De-mediatizing the media case. Elements of a critical approach

The Judgment of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in the Media\r\ncase focuses on the responsibility of three individuals charged on the basis of their\r\ncontrol of a radio channel and a newspaper in Rwanda. Due to overt freedom\r\nof speech issues relating to this Judgment, it was immediately mass-mediatized.\r\nThis article analyses the case from a purely legal perspective, focusing on the issue\r\nof ‘how’ the Judges determined the culpability of individuals for crimes concerning\r\nthe media’s influence in the preparation and execution of mass crimes. Some critical\r\nelements appear in this perspective, including: the (il)legitimacy of the extension\r\nof jurisdiction ratione temporis; the (in)opportunity to establish the mens rea of\r\nan inchoate offence via the actus reus of a non-inchoate offence; the (un)certain\r\ndistinction between forms of direct and indirect participation; and the (in)determination\r\nof the criteria applied to reduce the sentence against one of the accused (as a\r\nform of reparation for the violation of procedure by the Prosecutor).