The ICC detention center houses both people convicted by the court and serving sentences and suspects detained awaiting trial. It consists of twelve cells on the grounds of the Scheveningen branch of Haaglanden Prison in The Hague, near the ICC`s new headquarters in Alexanderkazerne. [163] [164] Suspects detained by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia are held in the same prison and share some facilities, such as the gymnasium, but have no contact with suspects detained by the ICC. [163] In addition, the prosecution opened proprio motu investigations in Kenya in 2010, Côte d`Ivoire in 2011, Georgia in 2016, Burundi in 2017, Bangladesh and Myanmar in 2019, and Afghanistan in 2020. Preliminary investigations have been opened in seven other countries – including Colombia, Ukraine and Venezuela – as well as in the Palestinian territories. ICC President travels to Ghana for keynote address and meets with the country`s highest authorities This has been interpreted as a major shift towards environmental crime[71][72] and a step with important implications. [73] [74] So far, the prosecutor has opened investigations in 12 situations: Burundi; two in the Central African Republic; Côte d`Ivoire; Darfur, Sudan; the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Georgia; Kenya; Libya; Mali; Uganda; and Bangladesh/Myanmar. [172] In addition, the Office of the Prosecutor is conducting preliminary investigations into nine situations in Afghanistan; Colombia; Guinea; Iraq / United Kingdom; Nigeria; Palestine; the Philippines; Ukraine; and Venezuela. [173] The International Criminal Court (ICC)[2] is an intergovernmental organization and international criminal court based in The Hague, Netherlands. The ICC is the first and only permanent international court empowered to prosecute individuals for international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. It is intended to complement existing national judicial systems and can therefore only exercise its jurisdiction if national courts are unwilling or unable to prosecute offenders.
The ICC has no universal territorial jurisdiction and can only investigate and prosecute crimes committed in member states, crimes committed by nationals of member states, or crimes committed in situations referred to the court by the United Nations Security Council. Permanent premises of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. © 2018 Marina Riera/Human Rights Watch Victims can participate in almost all stages of the ICC trial. Under the Rome Statute, victims have the right to be represented by a lawyer, to take protective measures, to receive notices of hearings and to express their views and concerns during the proceedings. For example: In 2010, Kampala, Uganda, hosted the Assembly Conference for the Revision of the Statute in Rome. [47] The ICC can only exercise jurisdiction over crimes committed after July 1, 2002 (the date of entry into force of the Rome Statute). If the alleged crimes took place before that date, the case cannot be brought before the ICC. The ICC is based in The Hague, a city in the Netherlands that hosts many international institutions, and has field offices in several countries.
The court conducts its investigative work through the Public Prosecutor`s Office, headed since 2012 by Fatou Bensouda, a Gambian lawyer. After failing to find a consensus candidate in February 2021, member states elected British lawyer Karim Khan, special adviser to the UN secretary-general, to succeed Bensouda in June. NGOs have played a crucial role in the development of the ICC, as they have contributed to the creation of the normative climate that has led states to seriously consider the formation of the court. Their legal experts helped shape the law, while their lobbying boosted support for it. They advocate for the ratification of laws worldwide and work at expert and policy level in member states to adopt the necessary national laws. NGOs are strongly represented at meetings of the Assembly of States Parties and use ASF meetings to lobby for decisions that advance their priorities. [267] Many of these NGOs have adequate access to key ICC officials through their participation in the Staff Status process. They are engaged in monitoring, commenting and supporting ICC activities. Participation before the Court may take different forms at different stages of the proceedings, with judges required to give instructions on the timing and modalities of participation. To initiate an investigation, the Prosecutor must (1) have “reasonable grounds to believe that an offence within the jurisdiction of the Court has been or will be committed”, (2) the investigation would be consistent with the principle of complementarity, and (3) the investigation serves the interests of the judiciary.
[101] The prosecutor – but not the victims – can appeal an acquittal. If the defendant is found guilty, the Trial Chamber may order the accused to pay reparations to the victims. Victims can appeal a compensation order. Regarding the Independent Office of the Defense Prosecutor (OPCD), Thomas Lubanga`s defense team said it had received a lower budget than the prosecutor and that evidence and witness statements were slow to arrive. [126] For a person to be prosecuted by the Court of Justice, there must be territorial or personal jurisdiction. Therefore, a person can only be prosecuted if he or she has either (1) committed an offence within the territorial jurisdiction of the Court, or (2) committed an offence while a national of a State subject to the territorial jurisdiction of the Court. The Public Prosecutor`s Office has opened 12 formal investigations and is conducting nine other preliminary investigations. So far, 45 people have been indicted before the ICC, including Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony, former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo and DRC Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba.