International Criminal Court fr

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the first ever permanent, treaty-based, international criminal court. It was established to promote the rule of law and to ensure that the gravest international crimes do not go unpunished. The Court tries persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which established the court on 17 July 1998, was adopted by 120 countries. The Statute entered into force on 1 July 2002.

The ICC is an independent international organisation, and is not part of the United Nations system. Its seat is at The Hague in the Netherlands. Although the Court’s expenses are funded primarily by States Parties, it also receives voluntary contributions from governments, international organisations, individuals, corporations and other entities.

The ICC is a court of last resort.  It will not act if a case is investigated or prosecuted by a national judicial system unless the national proceedings are not genuine, for example if formal proceedings were undertaken solely to shield a person from criminal responsibility.  In addition, the ICC only tries those accused of the gravest crimes.

As of April 2010 the Rome Statute of the ICC has been ratified by 111 countries.

Proceedings currently before the ICC

In 2007 the first accused to face trial before the ICC was Thomas Lubanga, former Commander-in-Chief of the Forces Patriotiques pour la Libération du Congo (FPLC) (Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo). He is charged with three counts of war crimes for enlisting and conscripting children under the age of 15 and using them to participate actively in hostilities. The ICC has also issued a warrant of arrest for another Chief of FPLC, Bosco Ntaganda, who is still at large.

In a second trial, which began on 24 November 2009, Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui are currently face charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes, also in the DRC.

On 4 March 2009 the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir. He is indicted as an indirect (co-) perpetrator for crimes against humanity and war crimes related to the crisis in Darfur, Sudan,from 2003 until 2005. He remains at large.

On 18 May 2009 Bahr Idriss Abu Garda appeared before Pre-Trial Chamber I, accused of war crimes in relation to the killing of 12 African Union peacekeepers in 2007 in North Darfur. He is the first person to appear before the ICC voluntarily in response to a summons and also the first to appear in relation to the investigation into the situation in Darfur. On 8 February 2010, Pre-Trial Chamber refused to confirm the charges against Abu Garda.

On 5 July 2010 the ICC will begin its third trial, against former DRC Vice Presdient, Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo. Bemba faces charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in the Central African Republic.

Others who remain wanted by the Court include: Joseph Kony, Vincent Otti, Dominic Ongwen, Okot Odhiambo (for the situation in Uganda) and Ahmad Muhammad Harun and Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (for the situation in Darfur).

Situations before the ICC

There are currently five situations before the ICC: in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic and in Darfur, Sudan, and Kenya.

In November 2009 the Presidency of the ICC referred the situation in Kenya to Pre-Trial Chamber II. Pre-Trial Chamber II of the ICC granted a prosecution request to open an investigation into alleged crimes against humanity in Kenya committed between 1 June 2002 and 26 November 2009.

In October 2009 the Prosecutor also announced that violence in the West African state of Guinea in September 2009 is under preliminary investigation. The examination follows violence at a protest in the capital of Conakry in which more than 150 people were killed and over 1,000 injured when presidential guard troops allegedly opened fire on protestors.

The ICC has also initiated preliminary examinations into the situations in Afghanistan, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Georgia and Palestine.

Calendar of court proceedings before the ICC