This statute established the Special Court of Sierra Leone, that was set up in the Sierra Leonean capital, Freetown, following the civil war that ended in 2001.

The Statute makes no provision for the award of reparations, but Art.19(3) does provide that the proceeds of crime including property or other assets, may be ordered to be forfeited and returned to their original owners.

To understand how the question of reparations for war victims was addressed by the SL government, the Statute should be read in conjunction with the Lomé agreement of 1999 and the Special Court Ratification Act of 2002 (both available in this section).