The International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court • an international court set up to prosecute major human rights crimes • Jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression. • Proceedings may be initiated by (1) state party request, (2) the prosecutor, or (3) UN Security Council resolution. • In (1) and (2), the ICC’s jurisdiction is limited to citizens of member states and individuals accused of committing crimes on the territory of member states. In (3), these limits do not apply. • Principle of Complementarity. The Court acts only if the state of primary juris- diction proves itself “unwilling or unable” to launch criminal proceedings (art. 17). Situations under official investigation by the ICC: Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan (Darfur), Central African Republic (2), Kenya, Libya, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Georgia, Burundi. Preliminary Examinations: Afghanistan, Myanmar/Bangladesh (Rohingya crisis), Colombia, Guinea, Iraq (UK), Nigeria, Palestine, Philippines, Ukraine, Venezuela. Convicted by the ICC: Thomas Lubanga (Dem. Rep. of Congo), Germain Katanga (Dem. Rep. of Congo), Bosco Ntaganda (DR Congo), Ahmad Al- Faqi Al-Mahdi (Mali), and a few others for obstruction of justice. Some individuals convicted at trial have been acquitted on appeal. On trial at the ICC: Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain (Sudan), Dominic Ongwen (Uganda). Wanted for trial at the ICC: Omar al-Bashir (Sudan), Seif al-Islam Gaddafi (Libya), Joseph Kony (Uganda), and several others Laurent Gbagbo, former president of Côte d’Ivoire • In late 2017, the prosecutor requested permission to open a formal investigation into crimes committed in Afghanistan. The investigation would cover crimes by the Afghan government, the Taliban, and US authorities.
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