Magister Legum - LLM / The aim of this study is to scrutinise, in particular, the legal bases of and decisions taken by various hybrid courts with regards to such consolidating or fragmenting effects on substantive international criminal law. The first section (Chapter 2), it will examine what is to be understood by the notion of a hybrid court. This will be followed by an analysis of the hybrid courts that have been established thus far. Furthermore, the advantages and reasons for which hybrid courts have been established in recent decades will be discussed, especially regarding their potential advantages as a transitional justice instrument. Moreover, disadvantages of hybrid courts and their deficiencies in the past will be addressed. Subsequently, the role of hybrid courts within the international legal system and their utility in the future will be discussed. This will include, on the one hand, the scope of the jurisdiction of hybrid courts in relation to other national and international criminal courts, especially vis-à-vis the ICC. On the other hand, it will be addressed whether hybrid courts will – or should – be established in the future, given the creation of the permanent ICC as well as the shortcomings of hybrid courts in the past. Against this background, the impact of hybrid courts on the further development of international criminal law will be assessed in the third section of the paper (Chapter 4). In this regard, the discussion will focus on a representative selection of hybrid courts, namely the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL). It will be discussed how their legal bases as well as their jurisprudence relate to the previous state of international criminal law, and whether they constitute adverse diversifications or positive contributions to international criminal law. In a concluding section (Chapter 5), the results of the study will be analysed and possible correlations between the structural elements of hybrid courts and their impact on international criminal law will be discussed. Finally, further questions regarding the use of hybrid courts in the future will be addressed.

À l'aube du troisième millénaire, la démocratie fait face à deux défis différents. D'une part, elle est secouée par le terrorisme qui bafoue les principes et les valeurs démocratiques tout en déstabilisant les institutions et en menaçant les citoyens et même la nation. D'autre part, la démocratie peut être défiée par les dérives d'une lutte contre le terrorisme, non-proportionnelle et même excessive, menée par certains régimes « démocratiques ». Sous prétexte de contrer le terrorisme, la pratique de certains États démocratiques fragilise l'État de droit et révèle des violations des droits de l'homme et des libertés fondamentales. Cette étude se propose de rechercher l'infrastructure légale qui répond à la lutte contre le terrorisme sans nuire aux principes et valeurs démocratiques. Elle met en exergue la contradiction entre les deux concepts : démocratie et terrorisme. Cette étude aborde deux sujets d'actualité qui revêtent une importance particulière. Le premier porte sur la création du Tribunal Spécial pour le Liban [TSL] comme étant la première juridiction internationalisée à juger les actes relevant du terrorisme. Le second présente une étude comparatiste portant sur les « révolutions » survenues dans les pays arabes tout en mettant en évidence la nécessité de l'acheminement vers la démocratie face à la montée du terrorisme dans la région. Cette étude expose de même un panorama de la lutte des États du Proche-Orient contre le terrorisme. Elle projettera les conditions pour sortir d'une démocratie « masquée », éclatée par le terrorisme, à une démocratie « authentique », éclatante par le droit. / On the dawning of the third millennium, democracy is encountering two different challenges. On the one hand, it is shaken by terrorism that flies in the face of the democratic principles and values whilst destabilizing the institutions and threatening citizens touching even the nation itself. Notwithstanding the fact that on the other hand, democracy could be challenged by non-proportional and even excessive measures taken in the context of the fight against terrorism acquitted by certain « democratic » regimes. Thus, under the pretext of countering terrorism, the behavioural pattern of some democratic states undermines the State of law and unveils violations of human rights and fundamental liberties. The current study aspires to investigate the legal infrastructure that conforms to the fight against terrorism away from compromising the principles and values of democracy. For this purpose, the following pages would highlight the dialectic contradiction between two concepts: democracy and terrorism. In fact, the current study treats two hot topics particularly significant. The first of those topics would be the establishment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon [STL] being the first internationalized with jurisdiction over the acts of terrorism. The second of the above-mentioned topics would be a comparative study treating the current « revolutions » occurring within the Arab States, hence highlighting the need to pursue democracy versus the rise of terrorism in the region. Moreover, this study would exhibit a prospect of the fight against terrorism carried out by countries of the Near East. In addition, this study exposes some conditions by which a « disguised » democracy would be avoided, one that is struck by terrorism, towards an « authentic » democracy, striking with rights. / في فجر الالفية الثالثة٬ تواجه الديمقراطية تحديين مختلفين. التحدي الاول يكمن في الارباك الذي يحدثه الارهاب بضربه المبادئ والقيم الديمقراطية معرضا المؤسسات الى الخلل٬ مهددا المواطنين والامة ايضا. التحدي الثاني يتجلى بالانحراف في مكافحة الارهاب احيانا بطرق غير متناسبة لا بل مجحفة. فتحت ستار مكافحة الارهاب يتبين بان ممارسات بعض الدول الديمقراطية يضعف دولة القانون ويظهر انتهاكات لحقوق الانسان وللحريات الاساسية. تعالج هذه الرسالة البحث حول الاسس القانونية التي تتجاوب مع مكافحة الارهاب دون التعرض للمبادئ والقيم الديمقراطية. كما تطرح التناقض الموجود ما بين مفهومي الديمقراطية والارهاب. تتناول هذه الدراسة ايضا موضوعين حاليين ذات اهمية خاصة. يتطرق الاول الى انشاء المحكمة الخاصة بلبنان كأول محكمة ذات طابع دولي تنظر في قضايا الارهاب. فيما الثاني يشمل دراسة مقارنة حول الثورات الحاصلة في الدول العربية٬ تسلط الضوء على أهمية التحول الديمقراطي في مواجهة تصاعد الارهاب في المنطقة. كما وتعرض الرسالة دراسة حول مناهضة دول الشرق الأدنى للارهاب. اخيرا تطرح معايير للخروج من الديمقراطية « المقنعة » التي يفجرها الارهاب نحو ديمقراطية « فعلية » تزخر بالقانون.