The Principle of Complementarity in the Cases of the Sudanese Nationals Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb before the International Criminal Court

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 185-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakob Pichon
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Trial Chamber ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Judicial System ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Status ◽  
National Constitution ◽  
Ability And Willingness ◽  
Principle Of Complementarity

AbstractIn April 2007, the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued its first arrest warrants with regard to the situation in Darfur. Addressees of these measures are the Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and former Minister for the Interior Ahmad Harun and the alleged Janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb, who both at the time of writing have not yet been surrendered to the ICC. On the contrary: Sudan consistently invokes its national sovereignty and its ability to prosecute its nationals itself. However, with regard to Harun and Kushayb, there is reason to hold strong doubts as to Sudan's ability and willingness to seriously prosecute them. Therefore, this article assesses the admissibility of these two cases before the ICC, focusing on the principle of complementarity. For this the article starts with an overview of those aspects of the principle of complementarity which are relevant for the situation in Darfur. A thorough analysis of the status of the Sudanese judicial system both before and after the adoption of the Interim National Constitution of Sudan in 2005 follows, before, finally, the application of the principle of complementarity to the two cases is assessed against the results found.

scholarly journals The International Criminal Court and Israel’s Acts in the Occupied Territories: Progress and Prospects

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (Summer 2021) ◽  
pp. 69-92
Author(s):  
Yücel Acer
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Preliminary Investigation ◽  
Trial Chamber ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
The State ◽  
Palestinian Territories ◽  
The Status ◽  
Occupied Territories ◽  
Party State

Following the request of Palestine as a Party-State to the Status of the International Criminal Court, the Prosecutor decided to start a preliminary investigation into the situation of Palestine. The preliminary investigation resulted in a request from the Prosecutor to the Pre-Trial Chamber I for clarification of the Court’s jurisdiction in relation to the occupied territories of Palestine. Many significant issues concerning the status of Palestine as a State and its legal borders were raised during the preliminary investigation, both by the Prosecutor and during the examination of the Chamber. Although both the Prosecutor and the Chamber have approved that the Court has jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories, including those occupied by Israel, the prospect for the success of the trials by the Court depends on the cooperation of the international community as a whole and the State-parties to the ICC Status.

The Scope of Appeal on Complementarity Issues before the icc

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 326-344
Author(s):  
Hanna Kuczyńska
Keyword(s):  
Cote D'ivoire ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Côte D’Ivoire ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Trial Chamber ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Cote D’Ivoire ◽  
Côte D'ivoire ◽  
Principle Of Complementarity

On 27 May 2015, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (icc) issued a judgment on the appeal of Côte d’Ivoire against the decision of Pre-Trial Chamber i of 11 December 2014 entitled “Decision on Côte d’Ivoire’s challenge to the admissibility of the case against Simone Gbagbo”. As a result of this decision, the path to prosecute Simone Gbagbo lies open. The Appeals Chamber confirmed the opinion expressed by the Pre-Trial Chamber that there were no obstacles in the form of national prosecutions which would exclude the icc’s jurisdiction pursuant to the principle of complementarity. This judgment is not only important from the point of view that the icc has found no basis to find the case inadmissible on the grounds of lack of complementarity, but even more so because of the procedural issues at stake. In this decision, solutions can be found that are crucial with regard to the scope and methods of appellate review before the icc.

scholarly journals Twenty Years of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: Appraising the State of National Implementing Legislation in Asia

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 353-392
Author(s):  
Daley J Birkett
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Legal Systems ◽  
Asian State ◽  
The Status ◽  
Legal Frameworks ◽  
Principle Of Complementarity ◽  
Do So

Abstract The International Criminal Court relies on its State Parties to incorporate, or implement, its constituent instrument, the Rome Statute, into their domestic legal systems to enable its effective functioning. First, State Parties are obliged to give effect to their explicit obligation to cooperate with the Court under the Rome Statute. Second, although not required to do so, to avoid their national legal systems being found by the Court to be unable to investigate and/or prosecute the crimes under its jurisdiction in accordance with the principle of complementarity, they should also implement the definition and prohibition of these offences in their national legal frameworks. This article appraises the status of the domestic implementation of the Rome Statute, both crimes and cooperation, in Asia. The article concludes that few Asian State Parties to the Rome Statute have incorporated the treaty’s provisions into their domestic laws in a holistic manner, with the absence of cooperation legislation, enabling State Parties to assist the Court, particularly striking.

State of Exception

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ardi Imseis
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Trial Chamber ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
State Of Exception ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Territorial Jurisdiction ◽  
Preliminary Examination ◽  
Occupied Palestinian Territory ◽  
Palestinian Territory

Abstract In December 2019, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court concluded her preliminary examination into the situation in Palestine, determining there is a reasonable basis to initiate an investigation into the situation. Instead of doing so, she first decided to seek a ruling from the Pre-Trial Chamber on the scope of the Court’s territorial jurisdiction, specifically aimed at confirming her view that the ‘territory’ over which the Court may exercise its jurisdiction comprises the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). This article focuses on the amici curiae observations and other communications made by eight states parties in the proceedings — Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary and Uganda. A critical examination of these observations and communications reveals that they did not answer the question posed by the OTP, but rather advanced a number of strained arguments aimed, inter alia, at impugning the very notion that the Court has any jurisdiction at all on the basis that Palestine is not a state. When juxtaposed against the ostensible commitment of these states parties to the object and purpose of the Statute, their observations and other communications reveal a conspicuous hypocrisy. If accepted by the Court, these observations and communications would operate to not only affirm the continued contingency of the state of Palestine on the international plane, but, even worse, to shield persons known to have committed or be committing crimes of the gravest concern to the international community with impunity.

The Denial of the Right of Return as a Rome Statute Crime

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Micheal G Kearney
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
Final Section ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Trial Chamber ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Central Importance ◽  
Right Of Return ◽  
The Right

Abstract In 2018, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) held that conduct preventing the return of members of the Rohingya people to Myanmar could fall within Article 7(1)(k) of the Statute, on the grounds that denial of the right of return constitutes a crime against humanity. No international tribunal has prosecuted this conduct as a discrete violation, but given the significance of the right of return to Palestinians, it can be expected that such an offence would be of central importance should the ICC investigate the situation in Palestine. This comment will review the recognition of this crime against humanity during the process prompted by the Prosecutor’s 2018 Request for a ruling as to the Court’s jurisdiction over trans-boundary crimes in Bangladesh/Myanmar. It will consider the basis for the right of return in general international law, with a specific focus on the Palestinian right of return. The final section will review the elements of the denial of right of return as a crime against humanity, as proposed by the Office of the Prosecutor in its 2019 Request for Authorization of an investigation in Bangladesh/Myanmar.

The Activity of Lawyers in the International Criminal Court: Theoretical and Practical Aspects

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 67-72
Author(s):  
Daria A. Sedova
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
World Order ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
The Status ◽  
Entire History

In the entire history of mankind, a large number of acts of violence and aggression have been committed. Over the past 50 years alone, there have been more than 400 interstate and intrastate conflicts that have claimed the lives of millions of people. Increasingly, there has been an urgent need to protect the violated rights of individuals. The idea of creating a single international body for the protection of human rights has been discussed more than once. For the first time, the idea of creating an international judicial body was expressed in 1948 by the UN General Assembly after the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials at the end of World War II, which issue has been discussed at the United Nations ever since. However, efforts to create such a mechanism have not been successful, despite the need for a permanent criminal court to prosecute and punish those who commit the most serious crimes. In 1998, this idea was realized. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has sought ways to establish a world order with a fair resolution of conflicts. It has long been recognized, the verdict of the Nuremberg Tribunal noted, that international law imposes duties and obligations on specific individuals as well as on the state. [] Crimes against international law are committed by people, not by abstract categories, and only by punishing individuals who commit such crimes can the provisions of international law be respected. To date, the ICC is successfully coping with the task of punishing those persons or groups of persons who have committed the international crimes listed in the Rome Statute. It would seem that the balance between good and evil has been found. The crime has been committed and the criminal punished. But it is important to note that the procedural issues have not been resolved as well as that of punishing criminals. An urgent matter today is the status of defenders of the accused in international criminal proceedings. This question requires not only a doctrinal, but also a practical understanding.

Sexual Slavery and Members of a Terrorist Group – What is the Future of the 'Boko Haram' Trial at the International Criminal Court?

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-253
Author(s):  
Michala Chadimova
Keyword(s):  
Human Trafficking ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Boko Haram ◽  
Sexual Slavery ◽  
Preliminary Examination ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Principle Of Complementarity

Crimes committed by the members of Boko Haram in Nigeria are not only the subject of national trials but also of preliminary examination at the International Criminal Court (ICC). This article focuses on the sexual slavery perpetrated by Boko Haram, describes how the crimes are viewed within the national Nigerian criminal process and addresses the possibility of prosecution of the crimes at the ICC.<br/> This article analyses the legal terminology used to describe the crimes connected to Boko Haram – enslavement, sexual slavery, human trafficking and terrorism – and their interaction. While providing an overview of the ICC's current preliminary examination into the situation in Nigeria, this article discusses how the principle of complementarity is potentially holding the OTP back from the formal investigation.<br/> Furthermore, an overview of cases at the ICC that have involved charges of sexual slavery or enslavement will be provided. By analysing the Court's findings in relation to elements of sexual slavery, this article provides an insightful view into the Court's rhetoric on this crime. Similarly, this article discusses modes of liability that have been employed in the Katanga/Chui and Ntaganda cases and provides a learning opportunity for future cases of sexual slavery as both a crime against humanity (Article 7(1)(g) of the Rome Statute) and a war crime (Article 8(2)(e)(vi) of the Rome Statute; 8(2)(b)(xxii) of the Rome Statute).

Better Late than Never: Reparations for Sexual Violence in the Ntaganda case before the International Criminal Court

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-47
Author(s):  
Sunneva Gilmore
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Child Soldiers ◽  
Trial Chamber ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Medical Background ◽  
Modest Contribution ◽  
First Time

The Prosecutor v Bosco Ntaganda case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) represents the long awaited first reparation order for sexual violence at the court. This will hopefully see the implementation of reparations for the war crimes and crimes against humanity of rape and sexual slavery among civilians and former child soldiers, after previous cases such as against Jean-Pierre Bembe and Laurent Gbagbo were acquitted of rape. This article drawing from the author's role as a reparation expert in the case, is a reflection on the challenges of designing and providing reparations at the ICC against convicted individuals, as well as amidst insecurity and the COVID-19 infectious disease pandemic. It begins by discussing how the Ntaganda reparation order expanded reparation principles for the first time since the Lubanga case, in particular for crimes of a sexual nature. This is followed by an outline of some of the harms as a result of sexual violence from the perspective of an expert with a medical background. The analysis then turns to the appropriate reparations in this case and the details contained within the chamber's reparation order. Final conclusions consider how the procedural and substantive elements of reparations in this case will be instructive to future cases that address sexual violence. Ultimately, key insights are offered on the modest contribution an appointed reparation expert can do in assisting a trial chamber in the reparation process.

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