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Forum for International Criminal Justice Newsletter: September

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Forum for International Criminal Justice Newsletter: September Forum for International Criminal Justice Newsletter: September 2014 Welcome to the IAP’s Forum for International Criminal Justice (FICJ) September 2014 Newsletter which focuses on the prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, including a roundup of video highlights, announcements and the major news developments from July. Please note that the items included in this publication do not automatically carry any endorsement from the IAP. Some domestic legal news covered in this Newsletter include: the Dutch prosecution service is considering charges of war crimes, torture and genocide in their investigation into the Flight MH17 airplane crash case; Norway’s Oslo-based Borgarting Court of Appeal began hearing an appeal filed by Sadi Bugingo who was sentenced to 21 years for his role in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide; the El Salvador Government published a report addressing alleged war crimes committed during its Civil War (1980 - 1991); and The U.S. Border Patrol arrested a Rwandan citizen who is wanted for war crimes in Canada. *Please have a look at the FICJ forum page on the IAP website and feel free to contribute: the Forum provides individual prosecutors with a password protected space to post news, announcements, etc. and to pose questions to fellow prosecutors from around the world. Your contributions will also be posted in this monthly newsletter. Danya Chaikel – FICJ Coordinator | email: [email protected] Video Highlights Click here to watch the documentary Join the FICJ Through community: WWW.IAPClick here- toASSOCIATION.ORG/FICJ watch a short video by the/HOME the Lens of Nuremberg: The ICC at its 10th International Committee of the Red Cross on the1 Anniversary which examines the connection “RulesFollow of War us (inon a twitter: nutshell) @" iaprosecutorsin commemoration between the Nuremberg Trials and the of the 150th anniversary of the original Geneva International Criminal Court in The Hague Convention 8th Annual International Humanitarian Law Dialogs concludes in Chautauqua, New York The annual International Humanitarian Law Dialogs is a historic gathering of renowned international Prosecutors. This year the Prosecutors were joined by leading professionals in the field of International Criminal and Humanitarian Law. The Dialogs, held 24-26 August at the Robert H. Jackson Center in Chautauqua, New York, offered a look at the impact of modern international law on war crimes, crimes against Five international prosecutors are pictured on 26 August signing the declaration humanity, and genocide during the eighth annual International Humanitarian Law Dialogs: Hassan Jallow, Brenda Hollis, David M. Crane, Serge Brammertz, and Fatou Bensouda focusing on the theme, “The New World (Dis)Order: International Humanitarian Law in an Uncertain World.” The event concluded with the signing of the Chautauqua Declaration with six distinguished prosecutors pledging their continued dedication to international peace and justice. They included: Fatou Bensouda, representing the International Criminal Court; Serge Brammertz, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia; David M. Crane, founding Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone; Brenda Hollis, former Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone; Hassan Jallow, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal of Rwanda; and Nicholas Koumjian, who was co-prosecutor of the Extraordinary Chambers for the courts of Cambodia. Justice Robert H. Jackson was the United States Chief Prosecutor of the Nazi war criminals at the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany, during 1945-46. The Dialogs honour the legacy of Nuremberg as the first successful international effort to hold individuals criminally responsible for planning and waging aggressive war, committing war crimes and committing crimes against humanity. See further details on the Robert H. Jackson Center website Join the FICJ community: WWW.IAP-ASSOCIATION.ORG/FICJ/HOME 2 Follow us on twitter: @iaprosecutors Fatou Bensouda: the truth about the ICC and Gaza Opinion piece printed in the Guardian on 29 August Under the laws of the Hague court, my office can only investigate alleged war crimes in Palestine if it grants us jurisdiction in its territory. It has not done so. Has the international criminal court avoided opening an investigation into alleged war crimes in Gaza due to political pressure, as suggested in an article published in the Guardian earlier this week? The answer is an unequivocal “no”. As prosecutor of the ICC, I reject any suggestion of this in the strongest terms. When an objective observer navigates clear of the hype surrounding this issue, the simple truth is that my office has never been in a position to open such an investigation due to lack of jurisdiction. We have always, clearly and publicly, stated the reasons why this is so. The Rome statute, the ICC’s founding treaty, is open to participation by states. The prosecutor can only investigate and prosecute crimes committed on the territory or by the nationals of states that have joined the ICC statute or which have otherwise accepted the jurisdiction of the ICC through an ad hoc declaration to that effect pursuant to article 12-3 of the statute. This means that the alleged crimes committed in Palestine are beyond the legal reach of the ICC, despite the arguments of some legal scholars that fundamental jurisdictional rules can be made subject to a liberal and selective interpretation of the Rome statute. They appear to advocate that as the object and purpose of the ICC is to end impunity for mass crimes, the court ought to intervene, even where clear jurisdictional parameters have not been met. This is neither good law nor does it make for responsible judicial action… To read the full opinion piece click here ICC Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, receives the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Palestine On 5 August 2014, the Prosecutor of the International criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda received H.E. Mr Riad al-Malki, the Foreign Minister of Palestine at the Seat of the Court in The Hague following a request by the Minister for a meeting. At the meeting, Minister al-Malki expressed serious concerns over the latest conflict in Gaza and requested clarifications on different mechanisms for a State to accept the ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda meeting with jurisdiction of the ICC and generally regarding the legal H.E. Mr Riad al-Malki, the Foreign Minister of Palestine Join the FICJ community: WWW.IAP-ASSOCIATION.ORG/FICJ/HOME 3 Follow us on twitter: @iaprosecutors framework of the Rome Statute. The meeting focused on providing those clarifications. Palestine is not a State Party to the Rome Statute; neither has the Court received any official document from Palestine indicating acceptance of ICC jurisdiction or requesting the Prosecutor to open an investigation into any alleged crimes following the adoption of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution (67/19) on 29 November 2012, which accorded non-member observer State status to Palestine. Therefore, the ICC has no jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed on the territory of Palestine. For further information, consult the Report on Preliminary Examinations Activities (2013) of the Office of the Prosecutor 10 things that happened at the International Criminal Court so far in 2014 (CICC) 1. In the ongoing trial of Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto and broadcaster Joshua Sang judges have for the first time used their powers to summon witnesses to testify, requesting Kenyan government assistance in compelling eight previously cooperative prosecution witnesses to appear via video-link. 2. Witness issues have also dogged the trial of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, which is due to begin this October. The original start date in February was postponed after several prosecution witnesses said they were no longer willing to testify. The Office of the Prosecutor is now trying to gain access to Kenyatta’s financial and phone records, which the prosecution believes may hold crucial evidence. 3. In the Court’s third judgment, Congolese militia leader Germain Katanga was convicted crimes against humanity and war crimes during an attack on Bogoro village in the troubled eastern region of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2003. Katanga was acquitted of charges of sexual slavery and rape as well as using child soldiers. He was later sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment, from which the almost seven years he has already spent in detention will be deducted. 4. Meanwhile, the case against another DRC militia leader Bosco Ntaganda was sent to trial. He faces 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity in eastern DRC in 2002-2003, including using child soldiers, murder, persecution, attacks against civilians, pillaging and rape and sexual slavery. 5. After a lengthy legal battle, the highest Dutch court decided that three ICC witnesses who had sought asylum in the Netherlands should be sent back to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The three had testified in defence of Congolese militia leaders Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui. Join the FICJ community: WWW.IAP-ASSOCIATION.ORG/FICJ/HOME 4 Follow us on twitter: @iaprosecutors 6. ICC judges referred the DRC to the UN Security Council and Assembly of States Parties for its failure to arrest and surrender Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir during a visit in February. They subsequently invited Qatar and Ethiopia to arrest and surrender Al-Bashir—wanted for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur—as his international travel continued unabated. 7. Narcisse Arido, a defence witness in the case against former DRC vice-president Jean Pierre-Bemba, appeared before ICC judges on charges of presenting false or forged evidence and bribing witnesses in the trial. Two of Bemba’s defence team, a DRC Member of Parliament and Bemba himself are charged with the same crimes. 8. It was announced that former Côte d’Ivoire president Laurent Gbagbo will face trial for crimes against humanity allegedly committed by forces under his control following the country’s disputed 2010 presidential elections.
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