# Authoritative sources — SCSL/RSCSL

## Tier 1 — primary, authoritative

### rscsl.org — the Residual Special Court legacy site

`http://www.rscsl.org/` — the official Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone website. **Preserves the entire SCSL legacy** including:
- All four principal case files: Taylor (`/Taylor.html`), AFRC (`/AFRC.html`), CDF (`/CDF.html`), RUF (`/RUF.html`)
- The SCSL Statute and the RSCSL Statute
- Rules of Procedure and Evidence (all versions)
- All Indictments, Decisions, Trial Judgements, Sentencing Judgements, Appeals Judgements
- Contempt cases
- Press releases and judicial summaries

The site is **actively maintained** by the Residual Special Court for ongoing functions (sentence supervision, witness protection, archives, contempt prosecutions if any). URLs of specific documents follow the pattern `http://www.rscsl.org/Documents/Decisions/[Case]/[Filing]/[Document Number].pdf`.

### legal-tools.org — ICC Legal Tools Database

Mirrors SCSL principal decisions. Navigate via "Other International(ised) Criminal Jurisdictions" > "Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL)".

### UN sources

- **un.org** for the founding instruments — UN Security Council Resolutions 1315 (2000), 1688 (2006, relocating Taylor trial to The Hague), and Secretary-General reports on the establishment and operations of the SCSL
- **UN Audiovisual Library of International Law** (`https://legal.un.org/avl/`) for the introductory note to the Statute

## Tier 2 — secondary (must be labelled when used)

### Academic commentary

- **Charles C. Jalloh (ed.)** — *The Sierra Leone Special Court and Its Legacy: The Impact for Africa and International Criminal Law* (Cambridge UP 2014) — the standard scholarly treatment
- **Antonio Cassese** — *International Criminal Law* (3rd ed., OUP 2013) — Chapter on hybrid tribunals
- **Sara Kendall & Sarah Nouwen** — extensive scholarship on the SCSL legacy
- **William A. Schabas** — *The UN International Criminal Tribunals* (CUP 2006) — Sierra Leone chapter
- **Maya Steinitz**, **Beresford & Lahiouel**, **Mohamed Suma** — academic articles
- **Linda M. Keller** — on the legacy of SCSL jurisprudence
- **Journal of International Criminal Justice** (Oxford) — symposium on the SCSL (multiple issues)

### Trial monitoring and NGOs

- **No Peace Without Justice** (Italian NGO) — extensive trial monitoring of SCSL proceedings; archival records
- **Human Rights Watch** — coverage of the SCSL and the Sierra Leone TRC
- **Coalition for International Justice** — closed but archival reports
- **JusticeInfo.net** — Taylor case reporting (when active)

### Journalism

- **BBC** — Sierra Leone coverage
- **AP and Reuters** — Taylor trial coverage
- **Sierra Leone press** (*Awoko*, *Sierra Express Media*) — local perspectives

## Never authoritative

Wikipedia, Grokipedia, social media, AI summaries, blogs.

## A note on languages

SCSL proceedings were conducted in **English** (the official and working language). Krio (the lingua franca of Sierra Leone) was used by some witnesses with translation. Documents are authoritative in English.