Search: Complementarity SAIF GADDAFI

...victims counsel to know when a matter affecting their interests was being dealt with. The protection of sensitive prosecution material would remain possible through the use of confidential ex parte filings where this is justified for the protection of persons and investigation processes, as noted by the Chamber in Gaddafi & Al Senussi . Ensuring that filings are classified properly from first instance, as ‘confidential’ or ‘confidential ex parte’ as appropriate, would allow a designated counsel to have file access, and put them in a position to address the PTC as...

...are in “difficult” talks with representatives of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, as Greece was asked once again to cut its spending. The AMICC blog points to a recent report by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs that states 70% of Americans support the US’ joining the International Criminal Court. A recent video shows approximately 20 Syrian soldiers being summarily executed in the northern city of Aleppo. Officials in Muammar Gaddafi’s regime are now on trial in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing case. Hungary...

...since the uprising against Gaddafi and Kosovo marking five years of independence. Arusha has given a plot of land to the International Criminal Court for it to build the African Chapter of the International Criminal Court, in a bid to attract international organisations and temper the impact of the ICTR’s depature. The Russian Foreign Affairs Minister has finally returned the call to John Kerry, after keeping him waiting for six days to discuss Syria and North Korea’s recent nuclear test. Venezuela’s Foreign Minister has stated that they are willing to...

[Owiso Owiso is a Doctoral Researcher in Public International Law at the University of Luxembourg.] Those Sanctioned… and Those Not Sanctioned The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as currently structured has five persons at the helm, the Prosecutor, Deputy Prosecutor and three division directors (investigations; jurisdiction, complementarity and cooperation (JCCD); and prosecutions). Two of these persons, the Prosecutor Ms Fatou Bensouda and Director of JCCD Mr Phakiso Mochochoko, are racialised as Black. They are also the only nationals of African states at the helm...

...crucial question is the role of regional organizations in international criminal justice. After the end of the Cold War, institutional development has quickly shifted from domestic to universal approaches. The role of regional institutions has long remained at the periphery. Recently, much attention has been devoted to regionalization in the context of African critiques of international criminal justice, and the Malabo Protocol. While the Protocol has many problems (e.g., in relation to crime base, complementarity or immunities), there seems to be at least some support for the general assumption that...

...far more conservative approach to case selection, the processes of preliminary examination and complementarity means that the Court is not designed to have its success measured purely by the number of cases it completes, but also whether its presence can encourage effective domestic prosecutions, and some may argue serve as a deterrent. A simple data comparison of successful prosecutions to illustrate effectiveness therefore ignores that the ‘objective’ by which effectiveness is measured against, differs between the three organisations. The budget issue is in essence not new, but it is vital...

...the Court has been or is being committed”; (2) admissibility is not an issue; and (3) there are no “substantial reasons to believe that an investigation would not serve the interests of justice.” There is no question that the OTP’s request for authorization satisfies requirements 1 and 3, and it cannot seriously be argued that complementarity — the first aspect of the admissibility requirement — counsels against opening the Afghanistan investigation. As the request itself notes, none of the relevant parties (the Afghan government, the US government, and the armed...

...international climate change law is not enough to address the climate change crisis. Pacific Island countries should support the criminalizing of ecocide to ensure there is attention to prosecute natural persons and corporate entities that prevent reducing greenhouse gas emissions (see, for example, Taylor and Watts 2019). The ICC has a reserve justice mechanism. It is an institution established to end impunity, premised on the principle of complementarity as stipulated under Article 17 of the Rome Statute. Countries that are State Parties to the Rome Statute have to investigate and...

...2025, the Iranian government submitted the IDBIC to the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis) for legislative consideration. The Bill must be situated within this global movement towards the nationalisation of ICL. Its preamble explicitly frames the initiative as a response to the international community’s rejection of impunity for perpetrators of core international crimes, emphasising that the globalisation of ICL—particularly through the adoption of the Rome Statute and its principle of complementarity—has provided the normative basis for national criminalisation.   The preamble further grounds the Bill in Islamic and constitutional principles. It highlights...

...the case under Article 17 of the Rome Statute. With regard to complementarity (Art. 53(1)(b) of the Statute), both Georgia and Russia have had sufficient time to undertake national investigations of conflict related crimes – more than 7 years. On the one hand, while the Russian Federation authorities have shown to be willing and able to conduct national proceedings (para. 50), the Court could not conclusively decide on the question regarding their inability to access crucial evidence (para. 46). On the other hand, the Georgian authorities seemed to have been...

...Phase 3 (admissibility requirements – complementarity and gravity pursuant to Article 17), and Phase 4 (interests of justice).  In the OTP’s architecture, Phase 1 is an initial assessment of all information received under Article 15 communications. The main purpose of this phase, as stipulated by the OTP, is to filter out information on crimes that are manifestly outside the jurisdiction of the Court. Indeed, the Experts’ Report recalls “the initial selection of situations occurs before the opening of a PE” (para 636). Nevertheless, in spite of its existence and important...

The Virginia Journal of International Law is delighted to continue its partnership with Opinio Juris this week in this online symposium featuring three pieces recently published by VJIL in Vol. 50:1, available here. On Wednesday, Professor Alexander K.A. Greenawalt, Associate Professor of Law, Pace University School of Law, will discuss Complementarity in Crisis: Uganda, Alternative Justice, and the International Criminal Court. Professor Greenawalt examines the difficult institutional problems faced by the International Criminal Court (ICC or Court) in the context of the Ugandan peace process. In recent years, the government...