Transfer of the Taylor trial

On 20 June 2006, the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) transferred former Liberian President, Mr. Charles Taylor, to the wing of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the prison of Scheveningen, The Hague. The facilities of the ICC will be used for his trial. The transfer has been made in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding concluded by the ICC and the Special Court for Sierra Leone on 13 April 2006.

The trial will be conducted by a Trial Chamber of the Special Court sitting in The Hague and not by the ICC itself. Under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding, the ICC will provide courtroom services and facilities, detention services and facilities and related assistance.

The ICC and the Special Court are independent institutions. The ICC was established by an international treaty, the Rome Statute, to which more than 100 States are party. The Special Court is an independent tribunal established jointly by the United Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone.

A Status Conference will be held in the case The Prosecutor against Charles Taylor on 22 September 2006. The Status Conference will take place in Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC).