Sierra Leone Court Upholds Jurisdiction over Former Liberian President and Affirms Recruitment of Children Was a War Crime

On May 31, 2004, the Special Court for Sierra Leone denied an application by Charles Taylor, the former President of the Republic of Liberia, to quash his indictment and to set aside the warrant for his arrest on the basis that he is immune from any exercise of the jurisdiction of the court due to the fact that he was at the time of the issuance of the indictment and warrant of arrest against him a Head of State. On May 31, 2004, the appeals panel for the Special Court of Sierra Leone ruled that recruiting child soldiers was established as a war crime at the time of the civil war in that country.