The Lockerbie Trial on Trial: Was Justice Served | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

The Lockerbie Trial on Trial: Was Justice Served ?

The Conflict

When Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, the United States and the United Kingdom joined forces to track down the guilty parties. They determined that two Libyan men were responsible and ordered Colonel Qadhafi, the leader of Libya, to turn them over to be tried in the United States or the United Kingdom. When he refused, sanctions were instituted against Libya by the United Nations Security Council, despite Libya's attempt to gain protection from the International Court of Justice. Almost 12 years after the crash, a compromise deal was reached and the suspects brought to trial in a neutral location (the Netherlands). Nonetheless, questions continue to linger about the case and the way it was handled.

Political

• Libya, the United States and the United Kingdom all claimed jurisdiction over the investigation. Libya, because the suspects were Libyan nationals; the United States, because the majority of the crash victims were American and the plane was registered in the United States; and the United Kingdom because the crash occurred in that country.
• Some argue that the distinction between law and politics became blurred in the drive to bring the Lockerbie suspects to trial.

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