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30 Nov

The International Criminal Court Assembly of States Parties has opened their second session in the Hague this week. The Assembly of States Parties is composed of representatives of all of the governments party to the ICC Statute, that is to say, those countries that have signed and ratified the ICC Statute. Of course, the U.S. has famously revoked its signature to the ICC Statute. Or has it? According to the ICC’s official statement, the U.S. is a “observatory signatory.” That is, the U.S. is not a party “to the Statute...
30.11.05 | |

19 Mar

According to the AP, Sudan announced yesterday that it will suspend all cooperation with the International Criminal Court following that the ICC prosecutor’s charges of war crimes against a Sudan government minister. “We had extended our cooperation with the ICC for some time, but now the situation is completely different,” Justice Minister Mohammed Ali al-Mardi told The Associated Press on the telephone from Geneva, where he was attending a U.N. Human Rights Council meeting. “It’s not even a question of cooperation anymore, it’s a question that they (the ICC) want...
19.03.07 | |

10 Feb

This would give a very, very strong message to those running the show,” Rupert Colville, spokesman for U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, told a news briefing. I suppose there is some possibility that China and Russia would allow an ICC investigation (Syria is not a state-party to the ICC) even as they oppose a more powerful UNSC resolution. But it hardly seems likely. And there is almost no chance, in my view, that such an investigation would make a meaningful difference to a brutal dictator, and regime,...
10.02.12 | |

17 Apr

the OTP would obviously be trying to make the best of a very difficult situation. Would ensuring that the ICC has at least some role in a national trial be a good idea? To be honest, I’m not so sure. I think it is very unlikely that Saif will get a fair trial in Libya, ICC involvement or not. Any deal between the ICC and Libya, therefore, would means that the Court would be on the hook for the results of the trial — if it turns out to be...
17.04.12 | |

25 Jun

I obviously disagreed with the ICC’s decision to issue the non-apology apology, but I sincerely hoped that it would at least lead to Taylor’s release. Unfortunately, Libya has given no indication that, having suitably humiliated both the Court and Bob Carr, it has any intention of releasing her: Carr said Friday’s talks in the Hague between the ICC and Libyan authorities had resulted in a statement “that had the ICC expressing regret, effectively an apology for any misunderstandings”. “It’s what we were after,” Carr told ABC television. “The talks in...
25.06.12 | |

07 Mar

...is more difficult to explain why there would be no personal immunity for ICC defendants who are nationals of states that have not ratified the Rome Statute and whose crimes were committed in a situation not referred by the Security Council. The ICC is based on states pooling their territorial and national jurisdiction; as the saying goes, what one state can do alone, many states can do together. The corollary of that saying, however, is that states cannot delegate to the Court powers that they do not themselves possess. The...
07.03.22 | |

23 Nov

...the author.] Following moves from Gambia, Burundi and South Africa in the past weeks to withdraw from the ICC, much thought is now being given, and keyboards worn down, by the international community as it considers what this news will mean for these countries individually, Africa more generally and of course the ICC. I want to slightly side-step some of these issues though and address the seemingly confused narrative circulating on the African alternative to the ICC. This seems especially important given the South African Minister for Justice Michael Masutha’s...
23.11.16 | |

16 Jan

Regular readers no doubt know that I am obsessed with the media’s seemingly congenital inability to grasp the law and politics of the ICC. My new favorite comes via the BBC, in an article about the impending arrest warrant for Bashir: Two Sudanese groups have formally requested the International Criminal Court (ICC) not to issue an arrest for President Omar al-Bashir. He is accused of responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity during the conflict in Darfur. Experts warn that the motion filed could lead to a delay in...
16.01.09 | |

08 Dec

I haven’t had time to comment on the collapse of the ICC Kenyatta prosecution last week. But friend of blog and Northwestern University law professor Eugene Kontorovich has some interesting thoughts over at National Review. Read the whole thing, but suffice to say, Eugene thinks this is pretty big body blow to the whole idea that the ICC can be an effective institution at deterring international atrocities. Not that it is exactly shocking that a head of state accused of atrocities would use every lever in his tool box to...
08.12.14 | |

15 Jun

...Conventions of 12 August 1949″; and “[o]ther serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in armed conflicts not of an international character.” In each and every case, war crimes are limited to violations of IHL. No more. The Appeals Chamber (AC) at the ICC has just unanimously held in Ntaganda that a perpetrator can be convicted of a war crime even if his act does not violate IHL. That decision is not simply “unprecedented,” as the AC openly acknowledges. It is simply incorrect — as this post will demonstrate....
15.06.17 | |

29 Nov

would be elected, especially when the final list included two Africans who were very well qualified for the position. That said, I still think Fatou Bensouda is the clear choice for the next Prosecutor. She offers the best of both worlds: an ICC insider who offers institutional continuity, which will be critical in the coming years, but has a strong, independent voice that has not been tainted by Moreno-Ocampo’s incompetent tenure. Having spoken to numerous individuals involved in the ICC, from OTP staff to legal officers in Chambers to defense...
29.11.11 | |

28 Apr

Milan Markovic The bigger issue here is that Ocampo seems to be admitting that ICC indictments are politically-motivated. Either Ocampo has evidence to charge more Sudanese officials or he does not, but whether he moves forward should be determined by the evidence, not on the effect the indictments will have on Sudan's government. Ocampo is just making Sudan's case against the ICC with statements like this. Zygote My humble opinion is that non-cooperation with ICC and SC's Resolution constitutes an evidence of itself. The important thing to realize is that...
28.04.08 | |