Not since the Nazi trials at Nuremberg has a head of state been found guilty by an international tribunal, and Taylor's sentencing could also set a precedent.
The International Criminal Court, which recently marked its 10th anniversary, will soon begin the trial of Laurent Gbagbo, the former Ivory Coast president, who faces charges of crimes against humanity.
Accused of genocide, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir is also wanted by the court.
HORROR
Over the course of Taylor's six-year trial, the court heard gruesome testimony.
"A civilian was killed in full public view and then his body was disemboweled and his intestines stretched across the road to make a checkpoint. Women and children were raped in public, people were burned alive in their homes," presiding judge Richard Lussick said at Taylor's conviction.
"The purpose of these atrocities was to instill terror in the civilian population."
Prosecutors said the U.S.-educated Taylor's position of authority and level of education were aggravating factors and should mean a longer sentence - to be served at a British high security prison.
But although judges convicted Taylor of planning, aiding and abetting the crimes in Sierra Leone, he was not found guilty of either ordering or planning the atrocities.
His defense team and legal experts said this meant he should get a shorter sentence.
At a sentencing hearing, Taylor accused chief prosecutor Brenda Hollis of being a CIA agent - a claim she laughed off - and said the trial was politically motivated.
"Regime change in Liberia became a policy of the U.S. government," he told the court. "I never stood a chance."
Both sides are likely to appeal.
The defense is expected to focus on payments the prosecution made to its witnesses, which it said were prejudicial. Hollis says all payments were disclosed to the court and were legitimate expenses.
The prosecution could seek Taylor's conviction for direct criminal involvement, a more serious crime.
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