Search: palestine icc
30 Jun The Early Stages of ICC Proceedings: Why the Court Must Ensure Access to Justice for Victims and Suspects (Part I: Victims and ICC Investigations: Rhetoric v. Reality)
[ Megan Hirst is ICC victims’ representative in the Bangladesh/Myanmar and Afghanistan situations. Marie O’Leary is acting Principal Counsel for the ICC Office of Public Counsel for the Defence (OPCD). The views in this post are those of the author alone and do not reflect the views of the ICC. Valeria Babără is Legal Adviser at Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice. Danya Chaikel is the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) Representative to the ICC.] Last year, litigation in the Palestine Situation put a spotlight on the International Criminal Court’s...
06 Aug Emerging Voices: The Use of the ‘Proxy Argument’ in the Al-Bashir Case–A Riddle for the Law of International Organizations
of international law? In this blogpost I will evaluate an argument that was put forward during the proceedings, according to which member states would act as “agents”, “organs” or “proxies” of the ICC. I will contend that the argument is based on the unclear conceptualization of the ICC as a supranational international organization. I will contest this thesis, but I will also contend that the law of international organizations does not provide a clear answer to this dilemma. The Proxy argument On the 14th of August 2018, the ICC Office...25 May Guest Post: Five Questions on the Colombian Sentencing Practice and the Principle of Complementarity under the Rome Statue
widely accepted at the ICC. There are a number of factors that might support Colombia’s claim for lenient (and, to a lesser extent, suspended) and/or disparate sentences. Firstly, it seems that the ICC prosecution already pointed to broad discretion of the Colombian judiciary in its 2012 report (para. 206), when it confirmed that the ICC would examine local sentences individually on the basis of particular factors, such as, the intent to bring perpetrators to justice, the gravity of the crimes and the efforts to establish the truth. Secondly, the ICC...28 Oct The Re-branding of the International Criminal Court (and Why African States Are Not Falling For It)
...greatest ally – the African continent (all current charges are against individuals from the African continent), there was some salesmanship to be done for the ICC. In light of its focus on Africa, there have been long-standing demands to try former US-President George W. Bush and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in The Hague for war crimes. Then there is the fact that observers of the ICC’s practices are becoming tired of the constant reference to the Court’s youth; with well over a decade of activity, the ICC is...
03 Aug Complementarity, Catalysts, Compliance Symposium: The Spectrum of Ideologies in International Criminal Justice–From Legalism to Policy
of the legalist ideology that has been guiding the ICC judges, and to some extent, the OTP. What is not considered, however, is the question of why the ICC judges have adhered to this legalistic interpretation of complementarity. I argue that the judges’ insistence on the separation of law from politics when it comes to complementarity is in fact part of a broader normative reorientation at the ICC towards a stricter understanding of legalism, often explicitly in opposition to previous tribunals. Thus, what we see in the contest between NGOs...
06 Aug Complementarity, Catalysts, Compliance Symposium: Why Catalysis is the Wrong Metaphor
...of complementarity has changed, in turn, what the ICC itself seeks to accomplish as it tries “to accommodate this more expansive understanding of complementarity” (14). In other words, it is not only that the ICC spurs civil society into action in pursuit of pre-established accountability goals; it is also that civil society reshapes what goals the ICC seeks, and in so doing reshapes the ICC itself. These complex multi-directional interactions are richly described in De Vos’ case studies. However, the framing apparatus obscures them. The metaphor of catalysis is...19 Nov At Long Last: The International Criminal Court Strikes in the Central African Republic
be a paradigmatic case of a state’s inability to prosecute under complementarity, justifying the assertion of ICC jurisdiction. In other words, CAR’s legal inability to handle this case would explain why an international trial of Yekatom is not just convenient for the ICC but also legally necessary. Unfortunately, the ICC is unlikely to go down this route to justify its fully legitimate exercise of jurisdiction. Conclusion The Yekatom case raises many other legal and non-legal questions. Most notably, the arrest warrant suggests that the ICC will have to grapple with...04 Apr Kenya’s Latest Attempt to Invoke Complementarity
investigated (emphasis mine): 32. The ICC case law has not authoritatively determined the meaning of the word “case” in Article 17(1). It is significant that for the purposes of authorising an investigation under Article 15 in respect of the Kenya Situation the Pre-Trial Chamber held that the admissibility of the case before the ICC must be determined by whether (i) the groups of persons that are the likely to be the object of an investigation by the ICC and (ii) the crimes that are likely to be the focus of...10 Dec Moreno-Ocampo Needs a Remedial Criminal Law Course
...of Palestine had concluded with third-party non-member states (e.g. The Arab League and OIC) prior to the date of the Rome Statute's entry into force. I've noted the fact that many of the members of the League and OIC are ICC member states that can be called upon to use those multilateral agreements to assist the Court in obtaining custody of Palestinian suspects from third party states. I've endorsed the conclusions of UN Special Rapporteurs, Fact Finding Missions, and the panels of legal experts assigned to follow-up on the investigations...21 Feb Misrepresenting Al-Haq’s Position on Palestinian Rocket Attacks
...it is a political process. Palestine has been recognised by around a hundred states, but it has not been recognised by the United States or the European states, and is not a full member of the United Nations. Could you briefly explain the main points of the Palestine Declaration to the ICC? The declaration on behalf of the Government of Palestine seeks to transfer jurisdiction over crimes in the Rome Statute - war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide - on the territory of Palestine to the ICC. The key...