16 Commissioning justice Truth commissions and criminal justice THE PRACTICE OF TRUTH COMMISSIONS STRONGLY SUPPORTS THE PROSECUTION OF CRIMES UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW The practice of the majority of truth commissions is firmly in favour of investigations and prosecutions of all crimes under international law. Truth commissions originally given the power to grant or recommend amnesty for crimes under international law 3 Truth commissions actively contributing to prosecutions 14 Truth commissions recommending prosecutions 19 2 Other truth commissions More than half (21) of the 38 truth commissions with relevant practice examined in this paper recommended and/or actively contributed to the prosecution of all crimes under international law. Nineteen (19) truth commissions actively contributed to the prosecution of crimes under international law, by referring to national authorities names of alleged perpetrators, evidence collected or other information. Two (2) truth commissions did not actively refer information about alleged crimes to national authorities, but recommended the prosecution of crimes under international law. Unfortunately, the information available on the Commission of Inquiry to Locate the Persons Disappeared during the Panchayat Period, established in Nepal in 1990, is too limited to allow sufficient analysis. The same is true for the 2009 Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission in Togo. What follows is based on the remaining 38 truth commissions. In addition to the three truth commissions that were given the power to recommend or grant amnesty (or immunity) for crimes under international law (South Africa, Grenada and Indonesia): Nineteen (19) truth commissions actively contributed to the prosecution of crimes under international law, by referring to national authorities names of alleged perpetrators, evidence collected or other information. The 1974 Ugandan Commission referred 40 cases of suspected perpetrators to the Director of Public Prosecutions for possible charges; twenty-six more cases were referred to prosecution authorities for further investigation.20 The 1982 Bolivian Amnesty International April 2010 Index: POL 30/004/2010