IJCentral: International Justice Central

An arrest warrant against Muammar Gadaffi, a Khmer Rouge conviction, the arrest of Ratko Mladic, and the opening of three more cases at the International Criminal Court (ICC):  it has certainly been a highly eventful year in the world of international criminal law. Sunday marks International Justice Day, the anniversary of the drafting of the Rome Statute and the creation of the ICC. It is therefore an appropriate point in time to reflect on the dramatic events of the past year. 

In November the trial against former Congolese Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba commenced at the ICC, with an all-female panel of judges to determine Bemba’s responsibility for atrocities – most notably mass rapes and murder – committed by forces under his command in the Central African Republic in 2002 and 2003. The post-election violence in Kenya in late 2007 is the topic of another new case before the court, with six high-profile Kenyans, including the son of founding father Jomo Kenyatta, facing crimes against humanity charges. The confirmation of the charges against the six will take place in September, although the accused have already made two voluntary appearances before the Court. The first case on the situation in Darfur is also underway, with the two accused Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain and Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus also appearing voluntarily before the court to face war crime charges. No date has been set for the start of the trial, but proceedings should commence in the coming months.

The spotlight was on the ICC following a dramatic series of events involving the escalating violence in Libya, with the Security Council in March making its second ICC referral, with the support of the United States. The Office of the Prosecutor leapt into action, announcing the opening of an investigation and, within a matter of months, seeking arrest warrants against Muammar al-Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and the government’s chief of intelligence, Abdullah al-Sanussi. However, the court faced criticism for the warrants, with the accusation that it was merely inflaming the burgeoning civil war, and decreasing the possibility of Gaddafi voluntarily stepping down. With the conflict appearing deadlocked, despite NATO intervention, the prospect of arrests seems unlikely in the immediate future.

Meanwhile, the court’s “most wanted”, Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, continued to travel without fear of arrest. Despite being signatories of the Rome Statute, and therefore under a responsibility to give effect to the ICC’s arrest warrants, Kenya, Sudan and Djibouti welcomed Bashir in the past year. However, in June, high profile publicity from Amnesty International put adequate pressure on Malaysia, where Bashir was due to attend a conference, to lead to a cancellation of the trip. The last year also saw the ICC welcome five new state parties: Seychelles, People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Saint Lucia, Republic of Moldova and Tunisia.

But international justice is not just the ICC. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has received a significant resurgence in public interest since the high profile arrest and extradition of former General of the Serbian forces, Ratko Mladic. Since his initial appearance in June, Mladic appears to have taken a leaf out of the Milosevic book of delaying tactics, with repeated outbursts, complaints and requests. The trial looks set to be a long one. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda issued judgments in a number of cases, the most high profile being that of Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, the first woman to be convicted of genocide. Meanwhile, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) delivered its long awaited judgment in the case against Comrade Duch, the prison warden of the infamous Toul Sleng torture facility during the reign of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, sentencing him to 30 years in prison. The second trial at the ECCC, against four high ranked members of the regime, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Khieu Samphan, and Ieng Thirith, began with opening statements last month.

In the meantime, the Special Courts for Sierra Leone and for Lebanon are winding down and starting up respectively. The last trial of the Sierra Leone court, that against former Liberian president Charles Taylor, heard closing statements in February and March, with a judgment due later this year. The trial was the centre of a media storm last summer when celebrity witnesses Naomi Campbell and Mia Farrow took to the stand before a packed gallery, to testify on events surrounding a party held by Nelson Mandela in 1997, during which Taylor allegedly presented Campbell with a ‘blood diamond’. Last month the Special Court for Lebanon released indictments in its investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. The names of those indicted were leaked within hours, revealing that the Court is targeting high profile members of Hezbollah, which naturally provoked outcry and threats of retaliatory violence from the armed group.

Looking ahead to the next year in justice, the focus will stay for the most part on the arrest warrants faced by Muammar Gadaffi and his son and advisor. The Libyan leader has condemned the court and rejected its authority, and the question of who will execute the arrest warrants remains unclear. The results of investigations into the post election violence that took place late last year in Cote d’Ivoire will be revealed, followed by possible arrest warrants for those deemed most responsible for the clashes between the supporters of ousted president Laurent Gbagbo and of new leader Alassane Ouattara. Meanwhile, the ICC will finally wrap up its first case, that against Thomas Lubanga of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, charged with conscripting child soldiers. The closing arguments of the prosecution and defence will take place at the end of August and a judgment will be expected in the following months. This will be the only trial to conclude during Luis Moreno-Ocampo’s seven year term as Chief Prosecutor, with his mandate due to conclude in 2012. The hunt for a replacement is already underway, with an election due to take place before the end of the year.

The next year will be challenging for the Court, primarily in terms of legitimacy. It has faced criticism for its allegedly anti-Africa basis (the Court has focused entirely on events in the continent) and has come under fire from the African Union, who has threatened to pull out of the Court entirely. The steps taken in the coming months will play a crucial role in maintaining legitimacy in Africa and some say the election of an African prosecutor and the opening of cases elsewhere would go some way towards alleviating the concerns of African leaders.  The court also faces challenges created by an increase in workload, yet no expansion of its budget. To cope with an ever growing number of cases, the court will ask for increased funding from state parties when it presents its 2012 budget in the coming months, despite the budget supposedly having zero growth from year to year.

In any event, this year undoubtedly marked an important and exciting year in the development of international justice, with increased attention being rightly shown to the work of the ICC, the Tribunals and Special Courts.