scholarly journals Assessment of the International Criminal Court’s Prosecutor Role in Darfur Crisis, Sudan (the case of Omer Al-Bashir)

Author(s):  
Worku Dibu ◽  
Abtewold Moges

In various countries throughout the world when rebel groups make an attack on innocent civilian and commit gross human rights violation, it is not punishable by the national courts.  However, in 1998 a grounding breaking idea turned into reality, and 50 years of debate ended as the first International Criminal Court was established as a result of the Rome Statute. The Court entertains or investigates different crimes which are committed in its member’s sates across the world. However, the writers of this paper prefer the situation in Darfur; the case of Al Basher is selected as a context to discuss the role of the ICC Prosecutor. This is mainly preferred because Sudan has been the first situation referred by the Security Council since the ICC was established and the state concerned Sudan is not a party to the Rome Statute, therefore this situation has its particularities compared with others.  In spite of this a lot of controversies and misconceptions are being witnessed on the understandings and implementation of international laws in Africa between ICC and African leaders. Basically, the controversy and misconception is not something emanates from the vacuum rather they are generated from various prevailing thoughts. African states accuse ICC as a neo colonialist institution targeting African leaders in addition to alleging ICC as playing double standard role in African and the rest of the world for instance ICC prosecution till now only in Africa in spite of Israel-Palestine and Afghanistan where the western countries have major interest from the conflict. Hence, the analysis of role the International Criminal Court’s Prosecutor in Darfur Crisis, Sudan (the case of Omer Al-Bashir) is centered in line with main objective of the establishing Rome Statue in July 2002 which thrives that all member states of UN have to have the same standard in their respective territories. 

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 51-69
Author(s):  
Saud Hassan

In order to end global impunity of perpetration of heinous crimes against humanity and gross violation of human rights and to bring individual perpetrators to justice, international community felt the need for a permanent international criminal court.2 As the armed conflicts and serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law continue to victimize millions of people throughout the world, the reasons for an international criminal court became compelling.3 In many conflicts around the world, armies or rebel groups attack ordinary people and commit terrible human rights abuses against them. Often, these crimes are not punished by the national courts. Here the ICC is complementary to national criminal jurisdictions.4 The court only acts in cases where states are unwilling or unable to do so.5 The jurisdiction of the Court is not retrospective and binds only those States that ratify it.6 Unlike the International Court of Justice in The Hague, whose jurisdiction is restricted to states, the ICC has individualized criminal responsibility. However, the role of USA regarding the establishment and continuation of ICC has caused the organization fall in a trouble. The better cooperation of USA and other states could make the organization more active and effective as to its activities. The view of this paper is to analyze the role of USA towards the establishment, continuation and function of the International Criminal Court. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/nujl.v1i0.18525 Northern University Journal of Law Vol.1 2010: 51-69


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 372-375
Author(s):  
Fatou Bensouda

Abstract In this contribution, the author reflects on the Forum topic ‘R2P 15 Years after the World Summit: Progress, Problems and Prospects’, and provides her perspective as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (icc) on the correlation between R2P and the principles and goals of the icc Rome Statute, against the backdrop of increasing pressures on multilateralism and multilateral institutions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Isha Jain

Theoretical models of criminal justice are important tools for identifying the value systems that underpin the various criminal justice systems of the world. Hailed as the ‘victims’ court’ for conferring wide-ranging participatory rights to victims at all stages of the criminal process, the International Criminal Court and its constitutive treaty, the Rome Statute, offer an interesting subject matter of analysis from this theoretical standpoint. The focus of this article will be on studying the ICC’s practice and procedure in relation to victim participation, in order to identify the values of criminal justice that influence these processes.


Author(s):  
Hééctor Oláásolo

The scope of victims' participation at the investigation stage of a situation and throughout case-related proceedings is today one of the critical issues before the ICC. The key provision on this matter is Article 68(3) of the Rome Statute. This provision entrusts the ICC Chambers with the discretion to determine (i) when victims can participate in ICC proceedings and (ii) the specific manner in which such participation can take place. The present article, which is written against the backdrop of the first Review Conference scheduled for next year pursuant to Article 121(1) of the Rome Statute, focuses on the systematic and casuistic approaches adopted so far by different ICC chambers in shaping, pursuant to Article 68(3) of the Statute, the role of victims at the investigation stage of a situation and in case-related proceedings.


Author(s):  
Schabas William A

This chapter comments on Article 103 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 103 deals with State enforcement of sentences. The enforcement regime of the International Criminal Court is premised on three broad principles: sentences are served in the prison facilities of States and are subject to their laws; enforcement of the sentence is subject to the supervision of the Court; and the sentence imposed by the Court is binding upon the State of enforcement. The provisions of the Statute governing enforcement are quite succinct, and much of the detail on the issue appears in the Rules of Procedure and Evidence.


Author(s):  
Schabas William A

This chapter comments on Article 76 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 76 governs the imposition of sentence in the event of a conviction. If the accused is convicted, the Trial Chamber is required to establish the ‘appropriate sentence’. In so doing, the Statute instructs it to consider the evidence presented and submissions made during the trial that are relevant to the sentence. Mitigating and aggravating factors relating to the commission of the crime itself, such as the individual role of the offender and of the treatment of the victims, will form part of the evidence germane to guilt or innocence and thus appear as part of the record of the trial.


Author(s):  
Schabas William A

This chapter comments on Article 59 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 59 requires that the custodial State ‘act expeditiously in the surrender of persons subject to an arrest warrant issued by the Court’. By exhaustively listing the issues which the custodial State shall examine, article 59 also safeguards the competence and decisions of the Court, most notably by preventing national authorities from examining the validity of the warrant of arrest. Unlike most provisions of the Rome Statute, article 59 is likely to be read, interpreted, and applied by national judges. Combined with national implementing legislation, they will put into effect the obligations of arrest, the verification of the conditions under which it was carried out, and the granting of interim release. The role of the Pre-Trial Chamber ‘with respect to proceedings under article 59 of the Statute is limited to verifying that the basic safeguards envisaged by national law have been made available to the arrested person’.


Author(s):  
Schabas William A

This chapter comments on Article 56 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 56 provides an exceptional mechanism by which evidence may be collected under judicial oversight and then made available at trial. It authorizes the Pre-Trial Chamber to ‘take such measures as may be necessary to ensure the efficiency and integrity of the proceedings and, in particular, to protect the rights of the defence’. Thus, the focus is on ensuring that the interests of the defence are protected at a stage that may arise even before a defendant has been identified. However, the benefits of article 56 are not reserved to evidence helpful to the defence. The special function of article 56 can be invoked by the Prosecutor or by the Pre-Trial Chamber itself, acting on its own initiative.


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