As readers of this blog will know, I think one of the most important and useful aspects of the ICC is its complementarity provision (which is why I am worried about the ICC’s recent justification for its jurisdiction over the case against Germain Katanga). The ICC should only ever be a court of last resort, […]
Light shed by Botswana on the so-called “AU decision” against the ICC
July 5, 2009 by 1 Comment
UPDATE: Sudan Tribune reports that the decision was taken “by consensus” – but it is unclear to me how you have consensus if the parties are not actually in agreement. ——————————– At the end of their summit in Sirte, under the watchful eye of Chair, Col. Gaddafi, the AU put out a statement that they […]
Prosecution gets to appeal ICC decision not to charge Bashir with genocide
June 24, 2009 by 3 Comments
The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I* has granted the Prosecution leave to appeal its decision from March this year not to issue a warrant of arrest for Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir for genocide (it issued it for five counts of crimes against humanity and two counts of war crimes). The Prosecution raised its appeal on […]
ICC Bemba decision: Under the Rome Statute, all rape is also torture as a crime against humanity (but you can’t charge it separately)
June 16, 2009 by Leave a Comment
Yesterday, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the ICC issued its decision on the confirmation of charges laid by the Prosecutor against Congelese MLC leader (and former Vice-President), Jean-Pierre Bemba, for crimes committed in the Central African Republic, 2002-2003. The decision is 187 pages long, so please forgive the length of this blog post. To summarize, the […]
ICC will judge Katanga
June 12, 2009 by 3 Comments
In its oral decision handed down at 9am this morning (Hague time), Trial Chamber II dismissed Katanga’s challenge to the admissibility of his case before the ICC. There’s a few points of general interest: As a strictly legal matter, the judges could have side-stepped deciding this case on the merits In the oral decision, Judge […]
Decision on who should judge Katanga
June 7, 2009 by Leave a Comment
For those who followed the ICC hearing on the challenge to admissibility of the case against Germain Katanga last week, you’ll want to tune back into the court this Friday 12 June. Trial Chamber II will be handing down their decision in a public session at 9am Hague time.
Lawyer of the Day Prize goes to . . .
June 1, 2009 by Leave a Comment
. . . Carine Bapita, legal representative for victims at the ICC. Why? Her statements in the admissibility hearing in Katanga today shows she has the Defense strategy all mapped out (so much so, Defense lawyer David Hooper himself acknowledged it). I don’t have the transcript yet, but to paraphrase Bapita: The admissibility challenge is […]
Who should judge the Katanga case?
June 1, 2009 by 5 Comments
** I’m twittering the hearing at: http://twitter.com/bechamilton for those who can’t catch the live webcast** There is a hearing at the ICC this morning which may seem to be on an obscure legal point to the general public, but is actually of significance to the global system of justice established by the Rome Statute. The […]
Abu Garda vs. Omar Al Bashir
May 28, 2009 by 3 Comments
Below I’ve (belatedly) written up some of the notes I took while attending Abu Garda’s first appearance before the ICC last week: May 18, 2009 There are two men. They are both Sudanese. They both have leadership positions. And they are both charged with serious crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC). But that is […]
Abu Garda comes to the ICC
May 18, 2009 by Leave a Comment
I sat in the gallery to watch his appearance – more poised and relaxed than any defendant I have seen in the ICC dock. The hearing itself was the usual formalities that go with a first appearance. The suspect gives his name, date of birth (he’s 46) and profession (“political commander”). The Judge – in […]
