Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) ratified the Rome Statute on 11 April 2002. On 3 March 2004, the Government of the DRC referred the situation in its territory to the Court. After a preliminary analysis, the Prosecutor initiated an investigation on 21 June 2004. In this situation, six cases have been brought before the relevant Chambers: The Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo; The Prosecutor v. Bosco Ntaganda; The Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga; The Prosecutor v. Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui; The Prosecutor v. Callixte Mbarushimana; and The Prosecutor v. Sylvestre Mudacumura. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, Germain Katanga and Bosco Ntaganda are currently in the ICC's custody. Sylvestre Mudacumura remains at large. The trial in the case The Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo started on 26 January 2009. On 14 March 2012, Trial Chamber I 23 to 27 February 2015 convicted Mr Lubanga Dyilo and he was sentenced on 10 July 2012 to a total period of 14 years of imprisonment. On 1 ICC-PIDS-WU-233/15_Eng December 2014, the Appeals Chamber confirmed, by majority, the verdict declaring Mr Lubanga guilty and the decision sentencing him to 14 years of imprisonment. On 7 August 2012, Trial Chamber I issued a decision on the principles and the process to be implemented for reparations to victims in the case, which is currently subject to appeal. The trial in the case against Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui started on 24 November 2009 and closing statements were heard from 15 to 23 May 2012. On 21 November 2012, Trial Chamber II decided to sever the charges against Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui and Germain Katanga. On 18 December 2012, Trial Chamber II acquitted Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui of the charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity and ordered his immediate release. On 21 December 2012, Mr Ngudjolo Chui was released from custody. The Office of the Prosecutor has appealed the verdict. On 27 February 2015, the Appeals Chamber confirmed by majority, Trial Chamber II's decision of 18 December 2012 acquitting Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui of charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes. On 7 March 2014, Trial Chamber II convicted German Katanga, as an accessory, of one count of crime against humanity and four counts of war crimes committed during the attack on the village of Bogoro, Ituri, on 24 February 2003. The Prosecutor and the Defence had appealed the judgment, but discontinued the appeals on 25 June 2014. The judgment is now final. On 23 May 2014, Trial Chamber II, ruling in the majority, sentenced Germain Katanga to a total of 12 years’ imprisonment. The time spent in detention at the ICC – between 18 September 2007 and 23 May 2014 – will be deducted from the sentence. Decisions on possible reparations to victims will be rendered later. On 16 December 2011, Pre-Trial Chamber I declined to confirm the charges in the case The Prosecutor v. Callixte Mbarushimana. Mr Mbarushimana was released on 23 December 2011. On 22 March 2013, Bosco Ntaganda surrendered himself to the Court voluntarily and is now in the ICC’s custody. On 9 June 2014, Pre-Trial Chamber II unanimously confirmed charges consisting in 13 counts of war crimes and 5 counts of crimes against humanity against Bosco Ntaganda and committed him for trial before a Trial Chamber. The trial in the Ntaganda case is scheduled to open on 2 June 2015 before Trial Chamber VI. ICC Weekly Update #233 Ngudjolo Chui Case Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui in the ICC Courtroom on 27 February 2015 during the delivery of the Judgment of the Appeals Chamber on the appeal against his acquittal. ©ICC-CPI ICC Appeals Chamber confirms the acquittal decision On 27 February 2015, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued its judgment confirming, by majority, Trial Chamber II's decision of 18 December 2012 acquitting Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui of charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes. Judges Ekaterina Trendafilova and Cuno Tarfusser adopted a joint dissenting opinion and found that the Appeals Chamber should have amended or reversed the Trial Chamber's decision and ordered a new trial before a different Chamber. Maanweg 174, 2516 AB The Hague, The Netherlands – Maanweg 174, 2516 AB La Haye, Pays-Bas www.icc-cpi.int 1 Telephone – Téléphone +31(0)70 515 85 15 / Facsimile – Télécopie +31(0)70 515 85 55 Judicial Update Judge Sanji Mmasenono Monageng, Presiding Judge in this appeal, read in open court a summary of the Appeals Chamber judgment. Judge Monageng explained that the Chamber examined the three grounds of appeal raised by the Prosecutor against the acquittal decision and that the majority of the Appeals Chamber judges, which includes herself, Judge Sang-Hyun Song and Judge Erkki Kourula, rejected the Prosecutor's appeal and concluded that: • Trial Chamber II did not err in its application of the "beyond reasonable doubt" standard. The factual findings, credibility assessments of witnesses and documentary evidence of the Trial Chamber which were challenged by the Prosecutor in relation to Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui's role in the attack on Bogoro were held to be not unreasonable. • In addition, the Appeals Chamber found that the Trial Chamber applied the correct approach in its decision-making process, taking into account the entirety of the evidence presented. • Under the third ground of appeal which dealt with allegations of witness tampering by Mr Ngudjolo Chui whilst he was in detention, the Appeals Chamber held, inter alia, that even though the Trial Chamber erred in refusing to allow the Prosecutor to use information gleaned from the recorded telephone conversations of Mr Ngudjolo Chui, to cross-examine Mr Ngudjolo Chui and two other key witnesses, this error did not materially affect the outcome of the acquittal decision. For these reasons, the Appeals Chamber, by majority, rejected the three grounds of the Prosecutor's appeal and confirmed the acquittal of Mr Ngudjolo Chui. For further information on the case, click here. Decisions and orders Judgment on the Prosecutor’s appeal against the decision of Trial Chamber II entitled “Judgment pursuant to article 74 of the Statute” (including Joint Dissenting Opinion of Judge Ekaterina Trendafilova and Judge Cuno Tarfusser) Issued by the Appeals Chamber on 27 February 2015 Audiovisual materials Ngudjolo Chui case: Appeals Judgment on the acquittal, 27 February 2015 English; French Ngudjolo Chui case: ‘In the Courtroom’ programme, 27 February 2015 French; Swahili Statement of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, following the Appeals Chamber decision upholding the acquittal in the Ngudjolo Chui case Statement: 27 February 2015 The Appeals Chamber today dismissed, by a majority 3-2 decision, my Office's appeal against the acquittal of Mr Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui in December 2012 on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes in relation to the attack on the village of Bogoro on 24 February 2003. This decision brings the case to a close. The decision does not negate the fact that crimes were committed in Bogoro or the suffering of the victims. My Office spared no effort in the prosecution of the case and exhausted all judicial remedies available to it. Today's final outcome is one that has been reached through an independent and impartial judicial process that fully respected the rights of all parties and participants to the proceedings. My Office remains most committed to bringing an end to impunity for mass crimes perpetrated in the situation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This crucial work will continue unabated. The Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC conducts independent and impartial investigations and prosecution of the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The Office of the Prosecutor has opened investigations in: Uganda; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Darfur, Sudan; Central African Republic; Kenya; Libya; Côte d'Ivoire and Mali. The Office is also conducting preliminary examinations relating to the situations in Afghanistan, Colombia, Georgia, Guinea, Honduras, Iraq, Nigeria, Ukraine and Palestine. [email protected] Source: Office of the Prosecutor 2 Judicial Update Lubanga Case Appeals Chamber to issue its judgment regarding the reparations for victims on 3 March 2015 On 3 March 2015, at 11h30 (Hague local time), the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) will deliver, in open court, its judgment on the appeals against the Trial Chamber's "decision establishing the principles and procedures to be applied to reparations" in the case against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo. On 7 August 2012, Trial Chamber I decided, for the first time in proceedings at the ICC, on the principles that are to be applied to reparations for victims in the context of the case against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, who was found guilty, on 14 March 2012, of the war crimes of enlisting and conscripting children under the age of 15 years and using them to participate actively in hostilities. He was sentenced on 10 July 2012 to a total of 14 years of imprisonment, and, on 1 December 2014, the Appeals Chamber confirmed, by majority, the verdict declaring Mr Lubanga guilty and the decision sentencing him to 14 years of imprisonment. Trial Chamber I ordered that proposals for reparations, as advanced by the victims themselves, are to be collected by the Trust Fund for Victims and presented to a newly-constituted Trial Chamber I for approval, and reparations will then be implemented through the resources of the Trust Fund for Victims that are available for this purpose. The Legal Representatives of the victims, as well as Mr Lubanga, appealed the decision on reparations for victims. For further information on the case, click here.