JSMP
PRESS RELEASE - 17 JULY 2003
Court of Appeal decision raises National and International Concern
The Court of Appeal has this week published a decision which has shaken the foundations of the legal system in East Timor. The Court ruled that Indonesian law has never been validly in force in East Timor, questioned the validity of the United Nations Regulation 2000/15 which forms the basis for prosecution of Crimes Against Humanity, and purported to expand the definition of ´genocide´under international law.
In its
decision on Tuesday, 15 July 2003, the Court of Appeal decided that
because the Indonesian occupation of East Timor between 1975 and 1999 was
unlawful under international law, Indonesian laws were never validly in
force, and that prior to 25 October 1999, the applicable law in East Timor
was the law of Portugal. The Court further decided that where there are
gaps in current East Timorese law, the Portuguese law still
applies.
This
decision concerns the case of Armando dos Santos, who had been convicted
of murder and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by the Special Panel for
Serious Crimes in September 2002. The Court instead found Santos guilty of
Genocide (an offence with which he was not charged) and increased his
sentence from 20 to 22 years. In doing this, the Court chose to apply the
Portuguese Criminal Code rather than the Indonesian law applied by the
Special Panel.
JSMP is currently analysing the Court´s decision, and
its possible implications. JSMP intends to publish a report on the
decision next week. The decision of the Court of Appeal (in Portuguese)
can be found on our website (http://www.jsmp.minihub.org)