Briefing Paper and Timeline: The Trial of Thomas Lubanga at the ICC
Date
August 2011
On Thursday, August 25, 2011, the International Criminal Court in The Hague will begin hearing closing arguments in the case against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, the first case to reach this stage at the ICC.
The background paper (available for download) summarizes the main issues in the case so far—the first at the ICC to focus on allegations of the recruitment of child soldiers in a conflict. The separate timeline traces the history of the trial since the ICC prosecutor issued an arrest warrant for Lubanga in February 2006.
The Open Society Justice Initiative has been monitoring the Lubanga trial since it began in January 2009. The website www.lubangatrial.org, in both English and French, is part of a broader effort to monitor the ICC's work.