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture.
In 2001, the Princeton Principles on Universal Jurisdiction, defined universal jurisdiction as:
CJA has drawn on the principle of universal jurisdiction to try cases in U.S courts and before the Spanish National Court. Since the 1998 prosecution of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, Spain has adopted universal jurisdiction over cases of severe violations of international human rights law. CJA has initiated criminal investigations with the Spanish court to prosecute human rights abuses in Guatemala
and El Salvador
.
In a July 18, 2006 interview, CJA executive director, Pamela Merchant, made clear the connection between ATS litigation and broader universal jurisdiction efforts:
Proponents of universal jurisdiction assert that real deterrence cannot be achieved until military and government officials are aware that they can be held individually accountable, not just for committing abuses, but for their failure to take reasonable action to stop others under their command from committing abuses. This claim is derived from the principle of command responsibility
, the doctrine of complicity which provided the legal foundation for the Nuremberg Trials
against senior Nazi war criminals. The command responsibility doctrine was enshrined in U.S. law by the U.S. Supreme Court
decision In Re Yamashita (1946). Command responsibility is now an established theory of liability, thanks in part to the body of case law
that has developed around CJA's litigation and the casework of other organizations pursuing similar strategies, notably the Center for Constitutional Rights
and EarthRights International.
denotes the process by which societies address the crimes of prior regimes as they move from a period of violent conflict or oppression toward peace, democracy and the rule of law. Drawing on a broad palette of mechanisms—from truth commissions, civil actions and criminal tribunals to works of public art devoted to historical memory--transitional justice has become an important means to build civil society
in post-conflict situations.
)
This case was filed on behalf of Bosnian Muslims tortured by a Bosnian Serb soldier at a detention camp in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The charges included torture; crimes against humanity; arbitrary detention
; cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment
; war crimes; and genocide.
In 2002, the U.S District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
held Vuckovic liable and awarded each plaintiff $10 million in compensatory damages and $25 million each in punitive damages
.
's "Caravan of Death
")
In 2001, CJ filed a case against Armando Fernández Larios, an operative of the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and officer in the notorious "Caravan of Death", a Chilean military delegation believed to have killed more than 70 civilians during a journey by helicopter 1973.
In 2003, a Florida jury found Fernández Larios responsible for torture and murder and awarded the plaintiffs four million dollars in damages. The trial marks the first time that any Pinochet operative has been tried in the United States for their role in human rights abuses committed in Chile, as well as the first jury verdict for crimes against humanity in the United States.
In February 2002, CJA filed a civil action against the Liu Qi — Mayor of Beijing
and head of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Committee
. The suit alleged that Qi had authority over police forces in Beijing who had carried out brutal repressive measures against Falun Gong
practitioners.
In 2004, Judge Claudia Wilken issued a default judgment against Liu Qi for his role in the torture of Falun Gong practitioners.
Filed in 1999, the case charged Generals José Guillermo García and Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova with liability for torture. The generals both served as former Ministers of Defense.
In 2002, a West Palm Beach, Florida jury found the generals responsible for the torture of the three plaintiffs. In January 2006, the 11th Circuit court upheld the $54.6 million jury verdict on appeal and in July 2006, Defendant Vides Casanova was forced to relinquish over $300,000 of his own assets.
Doe v. Saravia (Assassination of Archbishop Óscar Romero
)
The March 24, 1980 assassination of Salvadoran Archbishop Óscar Romero — a revered human rights defender — was arguably the most infamous political murder in 20th century Latin America. Yet for years, one of the perpetrators of this crime, Alvaro Saravia, lived freely in Modesto, California.
In 2003, CJA filed a suit against Saravia alleging that he procured weapons and vehicles to assist in the assassination, provided his personal driver to transport the assassin to and from the chapel where Romero was shot and paid the assassin for his deed.
In September 2004, Judge Oliver Wanger declared that the assassination was a crime against humanity and ordered Saravia to pay $10 million to the plaintiff, a relative of the Archbishop.
Chavez v. Carranza (Salvadoran Civil War crimes)
Filed on December 10, 2003, the suit aimed to hold Colonel Carranza responsible for human rights abuses committed in El Salvador.
In 2005, a Memphis federal jury found Colonel Nicolás Carranza, the former Vice-Minister of Defense of El Salvador, liable for overseeing torture and extrajudicial killings and ordered him to pay $6 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
Jesuits Massacre case
In 2008, CJA filed a criminal case in Spain against senior former Salvadoran military officials for their role in the 1989 Jesuits Massacre, in which six Jesuit Priests, their housekeeper and her daughter, were killed at the Universidad Centroamericana ¨José Simeon Cañas¨ (UCA) in El Salvador. On January 13, 2009, the 14 officers and soldiers named in the case were formally charged with crimes against humanity and state terrorism.
In 2004, CJA joined a criminal complaint filed in 1999 by Nobel Laureate Rigoberta Menchú Tum and others charging former President Efraín Ríos Montt and other senior Guatemalan officials with state terrorism
, genocide and systematic torture during a campaign against the Mayan community which claimed over 200,000 lives. In 2006, a new legal team led by CJA began working with attorneys from Guatemala, the Netherlands, Spain and the U.S. to develop evidence on the Mayan genocide. As of 2009, CJA international staff attorney, Almudena Bernabeu is lead counsel for the plaintiffs.
In 2003, CJA filed U.S. state and federal cases against Colonel Carl Dorélien—a Haitian officer who held command responsibility for the April 22, 1994 massacre in a pro-democracy neighborhood in Gonaïves
and for the torture of the union activist Lexius Cajuste
Dorélien's presence in the United States became widely-known when he won $3.2 million in the Florida lottery in 1997.
In 2007, a Miami federal jury found Colonel Carl Dorélien liable for abuses and ordered him to pay $4.3 million. In a separate state court action, a landmark $580,000 was recovered for Haitian massacre survivors. In May 2008, over $400,000 was distributed to the Raboteau victims.
Doe v. Constant (Death squads and violence against women
)
CJA represents three Haitian women in a lawsuit against Emmanuel "Toto" Constant for his participation in a range of human rights abuses committed in 1993–1994. On October 25, 2006, U.S. District Court Judge Sidney H. Stein of the Southern District of New York ordered Constant to pay $19 million in damages to CJA's clients.
In a separate criminal trial, Constant was sentenced on October 28, 2008 to 12 to 37 years in prison for his role in a criminal mortgage fraud scheme in New York. CJA's investigation of Constant contributed to this conviction.
)
In July, 2002 CJA filed a lawsuit against former military intelligence chief Lt. Col. Juan López Grijalba, who had command responsibility for the abduction, torture, and extrajudicial killing of the plaintiffs and plaintiffs’ family-members. Having settled in the United States, López Grijalba was deported back to Honduras in 2004.
On March 31, 2006, a Florida judge held Colonel Grijalba responsible for abuses and ordered him to pay $47 million to six survivors and relatives of the disappeared.
Later in 2006, the Attorney General of Honduras approached CJA to assist in a criminal prosecution of López Grijalba based on evidence produced in the U.S. civil case. To initiate the prosecution, CJA trained 80 Honduran prosecutors on bringing successful human rights cases in national courts in December 2007.
)
CJA and the Center for Constitutional Rights
filed a lawsuit against General Johny Lumintang for abuses committed by the Indonesian military during the violent aftermath of the September 1999 independence referendum. Lumintang was served with the complaint while in transit at Dulles International Airport. In September 2001, he failed to appear in the case and District Judge Gladys Kessler
found in favor of the survivors, awarding them $66 million in damages.
On November 9, 2004, District Judge Gladys Kessler granted Lumintang's motion to vacate
the default judgment, holding that service of the complaint and summons at Dulles Airport in Fairfax, Virginia
did not give the District of Columbia district court jurisdiction over Lumintang.
I)
In 2007, CJA filed suit against Major Telmo Hurtado Hurtado and Juan Rivera Rondón, who planned and executed a massacre of 69 civilians in the village of Accomarca, in the Ayacucho
department of Peru
on August 14, 1985.
On March 4, 2008 a federal court judge in Miami ordered Major Hurtado to pay $37 million in damages.
Ochoa Lizarbe v. Rivera Rondón (The Accomarca Massacre
II)
In a related case, CJA and pro bono co-counsel Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP filed a lawsuit on July 11, 2007 in a Maryland
federal district court against Rivera Rondón, a Peruvian former army lieutenant, for his role in the Accomarca Massacre.
Rivera Rondón immigrated to the U.S. in the early 1990s. Following a criminal conviction on a separate offence, Rondón was deported from the U.S. on August 15, 2008, whereupon he was immediately detained by Peruvian authorities. CJA was instrumental in ensuring that he will be prosecuted for the crimes he committed in Accomarca in 1985.
and Widespread Repression)
In 2004, CJA filed suit against General Mohamed Ali Samantar, the former Somali Minister of Defense (1980 to 1986) and Prime Minister (1987 to 1990) under the regime of Siad Barré
. The suit alleges that Samantar bore command responsibility for a host of abuses carried out by his subordinates, including torture, extrajudicial killing and war crimes.
On April 27, 2007, Judge Brinkema of the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia dismissed the human rights lawsuit, ruling that the defendant enjoyed immunity from civil actions under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act
(FSIA).
CJA and pro bono co-counsel from Cooley Godward Kronish LLP, appealed to the 4th Circuit Court. On January 8, 2009, the 4th Circuit reversed and remanded the district court's decision.
Doe v. Ali (Clan Violence and Torture)
On November 10, 2004 CJA filed a case against Colonel Yusuf Abdi Ali (a.k.a. Tokeh), a former officer in the Somali National Army during the military dictatorship of Siad Barré. Plaintiffs in the case are members of the Isaaq clan who suffered human rights abuses committed personally by Tokeh or by soldiers under his direct command.
The trial judge has referred the case to the State Department for its opinion.
Ahmed v. Magan
On April 21, 2010, CJA filed suit against Colonel Abdi Aden Magan, former Chief of the Somali National Security Service Department of Investigations during the military dictatorship of Siad Barré, on behalf of former law professor and human rights attorney Abukar Hassan Ahmed, who suffered brutal torture under Colonel Magan's orders.
The trial judge has referred the case to the State Department for its opinion.
On July 7, 2010, CJA filed a complaint with the New York Office of the Professions on behalf of psychologist Dr. Steven Reisner against psychologist Dr. John Leso for his role in designing and implementing a system of abusive interrogations at United States Naval Station at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Extradition
CJA represents the family of Raymond Persaud, a 19-year-old medical student killed aboard Cubana Flight 455
, in the extradition request against Luis Posada Carriles. A Cuban-born former Venezuela
n intelligence agent and paid CIA operative in the covert during the 1960s, Carriles is implicated in several anti-Castro terrorist attacks including the 1976 bombing that killed Persuad along with 73 other people.
In 2005, U.S. immigration authorities detained Carriles after he illegally entered the country. Carriles received an order for deportation on September 27, 2005. However, on May 8, 2007, the seven counts of immigration fraud were dismissed by U.S. district judge Kathleen Cardone.
Eventually, a federal appeals court reversed Judge Cardone's decision on 14 August 2008. As of January 2009, the U.S. government has refused to extradite Carriles on the grounds that the immigration proceedings are still ongoing.
At the invitation of the Honduran Attorney General, CJA conducted a training session, Prosecuting Human Rights Crimes in National Courts, on December 4–6, 2007 in Tegucigalpa
, Honduras
. The training brought together 80 Honduran prosecutors with a faculty of legal practitioners from Latin America, Spain and the U.S.
The groundbreaking human rights trial
against former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori
began in December 2007 in Lima. During Fujimori's tenure (1992–2000), Peru
suffered a dramatic increase in human rights violations. CJA has entered into a co-counsel agreement with the Peruvian prosecution team and has provided assistance in litigation strategy and witness preparation.
CJA was appointed senior advisor to the Peruvian Institute of Forensic Anthropology
(EPAF). EPAF conducts exhumations and investigations of massacres, forced disappearances and other human rights abuses. EPAF's findings have been crucial to the criminal investigations ongoing in Peru and the cases before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
. EPAF has also provided important evidence on the Accomarca Massacre
to CJA for our Peru litigation.
Mission
The Center for Justice & Accountability is dedicated to ending torture and other human rights abuses while vindicating the rights of survivors to seek truth, justice and redress. Through criminal and civil litigation, CJA works to create a record of truth and refine human rights jurisprudence, while promoting the principles of universal jurisdictionUniversal jurisdiction
Universal jurisdiction or universality principle is a principle in public international law whereby states claim criminal jurisdiction over persons whose alleged crimes were committed outside the boundaries of the prosecuting state, regardless of nationality, country of residence, or any other...
and the rule of law
Rule of law
The rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
. Often, the impact of CJA's casework extends beyond redress for the immediate plaintiffs and can serve as a catalyst for transitional justice
Transitional justice
Transitional justice generally refers to a range of approaches that states may use to address past human rights violations and includes both judicial and non-judicial approaches. They include series of actions or policies and their resulting institutions, which may be enacted at a point of...
movements abroad. While CJA works to close off the United States as a safe haven for violators of human rights, the organization also supports efforts to prosecute violators in national courts around the world.
History
Bosnians
Bosnians are people who reside in, or come from, Bosnia and Herzegovina. By the modern state definition a Bosnian can be anyone who holds citizenship of the state. This includes, but is not limited to, members of the constituent ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs and...
torture and detention camp survivor. Since then, CJA has pursued an extensive docket of human rights cases, winning favorable verdicts in all cases that have gone to trial. As of early 2009, CJA has filed high profile cases against the following former military or political leaders who were responsible for systematic human rights abuses:
- Two commanders in the Peruvian military responsible for the Accomarca massacreAccomarca massacreThe Accomarca massacre occurred on August 14, 1985 in Accomarca, Ayacucho, Peru. The number of unarmed men, women and children killed has been variously reported as 47, 69 or 74.-Investigations Into the Massacre:...
- Two heads of state of GuatemalaGuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
and other senior military personnel - A member of the HaitiHaitiHaiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
an High Command - The leader of a HaitiHaitiHaiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
an death squadDeath squadA death squad is an armed military, police, insurgent, or terrorist squad that conducts extrajudicial killings, assassinations, and forced disappearances of persons as part of a war, insurgency or terror campaign... - A Vice Minister of Defense of El SalvadorEl SalvadorEl Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
- A Prime MinisterPrime ministerA prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
of SomaliaSomaliaSomalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory... - A Defense Minister of Somalia
- A HonduranHondurasHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
Chief of Military IntelligenceMilitary intelligenceMilitary intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
Thomas J. Dodd Prize in International Justice and Human Rights
The Thomas J. Dodd Prize in International Justice and Human Rights is awarded biennially by the University of Connecticut to an individual or group who has made a significant effort to advance the cause of international justice and global human rights. The Prize will be awarded again in Fall...
on October 1, 2007. The Dodd Prize is awarded biannually by the University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
to an individual or group who has made a significant effort to advance the cause of international justice and global human rights.
Civil litigation for human rights
CJA is part of a movement of legal non-governmental organizations who use civil litigation to enforce international human rights law in the U.S. CJA's litigation draws on two principal statutes: the Alien Tort StatuteAlien Tort Statute
The Alien Tort Statute ) is a section of the United States Code that reads: "The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States." This statute is notable for allowing...
(ATS) (also known as the Alien Tort Claims Act) and the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA). These statutes grant U.S. courts jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
to hear civil actions filed against perpetrators of gross human rights violations, even when those violations took place overseas.
Since the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals...
's landmark 1980 decision in Filartiga v. Pena-Irala
Filártiga v. Peña-Irala
Filártiga v. Peña-Irala, was a landmark case in United States and international law. It set the precedent for United States federal courts to punish non-American citizens for tortious acts committed outside the United States that were in violation of public international law or any treaties to...
, this class of civil action has opened up U.S. federal courts to the implementation of international law and human rights safeguards:
In the twentieth century the international community has come to recognize the common danger posed by the flagrant disregard of basic human rights. . .Among the rights universally proclaimed by all nations . . .is the right to be free of physical torture. Indeed, for purposes of civil liability, the torturer has become—like the pirate and slave trader before him—hostis humani generis, an enemy of all mankind. Our holding today…is a small but important step in the fulfillment of the ageless dream to free all people from brutal violence.
The authors of International Human Rights Litigation in U.S. Courts—the authoritative manual for ATS and TVPA litigation—echo the Filartiga ruling:
Although not a substitute for other means of holding perpetrators accountable, human rights litigation contributes to an important long-term objective: working toward a world in which those who commit gross violations of human rights are brought to justice swiftly, in whatever country they try to hide.
Legal scholar Beth van Schaack has argued that these broader objectives place human rights litigation in line with the public impact litigation model pioneered by the American civil rights movement. Both strategies aim to effect systemic social change through the legal process. In the majority of CJA's cases however, the primary focus remains on direct client advocacy: the needs of a client take first priority, while a case's broader impact remains a second order effect. (cf. "With All Deliberate Speed: Civil Human Rights Litigation as Tool for Social Change")
Universal jurisdiction
Universal jurisdiction
Universal jurisdiction or universality principle is a principle in public international law whereby states claim criminal jurisdiction over persons whose alleged crimes were committed outside the boundaries of the prosecuting state, regardless of nationality, country of residence, or any other...
. With roots in the ancient body of law related to piracy and slave-traders, this doctrine of international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
holds that certain crimes are so egregious that the perpetrators may be held accountable wherever they are found. Since the Nuremberg Trials
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
of 1945-49, modern jurisprudence has extended the doctrine to encompass the following crimes: genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
, crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture.
In 2001, the Princeton Principles on Universal Jurisdiction, defined universal jurisdiction as:
[C]riminal jurisdiction based solely on the nature of the crime, without regard to where the crime was committed, the nationality of the alleged or convicted perpetrator, the nationality of the victim, or any other connection to the state exercising such jurisdiction.
CJA has drawn on the principle of universal jurisdiction to try cases in U.S courts and before the Spanish National Court. Since the 1998 prosecution of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, Spain has adopted universal jurisdiction over cases of severe violations of international human rights law. CJA has initiated criminal investigations with the Spanish court to prosecute human rights abuses in Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
and El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
.
In a July 18, 2006 interview, CJA executive director, Pamela Merchant, made clear the connection between ATS litigation and broader universal jurisdiction efforts:
[U]niversal jurisdiction is the endgame…Here we're using the Alien Tort Statute, [elsewhere] we’re using other vehicles, but there are crimes so outrageous that they should be prosecuted anywhere if the appropriate governments aren't doing it.
Command responsibility
Command responsibility
Command responsibility, sometimes referred to as the Yamashita standard or the Medina standard, and also known as superior responsibility, is the doctrine of hierarchical accountability in cases of war crimes....
, the doctrine of complicity which provided the legal foundation for the Nuremberg Trials
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
against senior Nazi war criminals. The command responsibility doctrine was enshrined in U.S. law by the U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
decision In Re Yamashita (1946). Command responsibility is now an established theory of liability, thanks in part to the body of case law
Case law
In law, case law is the set of reported judicial decisions of selected appellate courts and other courts of first instance which make new interpretations of the law and, therefore, can be cited as precedents in a process known as stare decisis...
that has developed around CJA's litigation and the casework of other organizations pursuing similar strategies, notably the Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for Constitutional Rights
Al Odah v. United States:Al Odah is the latest in a series of habeas corpus petitions on behalf of people imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. The case challenges the Military Commissions system’s suitability as a habeas corpus substitute and the legality, in general, of detention at...
and EarthRights International.
Transitional justice
Much of CJA's litigation and advocacy work is performed with survivors from countries still struggling to transition from an authoritarian past to a stable democratic present. Uncovering and seeking redress for human rights crimes is often a necessary component of a nation's emergence from civil strife and repression. Transitional justiceTransitional justice
Transitional justice generally refers to a range of approaches that states may use to address past human rights violations and includes both judicial and non-judicial approaches. They include series of actions or policies and their resulting institutions, which may be enacted at a point of...
denotes the process by which societies address the crimes of prior regimes as they move from a period of violent conflict or oppression toward peace, democracy and the rule of law. Drawing on a broad palette of mechanisms—from truth commissions, civil actions and criminal tribunals to works of public art devoted to historical memory--transitional justice has become an important means to build civil society
Civil society
Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
in post-conflict situations.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mehinovic v. Vuckovic (War crimes and ethnic cleansingEthnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic orreligious group from certain geographic areas....
)
This case was filed on behalf of Bosnian Muslims tortured by a Bosnian Serb soldier at a detention camp in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The charges included torture; crimes against humanity; arbitrary detention
Arbitrary arrest and detention
Arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention are the arrest or detention of an individual in a case in which there is no likelihood or evidence that they committed a crime against legal statute, or in which there has been no proper due process of law...
; cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment
Cruel and unusual punishment
Cruel and unusual punishment is a phrase describing criminal punishment which is considered unacceptable due to the suffering or humiliation it inflicts on the condemned person...
; war crimes; and genocide.
In 2002, the U.S District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia is a United States District Court which serves the residents of forty-six counties...
held Vuckovic liable and awarded each plaintiff $10 million in compensatory damages and $25 million each in punitive damages
Punitive damages
Punitive damages or exemplary damages are damages intended to reform or deter the defendant and others from engaging in conduct similar to that which formed the basis of the lawsuit...
.
Chile
Cabello v. Fernández Larios (Augusto PinochetAugusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
's "Caravan of Death
Caravan of Death
The Caravan of Death was a Chilean Army death squad that, following the Chilean coup of 1973, flew by helicopters from south to north of Chile between September 30 and October 22, 1973. During this foray, members of the squad ordered or personally carried out the execution of at least 75...
")
In 2001, CJ filed a case against Armando Fernández Larios, an operative of the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and officer in the notorious "Caravan of Death", a Chilean military delegation believed to have killed more than 70 civilians during a journey by helicopter 1973.
In 2003, a Florida jury found Fernández Larios responsible for torture and murder and awarded the plaintiffs four million dollars in damages. The trial marks the first time that any Pinochet operative has been tried in the United States for their role in human rights abuses committed in Chile, as well as the first jury verdict for crimes against humanity in the United States.
China
Doe v. Liu Qi (Torture and religious persecution)In February 2002, CJA filed a civil action against the Liu Qi — Mayor of Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
and head of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Committee
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
. The suit alleged that Qi had authority over police forces in Beijing who had carried out brutal repressive measures against Falun Gong
Falun Gong
Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline first introduced in China in 1992 by its founder, Li Hongzhi, through public lectures. It combines the practice of meditation and slow-moving qigong exercises with the moral philosophy...
practitioners.
In 2004, Judge Claudia Wilken issued a default judgment against Liu Qi for his role in the torture of Falun Gong practitioners.
El Salvador
Romagoza Arce v. García (Command responsibility for atrocities)Filed in 1999, the case charged Generals José Guillermo García and Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova with liability for torture. The generals both served as former Ministers of Defense.
In 2002, a West Palm Beach, Florida jury found the generals responsible for the torture of the three plaintiffs. In January 2006, the 11th Circuit court upheld the $54.6 million jury verdict on appeal and in July 2006, Defendant Vides Casanova was forced to relinquish over $300,000 of his own assets.
Doe v. Saravia (Assassination of Archbishop Óscar Romero
Óscar Romero
Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez was a bishop of the Catholic Church in El Salvador. He became the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador, succeeding Luis Chávez. He was assassinated on 24 March 1980....
)
The March 24, 1980 assassination of Salvadoran Archbishop Óscar Romero — a revered human rights defender — was arguably the most infamous political murder in 20th century Latin America. Yet for years, one of the perpetrators of this crime, Alvaro Saravia, lived freely in Modesto, California.
In 2003, CJA filed a suit against Saravia alleging that he procured weapons and vehicles to assist in the assassination, provided his personal driver to transport the assassin to and from the chapel where Romero was shot and paid the assassin for his deed.
In September 2004, Judge Oliver Wanger declared that the assassination was a crime against humanity and ordered Saravia to pay $10 million to the plaintiff, a relative of the Archbishop.
Chavez v. Carranza (Salvadoran Civil War crimes)
Filed on December 10, 2003, the suit aimed to hold Colonel Carranza responsible for human rights abuses committed in El Salvador.
In 2005, a Memphis federal jury found Colonel Nicolás Carranza, the former Vice-Minister of Defense of El Salvador, liable for overseeing torture and extrajudicial killings and ordered him to pay $6 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
Jesuits Massacre case
In 2008, CJA filed a criminal case in Spain against senior former Salvadoran military officials for their role in the 1989 Jesuits Massacre, in which six Jesuit Priests, their housekeeper and her daughter, were killed at the Universidad Centroamericana ¨José Simeon Cañas¨ (UCA) in El Salvador. On January 13, 2009, the 14 officers and soldiers named in the case were formally charged with crimes against humanity and state terrorism.
Guatemala
The Guatemala Genocide Case (The Mayan Genocide)In 2004, CJA joined a criminal complaint filed in 1999 by Nobel Laureate Rigoberta Menchú Tum and others charging former President Efraín Ríos Montt and other senior Guatemalan officials with state terrorism
State terrorism
State terrorism may refer to acts of terrorism conducted by a state against a foreign state or people. It can also refer to acts of violence by a state against its own people.-Definition:...
, genocide and systematic torture during a campaign against the Mayan community which claimed over 200,000 lives. In 2006, a new legal team led by CJA began working with attorneys from Guatemala, the Netherlands, Spain and the U.S. to develop evidence on the Mayan genocide. As of 2009, CJA international staff attorney, Almudena Bernabeu is lead counsel for the plaintiffs.
Haiti
Jean v. Dorélien (The High Command and the Raboteau Massacre)In 2003, CJA filed U.S. state and federal cases against Colonel Carl Dorélien—a Haitian officer who held command responsibility for the April 22, 1994 massacre in a pro-democracy neighborhood in Gonaïves
Gonaïves
Gonaïves is a city in northern Haiti, the capital of the Artibonite Department. It has a population of about 104,825 people . The city's name derives from the original Amerindian name of Gonaibo. It is also known as Haïti's "independence city"...
and for the torture of the union activist Lexius Cajuste
Dorélien's presence in the United States became widely-known when he won $3.2 million in the Florida lottery in 1997.
In 2007, a Miami federal jury found Colonel Carl Dorélien liable for abuses and ordered him to pay $4.3 million. In a separate state court action, a landmark $580,000 was recovered for Haitian massacre survivors. In May 2008, over $400,000 was distributed to the Raboteau victims.
Doe v. Constant (Death squads and violence against women
Violence against women
Violence against women is a technical term used to collectively refer to violent acts that are primarily or exclusively committed against women...
)
CJA represents three Haitian women in a lawsuit against Emmanuel "Toto" Constant for his participation in a range of human rights abuses committed in 1993–1994. On October 25, 2006, U.S. District Court Judge Sidney H. Stein of the Southern District of New York ordered Constant to pay $19 million in damages to CJA's clients.
In a separate criminal trial, Constant was sentenced on October 28, 2008 to 12 to 37 years in prison for his role in a criminal mortgage fraud scheme in New York. CJA's investigation of Constant contributed to this conviction.
Honduras
Reyes v. López Grijalba (Forced disappearanceForced disappearance
In international human rights law, a forced disappearance occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the...
)
In July, 2002 CJA filed a lawsuit against former military intelligence chief Lt. Col. Juan López Grijalba, who had command responsibility for the abduction, torture, and extrajudicial killing of the plaintiffs and plaintiffs’ family-members. Having settled in the United States, López Grijalba was deported back to Honduras in 2004.
On March 31, 2006, a Florida judge held Colonel Grijalba responsible for abuses and ordered him to pay $47 million to six survivors and relatives of the disappeared.
Later in 2006, the Attorney General of Honduras approached CJA to assist in a criminal prosecution of López Grijalba based on evidence produced in the U.S. civil case. To initiate the prosecution, CJA trained 80 Honduran prosecutors on bringing successful human rights cases in national courts in December 2007.
Indonesia
Doe v. Lumintang (Atrocities during the East Timor Independence ReferendumEast Timor Special Autonomy Referendum
The East Timorese independence referendum was a referendum which was held throughout East Timor on 30 August 1999. The referendum's origins lay with the request made by the President of Indonesia, Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, to the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 27 January 1999, for...
)
CJA and the Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for Constitutional Rights
Al Odah v. United States:Al Odah is the latest in a series of habeas corpus petitions on behalf of people imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. The case challenges the Military Commissions system’s suitability as a habeas corpus substitute and the legality, in general, of detention at...
filed a lawsuit against General Johny Lumintang for abuses committed by the Indonesian military during the violent aftermath of the September 1999 independence referendum. Lumintang was served with the complaint while in transit at Dulles International Airport. In September 2001, he failed to appear in the case and District Judge Gladys Kessler
Gladys Kessler
Gladys Kessler is an American jurist who sits on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She was nominated to the court by President Bill Clinton, and confirmed in July 1994....
found in favor of the survivors, awarding them $66 million in damages.
On November 9, 2004, District Judge Gladys Kessler granted Lumintang's motion to vacate
Vacated judgment
A vacated judgment makes a previous legal judgment legally void. A vacated judgment is usually the result of the judgment of an appellate court which overturns, reverses, or sets aside the judgment of a lower court....
the default judgment, holding that service of the complaint and summons at Dulles Airport in Fairfax, Virginia
Fairfax, Virginia
The City of Fairfax is an independent city forming an enclave within the confines of Fairfax County, in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Although politically independent of the surrounding county, the City is nevertheless the county seat....
did not give the District of Columbia district court jurisdiction over Lumintang.
Peru
Ochoa Lizarbe v. Hurtado (The Accomarca MassacreAccomarca massacre
The Accomarca massacre occurred on August 14, 1985 in Accomarca, Ayacucho, Peru. The number of unarmed men, women and children killed has been variously reported as 47, 69 or 74.-Investigations Into the Massacre:...
I)
In 2007, CJA filed suit against Major Telmo Hurtado Hurtado and Juan Rivera Rondón, who planned and executed a massacre of 69 civilians in the village of Accomarca, in the Ayacucho
Ayacucho
Ayacucho is the capital city of Huamanga Province, Ayacucho Region, Peru.Ayacucho is famous for its 33 churches, which represent one for each year of Jesus's life. Ayacucho has large religious celebrations, especially during the Holy Week of Easter...
department of Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
on August 14, 1985.
On March 4, 2008 a federal court judge in Miami ordered Major Hurtado to pay $37 million in damages.
Ochoa Lizarbe v. Rivera Rondón (The Accomarca Massacre
Accomarca massacre
The Accomarca massacre occurred on August 14, 1985 in Accomarca, Ayacucho, Peru. The number of unarmed men, women and children killed has been variously reported as 47, 69 or 74.-Investigations Into the Massacre:...
II)
In a related case, CJA and pro bono co-counsel Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP filed a lawsuit on July 11, 2007 in a Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
federal district court against Rivera Rondón, a Peruvian former army lieutenant, for his role in the Accomarca Massacre.
Rivera Rondón immigrated to the U.S. in the early 1990s. Following a criminal conviction on a separate offence, Rondón was deported from the U.S. on August 15, 2008, whereupon he was immediately detained by Peruvian authorities. CJA was instrumental in ensuring that he will be prosecuted for the crimes he committed in Accomarca in 1985.
Somalia
Yousuf v. Samantar (Somali Civil WarSomali Civil War
The Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war taking place in Somalia. The conflict, which began in 1991, has caused destabilisation throughout the country, with the current phase of the conflict seeing the Somali government losing substantial control of the state to rebel forces...
and Widespread Repression)
In 2004, CJA filed suit against General Mohamed Ali Samantar, the former Somali Minister of Defense (1980 to 1986) and Prime Minister (1987 to 1990) under the regime of Siad Barré
Siad Barre
Mohamed Siad Barre was the military dictator and President of the Somali Democratic Republic from 1969 to 1991. During his rule, he styled himself as Jaalle Siyaad ....
. The suit alleges that Samantar bore command responsibility for a host of abuses carried out by his subordinates, including torture, extrajudicial killing and war crimes.
On April 27, 2007, Judge Brinkema of the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia dismissed the human rights lawsuit, ruling that the defendant enjoyed immunity from civil actions under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act
Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act
The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 is a United States law, codified at Title 28, §§ 1330, 1332, 1391, 1441, and 1602-1611 of the United States Code, that establishes the limitations as to whether a foreign sovereign nation may be sued in U.S. courts—federal or state...
(FSIA).
CJA and pro bono co-counsel from Cooley Godward Kronish LLP, appealed to the 4th Circuit Court. On January 8, 2009, the 4th Circuit reversed and remanded the district court's decision.
Doe v. Ali (Clan Violence and Torture)
On November 10, 2004 CJA filed a case against Colonel Yusuf Abdi Ali (a.k.a. Tokeh), a former officer in the Somali National Army during the military dictatorship of Siad Barré. Plaintiffs in the case are members of the Isaaq clan who suffered human rights abuses committed personally by Tokeh or by soldiers under his direct command.
The trial judge has referred the case to the State Department for its opinion.
Ahmed v. Magan
On April 21, 2010, CJA filed suit against Colonel Abdi Aden Magan, former Chief of the Somali National Security Service Department of Investigations during the military dictatorship of Siad Barré, on behalf of former law professor and human rights attorney Abukar Hassan Ahmed, who suffered brutal torture under Colonel Magan's orders.
The trial judge has referred the case to the State Department for its opinion.
United States
Reisner v. LesoOn July 7, 2010, CJA filed a complaint with the New York Office of the Professions on behalf of psychologist Dr. Steven Reisner against psychologist Dr. John Leso for his role in designing and implementing a system of abusive interrogations at United States Naval Station at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Venezuela
Luis Posada CarrilesLuis Posada Carriles
Luis Clemente Faustino Posada Carriles is a Cuban-born Venezuelan anti-communist and former Central Intelligence Agency agent....
Extradition
CJA represents the family of Raymond Persaud, a 19-year-old medical student killed aboard Cubana Flight 455
Cubana Flight 455
Cubana Flight 455 was a Cuban flight from Barbados to Jamaica that was brought down by a terrorist attack on October 6, 1976. All 78 people on board the Douglas DC-8 aircraft were killed in what was then the deadliest terrorist airline attack in the Western hemisphere...
, in the extradition request against Luis Posada Carriles. A Cuban-born former Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n intelligence agent and paid CIA operative in the covert during the 1960s, Carriles is implicated in several anti-Castro terrorist attacks including the 1976 bombing that killed Persuad along with 73 other people.
In 2005, U.S. immigration authorities detained Carriles after he illegally entered the country. Carriles received an order for deportation on September 27, 2005. However, on May 8, 2007, the seven counts of immigration fraud were dismissed by U.S. district judge Kathleen Cardone.
Eventually, a federal appeals court reversed Judge Cardone's decision on 14 August 2008. As of January 2009, the U.S. government has refused to extradite Carriles on the grounds that the immigration proceedings are still ongoing.
Transitional justice support
- Human rights training for Honduran prosecutors
At the invitation of the Honduran Attorney General, CJA conducted a training session, Prosecuting Human Rights Crimes in National Courts, on December 4–6, 2007 in Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
. The training brought together 80 Honduran prosecutors with a faculty of legal practitioners from Latin America, Spain and the U.S.
- Trial support for the Fujimori prosecution
The groundbreaking human rights trial
Alberto Fujimori's arrest and trial
Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was arrested and tried for a number of crimes related to corruption and human rights abuses that occurred during his government.-Background:...
against former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori
Alberto Fujimori
Alberto Fujimori Fujimori served as President of Peru from 28 July 1990 to 17 November 2000. A controversial figure, Fujimori has been credited with the creation of Fujimorism, uprooting terrorism in Peru and restoring its macroeconomic stability, though his methods have drawn charges of...
began in December 2007 in Lima. During Fujimori's tenure (1992–2000), Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
suffered a dramatic increase in human rights violations. CJA has entered into a co-counsel agreement with the Peruvian prosecution team and has provided assistance in litigation strategy and witness preparation.
- Assisting in the First Census of the Disappeared in Peru
CJA was appointed senior advisor to the Peruvian Institute of Forensic Anthropology
Forensic anthropology
Forensic anthropology is the application of the science of physical anthropology and human osteology in a legal setting, most often in criminal cases where the victim's remains are in the advanced stages of decomposition. A forensic anthropologist can assist in the identification of deceased...
(EPAF). EPAF conducts exhumations and investigations of massacres, forced disappearances and other human rights abuses. EPAF's findings have been crucial to the criminal investigations ongoing in Peru and the cases before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Inter-American Court of Human Rights
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is an autonomous judicial institution based in the city of San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it makes up the human rights protection system of the Organization of American States , which serves to uphold and...
. EPAF has also provided important evidence on the Accomarca Massacre
Accomarca massacre
The Accomarca massacre occurred on August 14, 1985 in Accomarca, Ayacucho, Peru. The number of unarmed men, women and children killed has been variously reported as 47, 69 or 74.-Investigations Into the Massacre:...
to CJA for our Peru litigation.
U.S. human rights policy, legislation & enforcement
In 2007 and 2008, CJA presented testimony before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law.- On November 14, 2007, CJA client Dr. Juan Romagoza Arce and CJA Executive Director Pamela Merchant testified in the hearing, "No Safe Haven: Accountability for Human Rights Violators." The hearing examined what could be done on the level of policy, legislation and enforcement to hold human rights abusers who have sought safe haven in the U.S. accountable.
- In June 2008, CJA submitted written testimony in the hearing "From Nuremberg to Darfur: Accountability for Crimes Against Humanity." In the testimony, Executive Director Pamela Merchant summarized the gaps in the current criminal human rights statutory framework and the importance of enacting crimes against humanity legislation for future prosecution of perpetrators.
External links
- Center for Justice & Accountability Official Website
- Matt Eisenbrandt, Justice Through Litigation: The Center For Justice And Accountability, 10 Gonz. J. Int’l L. (2006).
Further reading
- International Human Rights Lawyering, Cases and Materials (American Casebook Series). By Ralph G. Steinhardt, Paul L. Hoffman, Christopher N. Camponovo. 1st ed. West, 2008
- International Human Rights Litigation in U.S. Courts. By Beth Stephens, Judith Chomsky, Jennifer Green, Paul Hoffman, Michael Ratner. 2nd ed. Martinus Nijhoff, 2008
- The Pinochet Effect: Transnational Justice in the Age of Human Rights. By Naomi Roht-Arriaza University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006
- Transitional Justice in the Twenty-First Century: Beyond Truth Versus Justice. By Naomi Roht-Arriaza, Javier Mariezcurrena. Cambridge University Press, 2006
- International Criminal Law and Its Enforcement: Cases and Materials. By Beth Van Schaack, Ronald C. Slye, Professor Ronald C Slye. West Group, 2007