Model Codes for Post-Conflict Criminal Justice

The model codes represent a valuable law reform tool for those in post-conflict countries. The way in which the model codes may be employed in the reform process are manifold and will depend entirely upon the particular post-conflict state in which they are being employed. They may simply act as a starting point for discussions, providing general ideas to reformers on the format and substance of criminal laws, or they may be used as a building block or source of inspiration for new legal provisions.

It is very common for law reformers to look to other sources of law when drafting new laws to expedite the reform process, for example, they may look to the laws in place in neighboring countries or countries with which the reforming country has strong ties. The model codes provide one more source of law to look to and to draw from, with a number of added features:

• The model codes are tailored to the needs of countries emerging from conflict.
• The model codes have been drafted so as to ensure compliance with international human rights norms and standards. Many of these standards are abstract in nature and often require detailed provisions to implement them fully into domestic law. For example, how should the law ensure that a detained person has the right to review the legality of deprivation of liberty, as required by Article 9(4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights? The model codes provide useful examples of how to operationalize this and other international human rights in the context of criminal law with sample provisions and commentaries that provide detailed explanations of the provisions and the international standards.
• There are also quite a number of criminal law standards that have been integrated into international treaties in recent years, mainly focusing on transnational crimes such as organized crime, trafficking in persons, drug trafficking, terrorist acts, corruption (a high priority area for the Haitian government), and so forth. Many post-conflict states have signed up to these treaties, which impose numerous obligations on states to incorporate certain criminal law provisions and procedures in order to effectively address these transnational crime problems. Many states- post-conflict and non-post-conflict alike – are struggling to comply with these obligations that often require detailed legislative provisions in order to implement them. The model code take into account the various international treaties dealing with transnational crime and provide sample provisions and procedures (and accompanying commentaries) based on them.