Judges of the International Criminal Court

The eighteen judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) are elected for nine-year terms by the member-countries of the court.[1] Candidates must be nationals of those countries and they must "possess the qualifications required in their respective States for appointment to the highest judicial offices".[1]

A judge may be disqualified from "any case in which his or her impartiality might reasonably be doubted on any ground",[2] and a judge may be removed from office if he or she "is found to have committed serious misconduct or a serious breach of his or her duties" or is unable to exercise his or her functions.[3]

The judges are organized into three divisions: the Pre-Trial Division, Trial Division and Appeals Division.[4]

Contents

Qualifications, election and terms

Judges are elected to the ICC by the Assembly of States Parties, the court's governing body.[4] They serve nine-year terms[4] and are not generally eligible for re-election.[5]

All judges must be nationals of states parties to the Rome Statute, and no two judges may be nationals of the same state.[1] They must be “persons of high moral character, impartiality and integrity who possess the qualifications required in their respective States for appointment to the highest judicial offices”,[1] and they must "have an excellent knowledge of and be fluent in at least one of the working languages of the Court" (English and French).[1]

Judges are elected from two lists of candidates. List A comprises candidates who have "established competence in criminal law and procedure, and the necessary relevant experience, whether as judge, prosecutor, advocate or in other similar capacity, in criminal proceedings".[1] List B comprises candidates who have "established competence in relevant areas of international law such as international humanitarian law and the law of human rights, and extensive experience in a professional legal capacity which is of relevance to the judicial work of the Court".[1] Elections are organised so that there are always at least nine serving judges from List A and at least five from List B.[1][6]

The Assembly of States Parties is required to "take into account the need for the representation of the principal legal systems of the world, equitable geographical representation and a fair representation of female and male judges. They shall take into account the need to include judges with legal expertise on specific issues, including, but not limited to, violence against women and children."[6] Thus, there are voting requirements established which require at least six judges to be female and at least six to be male. Additionally, each regional group of the United Nations has at least two judges. If a regional group has more than sixteen states parties this leads to a minimum voting requirement of three judges from this regional group. Therefore, from the Statute's entry into force for the Maldives on 1 December 2011, all regional groups can claim a third judge.

Elections

As of March 2011, five elections have taken place.[7]

Disqualification and removal from office

The prosecutor or any person being investigated or prosecuted may request the disqualification of a judge from "any case in which his or her impartiality might reasonably be doubted on any ground".[2] Any request for the disqualification of a judge from a particular case is decided by an absolute majority of the other judges.[2]

A judge may be removed from office if he or she "is found to have committed serious misconduct or a serious breach of his or her duties" or is unable to exercise his or her functions.[3] The removal of a judge requires both a two-thirds majority of the other judges and a two-thirds majority of the states parties.[3]

Presidency

Main article: Presidency of the International Criminal Court

The Presidency is the organ responsible for the proper administration of the court, except for the Office of the Prosecutor.[19] The Presidency oversees the activities of the Registry and organises the work of the judicial divisions. It also has some responsibilities in the area of external relations, such as negotiating agreements on behalf of the court and the promoting public awareness and understanding of the institution.[20]

The Presidency comprises the President and the First and Second Vice-Presidents – three judges of the court who are elected to the Presidency by their fellow judges for a maximum of two three-year terms.[21] The first President of the ICC was Philippe Kirsch, who served from 2003 to 2009. As of July 2009, the President is Sang-hyun Song from South Korea;[20] Fatoumata Dembele Diarra is First Vice-President and Hans-Peter Kaul is Second Vice-President.[20] All three were elected on 11 March 2009.[20]

Judicial divisions

The eighteen judges are organized into three divisions: the Pre-Trial Division, Trial Division and Appeals Division.[4] The Pre-Trial Division (which comprises the First Vice President and six other judges)[4] confirms indictments and issues international arrest warrants. The Trial Division (the Second Vice President and five other judges) presides over trials. Decisions of the Pre-Trial and Trial Divisions may be appealed to the Appeals Division (the President and four other judges). Judges are assigned to divisions according to their qualifications and experience.[22]

Current structure

Judges

As of December 2009, after the November 2009 elections[23] there are again 18 full-time judges who are supplemented by René Blattmann, whose term expired on 11 March 2009 but who will continue to serve as an ad litem judge for the duration of the Lubanga trial.[24]

Judges of the International Criminal Court, as of December 2009 (sortable)
Name Country[25] Took office Term End Division[22] Current assignments Notes
AluochJoyce Aluoch Kenya 2009 2018 Trial TC III, TC IV
BlattmannRené Blattmann Bolivia 2003 2009[24] Trial TC I Ad litem judge[24]
CotteBruno Cotte France 2007 2012 Trial TC II
DiarraFatoumata Dembélé Diarra Mali 2003 2012 Trial TC II, TC IV First Vice-President
FernandezSilvia Fernández de Gurmendi Argentina 2009 2018 Pre-Trial[26] TC IV, PTC III
FulfordSir Adrian Fulford United Kingdom 2003 2012 Trial TC I, PTC III
KaulHans-Peter Kaul Germany 2003, 2006[5] 2015 Pre-Trial PTC II Second Vice-President
KourulaErkki Kourula Finland 2003, 2006[5] 2015 Appeals AC
KuenyehiaAkua Kuenyehia Ghana 2003, 2006[5] 2015 Appeals AC
MonagengSanji Mmasenono Monageng Botswana 2009 2018 Pre-Trial PTC I
NserekoDaniel David Ntanda Nsereko Uganda 2007 2012 Appeals AC
OdioElizabeth Odio Benito Costa Rica 2003 2012 Trial TC I, PTC III
OzakiKuniko Ozaki Japan 2009 2018 Trial[26] TC III
SongSang-Hyun Song South Korea 2003, 2006[5] 2015 Appeals AC President
SteinerSylvia Steiner Brazil 2003 2012 Pre-Trial TC III, PTC I
TarfusserCuno Tarfusser Italy 2009 2018 Pre-Trial PTC I, PTC II
TrendafilovaEkaterina Trendafilova Bulgaria 2006 2015 Pre-Trial PTC II
UsackaAnita Ušacka Latvia 2003, 2006[5] 2015 Appeals AC
van den WyngaertChristine van den Wyngaert Belgium 2009 2018 Trial TC II

As of December 2011, twelve of the nineteen judges are female. The geographical representation is as follows:[25]

Regional group Number of judges
Western European and other states 6
African states 5
Latin American and Caribbean states 4
Asian states 3
Eastern European states 2
Incoming judges of the International Criminal Court, taking office on 11 March 2012
Name Country[25] Take office Term End Division[22] Current assignments Notes
CarmonaAnthony Carmona  Trinidad and Tobago 2012 2021
Defensor-SantiagoMiriam Defensor-Santiago  Philippines 2012 2021
Eboe-OsujiChile Eboe-Osuji  Nigeria 2012 2021
FremrRobert Fremr  Czech Republic 2012 2021
Herrera CarbucciaOlga Venecia Herrera Carbuccia  Dominican Republic 2012 2021
MorrisonHoward Morrison  United Kingdom 2012 2021

Chambers

The Appeals Chamber consists of the whole Appeals Division whereas the Pre-Trial Chambers cover whole situations and the Trial Chambers single cases (which can consist of one or more accused).

Chamber Members Committed to
Appeals Division
Appeals Kuenyehia (Pres.), Song, Ntanda Nsereko, Kourula, Ušacka[27]
Trial Division
Trial Chamber I Fulford (Presiding Judge), Odio Benito, Blattmann Lubanga trial (DR Congo)
Trial Chamber II Cotte (Presiding Judge), Diarra, van den Wyngaert, Santiago Katanga and Ngudjolo Chui trial (DR Congo)
Trial Chamber III Steiner (Presiding Judge), Aluoch, Ozaki[28] Bemba trial (Central African Rep.)
Trial Chamber IV Aluoch (Presiding Judge[29]), Diarra, Fernández de Gurmendi[30] Banda and Jerbo trial (Darfur [Sudan])
Pre-Trial Division
Pre-Trial Chamber I Monageng (Presiding Judge), Steiner, Tarfusser[31][32] DR Congo
Darfur, Sudan
Libya[33]
Pre-Trial Chamber II Trendafilova (Presiding Judge), Kaul, Tarfusser[31] Uganda
Central African Republic
Kenya
Pre-Trial Chamber III Fernández de Gurmendi (Presiding Judge[34]), Odio Benito, Fulford Côte d'Ivoire[35]

Former judges

Former judges of the International Criminal Court, as of July 2009 (sortable)
Name Country Elected Term End Notes
SladeTuiloma Neroni Slade Samoa 2003 2006 Defeated in 2006 election.[12]
ClarkMaureen Harding Clark Ireland 2003 2006 Resigned to serve on the High Court of Ireland.[36]
JordaClaude Jorda France 2003 2007 Resigned "for reasons of permanent ill-health".[37]
Hudson-PhillipsKarl Hudson-Phillips Trinidad and Tobago 2003 2007 Resigned "for personal reasons".[38]
PillayNavanethem Pillay South Africa 2003 2008 Resigned to serve as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.[39]
KirschPhilippe Kirsch Canada 2003 2009 Not eligible for re-election. President of the Court from 2003 to 2009.
PikisGeorghios Pikis Cyprus 2003 2009 Not eligible for re-election.
PolitiMauro Politi Italy 2003 2009 Not eligible for re-election.
SaigaFumiko Saiga Japan 2007, 2009[5] 2009 Died in office.[40]

Mohamed Shahabuddeen of Guyana was elected to the court in January 2009 but he resigned for personal reasons before taking office.[41]

Classes of judges

In 2003, the first judges were divided into three different classes of terms: those with term ending in 2006 (and re-eligible), those with term ending in 2009 and those with term ending in 2012. This list shows to which class the different judges belong.

Classes of judges' terms
Period Class of judges with initial term ending in 2006 Class of judges with initial term ending in 2009 Class of judges with initial term ending in 2012 Period
2003–2006 Kaul, Kourula, Kuenyehia, Slade, Song, Ušacka Blattmann, Jorda, Kirsch, Pikis, Pillay, Politi
Jorda resigned in 2007
Saiga elected in 2007
Pillay resigned in 2008		 Clark, Diarra, Fulford, Hudson-Phillips, Odio Benito, Steiner
Clark resigned in 2006
Hudson-Phillips resigned in 2007
Cotte, Nsereko elected in 2007		 2003–2006
2006–2009 Kaul[5], Kourula[5], Kuenyehia[5], Song[5], Trendafilova, Ušacka[5] 2006–2009
2009–2012 Aluoch, Monageng, Saiga[5], (Shahabuddeen), Tarfusser, van den Wyngaert
Shahabuddeen did not take office in 2009
Saiga died in 2009
Fernandez de Gurmendi, Ozaki elected in 2009		 2009–2012
2012–2015 Carmona, Defensor-Santiago, Eboe-Osuji, Fremr, Herrera Carbuccia, Morrison 2012–2015
2015–2018 To be elected at the 13th session of the Assembly of State Parties in 2014
Will be in office 2015–2024.		 2015–2018
2018–2021 To be elected at the 16th session of the Assembly of State Parties in 2017
Will be in office 2018–2027.		 2018–2021

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Article 36 of the Rome Statute. Accessed 28 January 2008.
  2. ^ a b c Article 41 of the Rome Statute. Accessed 2 January 2008.
  3. ^ a b c Article 46 of the Rome Statute. Accessed 2 January 2008.
  4. ^ a b c d e International Criminal Court. Chambers. Accessed 21 July 2007.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Article 36, paragraph 9, of the Rome Statute provides for two circumstances under which judges may be re-elected. Firstly, the six judges who were elected to three-year terms in 2003 were eligible for re-election in 2006. Secondly, any judge elected to fill a vacancy serves the remainder of his predecessor's term; if the remainder of the term is less than three years, the judge can subsequently be re-elected to a second term. (For example, Fumiko Saiga was elected in December 2007 to serve the remainder of Claude Jorda's term. Since Jorda's term expired in March 2009, Saiga was eligible for re-election. See International Criminal Court (28 November 2007). Election of judges of the International Criminal Court: Frequently asked questionsPDF (38.6 KiB). Accessed 18 January 2008.)
  6. ^ a b International Criminal Court (10 September 2004). Procedure for the nomination and election of judges of the International Criminal CourtPDF (77.1 KiB). Accessed 16 October 2007.
  7. ^ Coalition for the International Criminal Court. Election of ICC and ASP Officials – Judges. Accessed 20 January 2009.
  8. ^ United Nations (2003). Nominations for judges of the International Criminal Court – First election. Accessed 18 January 2008.
  9. ^ Coalition for the International Criminal Court. First Election – 2003. Accessed 28 January 2008.
  10. ^ Coalition for the International Criminal Court. Judges and the Presidency. Accessed 18 January 2008.
  11. ^ a b UN News Centre (26 January 2006). At UN, 6 judges elected to the International Criminal Court. Accessed 18 January 2008.
  12. ^ a b United Nations Department of Public Information (26 January 2006). States Parties to the International Criminal Court statute elect six judges. Accessed 18 January 2008.
  13. ^ a b International Criminal Court (4 December 2007). Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute elects three judges. Accessed 5 December 2007.
  14. ^ International Criminal Court (2007). Election 2007. Accessed 1 September 2008.
  15. ^ a b International Criminal Court (20 January 2009). Results of the third election of the judges of the International Criminal Court. Accessed 20 January 2009.
  16. ^ International Criminal Court (2008). Election of judges 2009. Accessed 1 September 2008.
  17. ^ International Criminal Court (5 December 2008). Third election of judges of the International Criminal CourtPDF. Accessed 20 January 2009.
  18. ^ ICC information page on the November 2009 election of judges. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  19. ^ International Criminal Court. The Presidency. Accessed 21 July 2007.
  20. ^ a b c d International Criminal Court (11 March 2009). Judge Song (Republic of Korea) elected President of the International Criminal Court; Judges Diarra (Mali) and Kaul (Germany) elected First and Second Vice-Presidents respectively. Accessed 11 March 2009.
  21. ^ Article 38 of the Rome Statute. Accessed 21 July 2007.
  22. ^ a b c International Criminal Court (19 March 2009). New composition of ICC judicial divisions. Accessed 19 March 2009.
  23. ^ Official records of the eighth session
  24. ^ a b c Blattmann's term expired on 11 March 2009 but he will continue to serve as an ad litem judge for the duration of the Lubanga trial, in accordance with Article 36 (10) of the Rome Statute, which states that any judge assigned to a Trial or Appeals Chamber "shall continue in office to complete any trial or appeal the hearing of which has already commenced before that Chamber".
  25. ^ a b c International Criminal Court (2009). The Judges. Accessed 19 March 2009.
  26. ^ a b ICC press release, dated 22 January 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
  27. ^ ICC information page on the Appeals Chamber. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
  28. ^ Judges Fulford and Odio Benito who previously served on Trial Chamber III were excused by a decision of the Presidency.
  29. ^ Trial Chamber IV's decision on its Presiding Judge. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
  30. ^ ICC presidency's decision on the establishment of a Trial Chamber IV. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  31. ^ a b ICC information page on the Pre-Trial Chambers. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
  32. ^ Decision on the election of the Presiding Judge of Pre-Trial Chamber I. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  33. ^ [http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/doc/doc1032131.pdf ICC Presidency's Decision Assigning the Situation in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to Pre-Trial Chamber I]. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
  34. ^ "Decision notifying the election of the Presiding Judge". International Criminal Court. http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/doc/doc1100349.pdf. Retrieved 2 July 2011. 
  35. ^ "Decision Constituting Pre-Trial Chamber III and Re-assigning the Situation in the Republic of Côte dlvoire". International Criminal Court. http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/doc/doc1095732.pdf. Retrieved 25 June 2011. 
  36. ^ International Criminal Court (11 December 2006). Resignation of Judge Maureen Harding Clark. Accessed 18 January 2008.
  37. ^ International Criminal Court (8 May 2007). Resignation of Judge Claude Jorda. Accessed 18 January 2008.
  38. ^ International Criminal Court (19 March 2007). Resignation of Judge Karl T. Hudson-Phillips. Accessed 18 January 2008.
  39. ^ International Criminal Court (30 July 2008). Resignation of Judge Navanethem Pillay . Accessed 1 September 2008.
  40. ^ International Criminal Court (24 April 2009). Passing of Judge Fumiko Saiga. Accessed 29 April 2009.
  41. ^ International Criminal Court (18 February 2009). Resignation of Mr. Mohamed Shahabuddeen. Accessed 18 February 2009.