THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT – SOME REFLECTIONS

2009 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 3-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Moreno-Ocampo
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Procedure ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Cycle Of Violence ◽  
The World ◽  
The Creation

AbstractI took office seven years ago as the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. Over those years, I have seen remarkable developments, the creation of a global judicial institution from scratch, the development of our operations in all regions of the world, mainly in conflict areas, the setting up of key jurisprudence on modes of liability, complementarity, criminal procedure as well as on victims' participation before the Court. Today I would like to focus on how the work of this Court can contribute to the prevention of massive crimes. Crimes we thought, over and over, would never happen again, only to see them occur, again and again, before our eyes: genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. How can we maximize the preventive impact of our work? How can we ensure that the crimes committed in Georgia during the summer of 2008, in Guinea in the fall of 2009 are not repeated? How can we stop current crimes in Darfur? How can we prevent a new cycle of violence during the next elections in Kenya scheduled for 2012? How can we support Colombia's efforts to end half a century of violence?

The Modus Operandi of the International Criminal Court System: An Impartial or a Selective Justice Regime?

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 448-479
Author(s):  
Celestine Nchekwube Ezennia
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
External Influence ◽  
Court System ◽  
Modus Operandi ◽  
Administration System ◽  
The World

The International Criminal Court (icc) is a global court created to administer independent and impartial international criminal justice. It, therefore, has jurisdiction over all persons who have committed ‘the most important crimes of international concern’, including genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. The court’s principal mission is to ensure the punishment of these crimes and the eradication of the impunity of their perpetrators in all parts of the world. However, the icc’s current justice administration system appears so selective and subject to external influence and manipulation as to defeat the global, independent, and impartial justice goal that the court is created to accomplish. This article examines this selectivity under the following sub-headings: geographic selectivity, situation selectivity, identity selectivity, and thematic selectivity. The article further explores some of the consequences of this selective justice regime and suggests some reforms in the system.

scholarly journals Managing Frozen Assets at the International Criminal Court

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 765-790
Author(s):  
Daley J Birkett
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Trial Chamber ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
The Hague

Abstract On 8 June 2018, more than 10 years after his arrest, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) reversed Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo’s conviction by the Trial Chamber for crimes against humanity and war crimes, acquitting him of all charges. Soon after the start of his time in detention in The Hague, assets belonging to Bemba were frozen by states across a number of jurisdictions at the request of the ICC. Many of these assets remain frozen, more than 18 months after his acquittal. This article examines the consequences of prolonged asset freezes by the ICC through the lens of the Bemba case, demonstrating the existence of gaps in the legal framework applicable to the management of frozen assets under the ICC Statute system and suggesting possible responses thereto at the domestic and international levels.

scholarly journals Prosecutor v. Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir, Judgment in the Jordan Referral re Al-Bashir Appeal

2020 ◽  
Vol 114 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-109
Author(s):  
Angela Mudukuti
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Arrest Warrant ◽  
Head Of State

In 2009, the International Criminal Court (ICC) stepped into uncharted waters as it issued its first arrest warrant for a sitting head of state, then President of Sudan Omar Al-Bashir. Following the UN Security Council's referral of the situation in the Darfur region of Sudan to the ICC, Al-Bashir was charged by the Court with war crimes and crimes against humanity, and in 2010, he was also charged with genocide. As a consequence, all of the states parties to the Rome Statute had a duty to arrest Al-Bashir. Several states have nonetheless failed to arrest him during country visits, allowing Al-Bashir to evade the ICC. This has given rise to a number of cases before the ICC Chambers, including this Appeals Chamber judgment regarding the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

The International Criminal Court and Non-International Armed Conflicts

2000 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 395-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heike Spieker
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
International Conflicts

Non-international armed conflicts are more numerous, more brutal and entail more blood-shed today than international ones. The Statute of the International Criminal Court explicitly upholds the traditional distinction between international and non-international conflicts, and armed conflicts will have to be characterized accordingly. But the tendency to adapt the international humanitarian law (IHL) regime for non-international conflicts to the rules for international ones emerges. Article 7 on Crimes Against Humanity and Article 8(2)(c) and (e) on War Crimes amount to real progress in this respect. Yet, the regulation on war crimes in particular does not provide for comprehensive criminal responsibility of individual perpetrators in non-international conflicts.

scholarly journals PROSECUTING PRESIDENT AL BASHIR, AND THE SHORT ARM OF JUSTICE

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 197-209
Author(s):  
Suzanne Bullock
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Legal Reasoning ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Trial Chamber ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Head Of State ◽  
International Court ◽  
Heads Of State

Prosecutor v Omar Hassan Ahmad Al BashirIn this decision the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) condemned Malawi, as a member state of the ICC, for the failure to comply with the request to arrest and surrender the President of Sudan, Omar Al Bashir. Significantly, the Chamber determined that the traditionally sacrosanct concept of immunity of Heads of State no longer applied before an international court or tribunal. Whilst the intention to create universal jurisdiction over perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity is extremely laudable, the legal reasoning by the Chamber is regrettably unsound. If the decision remains unchallenged, the implication is that no Head of State, whether or not they are a signatory to the ICC, is immune from prosecution on the mere basis of the ICC’s status as an international court.

scholarly journals ON THE COMPLEXITIES OF PROSECUTING ROBERT MUGABE AT THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Everisto Benyera
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
The World ◽  
The Hague ◽  
Robert Mugabe ◽  
Do So

One of the most desired actions by human rights activists the world over is to see Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe brought to The Hague to answer to allegations of genocide and crimes against humanity committed during his more than three decades in office. This desire notwithstanding, there are both legal and practical imperatives that render his prosecution highly improbable judging by the failed attempts to do so by various organisations. This article is a contribution to the debate on the fate of heads of states accused of genocide and crimes against humanity by focusing on the complexities surrounding the various attempts at having Mugabe brought before the International Criminal Court (ICC). The conclusion reached is that, no matter how desirable, the prosecution of Mugabe at the ICC, or any other court of law, is a distant reality due to various reasons outlined in the article. 

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