On Thursday afternoon, December 14, ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo will brief the United Nations Security Council on his intention to initiate the ICC’s first case against “individuals allegedly responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.” At the briefing, the Prosecutor will present the findings of his “nearly completed investigation” of the situation in Darfur, and will set out the next steps he intends to take.
New Prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone
UN Secretary-General Annan appointed Mr. Stephen Rapp as the new Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. .Mr. Rapp, an American, has been Chief of Prosecutions at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) since May, 2005. Prior to that appointment he was Senior Trial Attorney against the principals of RTLM radio and the editor of the Kangura newspaper in what is commonly referred to as the “Media Trialâ€. Mr. Rapp succeeds Desmond da Silva, QC, who decided not to renew his contract after it expired in June 2006.
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ICC Closes Fifth Session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute
The fifth session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, the legislative body overseeing the administration of the ICC, concluded on December 1. The Assembly adopted four resolutions: (1) to strive for full adoption of the Rome Statute; (2) to approve a budget of €88,871,800 and a 647-person staff; (3) to focus on the Alexanderkazerne site as the permanent premises of the Court; and, (4) to implement the ‘Strategic Plan of the Court’ which concerns matters such as victims’ interests, outreach and communication, and budget.
ICC Opens Fifth Session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute
The fifth session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, the legislative body overseeing the administration of the ICC, opened on November 23 and will last until December 1. Since the Assembly’s fourth session in January 2006, four states (Chad, Comoros, Montenegro, and Saint Kitts and Nevis) have ratified or acceded to the Rome Statute. The Assembly now has 104 states parties. Issues on the Assembly’s agenda for this session include the 2007 budget, a consideration of crimes of aggression, and the election of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims.
ICC Hearing Begins in The Prosecutor vs. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo
The ICC commenced the public hearing for the confirmation of charges against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo on November 9, scheduled to end on November 28. If the Pre-Trial Chamber confirms the charges brought against Dyilo, then there will be subsequent proceedings. Dyilo is being charged for war crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including the conscription of children under the age of fifteen. Legal representatives of the victims will make opening statements at the hearing, which notably marks the “first time in international criminal law that victims have been able to participate in the proceedings.â€
Indictee Transferred From The ICTY Found Guilty of Crimes Against Humanity
On Tuesday, November 14, Radovan Stanković was sentenced by the Court of Bosnia Herzegovina to 16 years’ imprisonment for rapes and other crimes against humanity. The Court found that Stanković held a number of Bosnian women and girls captive so that Serb soldiers and other Serb men could sexually assault them. This case was the first to have been transferred to a national court from the International Criminal Tribunal of Yugoslavia as part of the Tribunal’s completion strategy where cases and expertise are transferred to the judiciaries in the region.