A Blog on International Justice
The International Bar Association (IBA) is currently seeking high calibre legal interns to work on its International Criminal Court (ICC) Programme in The Hague to commence in June 2013. The internship provides a unique opportunity to gain experience in the evolving field of international criminal justice. The deadline for applications is May 13 2013. The International Bar [...]
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, has appeared in court today, charged with attempting to escape from the jail in which he has been held since he was arrested in November 2011. Libyan prosecutor accuses Gaddafi of conspiring to break out of his detention last year, in the western mountain [...]
Christine Van den Wyngaert, Trial Chamber Judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the case against the President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, asked to be withdrawn from the case. This withdrawal occured after the Trial Chamber issued a decision this Friday on an Application and related requests from the Defence of Mr Kenyatta to [...]
Yesterday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) published a Defence notification announcing the death of Mr. Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus (Jerbo). Mr. Jerbo died in North Darfur, Sudan on the afternoon of 19 April 2013, and was buried the same day. The Defence was informed on 20 April that Mr Jerbo was killed during an attack [...]
iLawyerblog is happy to announce that iLawyer John RWD Jones QC has been appointed by the Gaddafi family as Counsel for Saif Al Islam Gaddafi. He will represent him until such time as Mouammar Gaddafi’s son is either able to choose his own lawyer or the International Criminal Court (ICC) finally rules on Libya’s admissibility [...]
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has opened an investigation into allegations by four people who say they were subjected to sexual abuse by a court staff member working in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Court said that the aim of the investigation is to establish “the facts underlying the allegations and fairly determining any [...]
by Amy Sheils* After gaining independence from France in 1960, Mali endured decades of droughts, rebellions, and military dictatorship following a coup in 1968. The latest rebellion started in January 2012 when the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) – a secular group representing nomadic Tuareg and other ethic groups from northern Mali – [...]
The International Bar Association’s International Criminal Court (ICC) Programme has recently issued its latest online newsletter Fair Trial Digest. Fair Trial Digest is a bi-monthly publication highlighting select fair trial issues arising at the ICC during the preceding two months. The February-March 2013 edition features the following: Situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo: The [...]
Peter Dejong/AP Bosco Ntaganda appeared before the International Criminal Court for the first time on Tuesday last week. For reasons that remain unclear, Ntaganda surrendered himself voluntarily to the US Embassy in Rwanda on the 18th of March, apparently requesting a transfer to the ICC. He was transferred to the court on the 22nd of March to face charges of [...]
On 27 March 2013, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) dismissed by majority the appeal raised by the Defence of Germain Katanga against the decision of Trial Chamber II giving notice of a possible change in the legal characterization of the form of responsibility with which Mr Katanga is charged. Mr Katanga [...]
Bosco Ntaganda was escorted this morning to the International Criminal Court (ICC) detention centre in The Hague, Netherlands. Bosco Ntaganda, better known as the ‘Terminator’ and a key suspect of war crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (‘DR Congo’), had sought refuge in the US embassy in Rwanda on Monday. According to the US [...]
“Peace or justice? Shall we strive for peace at all costs, sacrificing justice on the way, or shall we soldier on in the pursuit for justice to end impunity?” International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda gave her views on the question in an open editorial published yesterday by the New York Times. Fatou Bensouda [...]
Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Louise Mushikiwabo announced today on her twitter account that Bosco Ntaganda, a Congolese fugitive wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), presented himself at the US Embassy in Kigali. “We have learned today that Bosco Ntaganda entered Rwanda and surrendered to US Embassy in Kigali,” Louise Mushikiwabo said. The ICC [...]
Today, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) dropped all charges against Kenyan former Cabinet Secretary Francis Muthaura, who was accused of crimes against humanity for his alleged involvement in deadly violence that erupted after Kenya’s 2007 presidential election. “I have decided, as of the state of evidence available now, that we have no other choice [...]
Herman von Hebel Herman von Hebel, current Registrar of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) has been elected today Registrar of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Mr von Hebel will succeed Ms Silvana Arbia in mid-April 2013 for a five-year mandate. Mr von Hebel, a Dutch national, was appointed registrar of the STL by the [...]
Today, the International Criminal Court (ICC) set the date for the commencement of the trial in the case Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain and Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus for 5 May 2014. The delay was deemed necessary to allow the adoption of measures meant to ensure that trial proceedings will not be interrupted, including witness protection [...]
In its latest report released today, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Republic (‘the Commission’) depicts an increasing violence with both parties to the conflict which have become “reckless with human life” nearly two years after the hostilities started. The Commission found that both pro- and anti-government forces have violated [...]
In a recent article published on the Opinio Juris blog, Kevin Jon Heller discussed the latest development in the Libyan government’s ongoing admissibility challenge in the case of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi. Heller critically discusses Libya’s recent request to the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber to disclose evidence supporting its admissibility challenge on an ex parte basis. The [...]
by Daniel Robinson* The United Nations (“UN”) Human Rights Council has issued a report warning Israel to cease settlement activity in the West Bank or potentially face legal action at the International Criminal Court (“ICC”). The report, released on 31 January 2013, states that Israel is in violation of international law and calls for both [...]
On 16 January 2012, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, launched an investigation into alleged crimes committed on the territory of Mali since the armed uprising of January 2012. This decision is the result of a seven-month preliminary examination of the Situation in Mali opened in July 2012 following a [...]
This Monday, Switzerland sent a letter on behalf of fifty-seven states to ask the UN Security Council to refer the Syria conflict to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for a war crimes investigation. The signatories included all European Union member states, with the notable exception of Sweden. Australia, New Zealand, Japan and a number of [...]
by Amal Alamuddin* - iLawyer and former adviser to Kofi Annan on Syria The UN Security Council (UNSC) kick-started international criminal justice in the 1990s by creating courts to try those suspected of international crimes in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. When the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened its doors in 2002, it became the world’s first [...]
iLawyerblog Guest Blogger and President of the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) David Tolbert recently discussed how to make “positive complementarity” work on the ground. Under such policy, the International Criminal Court (ICC) would ensure cooperation with national governments and use political leverage to encourage states to undertake their own prosecutions of international crimes. [...]
The International Criminal Court (ICC) today acquitted alleged former militia leader Mathieu Ngudjolo of all charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in 2003. The presiding judge ordered his immediate release. Presiding judge Bruno Cotte said that in view of all the evidence presented, “the Chamber has [...]
The International Bar Association’s International Criminal Court (ICC) Programme has recently issued its latest online newsletter Fair Trial Digest. Fair Trial Digest is a bi-monthly publication highlighting select fair trial issues arising at the ICC during the preceding two months. The September – November 2012 edition features the following: CONTENTS Fair Trial Focus The Prosecutor [...]