At the request of the Sierra Leonean government, the...

At the request of the Sierra Leonean government, the United Nation's Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on August 14, 2000 to set up a special court for Sierra Leone. The court was to be established to try individuals accused of violating international humanitarian law and the Sierra Leonean law. "The legal nature of the Special Court, like that of any other legal entity, is determined by its constitutive instrument," said U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The Special Court was to deal with crimes such as mass killing, extrajudicial executions "The Special Court has concurrent jurisdiction with and primacy over Sierra Leonean courts," Annan said. "The primacy of the Special Court, however, is limited to national courts of Sierra Leone and does not extend to the courts of third states." The death penalty was not to be imposed by the court.