INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT YEARS FIGHTING IMPUNITY ICC-PIDS-WU-154/12_Eng Situation in Côte d’Ivoire Côte d’Ivoire, which is not party to the Rome Statute, had accepted the jurisdiction of the ICC on 18 April 2003; more recently, and on both 14 December 2010 and 3 May 2011, the Presidency of Côte d’Ivoire reconfirmed the country’s acceptance of this jurisdiction. On 3 October 2011, the Pre-Trial Chamber authorised the Prosecutor to open an investigation into the situation in Côte d’Ivoire since 28 November 2010. On 22 February 2012, Pre- Trial Chamber III decided to expand its authorisation for the investigation in Côte d’Ivoire to include crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court allegedly committed between 19 September 2002 and 28 November 2010. The confirmation of charges hearing in the case of The Prosecutor v. Laurent Gbagbo will start on 19 February 2013. On 22 November 2012, Pre-Trial Chamber I unsealed a warrant of arrest against Simone Gbagbo for four charges of crimes against humanity allegedly committed in the territory of Côte d'Ivoire between 16 December 2010 and 12 April 2011. Laurent Gbagbo Case Confirmation of charges hearing to start on 19 February 2013 On 14 December 2012, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) set the date of the beginning of the confirmation of charges hearing in the case ofThe Prosecutor v. Laurent Gbagbo for 19 February 2013. 17 December 2012 #154 ICC Weekly Update ICC Weekly A confirmation of charges hearing is held to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that the person committed each of the crimes charged. If charges are confirmed, the Pre-Trial Chamber commits the case for trial before a Trial Chamber, which conducts the subsequent phase of the proceedings: the trial. On 2 November 2012, the Chamber had decided that Laurent Gbagbo was fit to take part in the proceedings before the Court but that practical adjustments would need to be made, in consultation with the Defence and the Registry. The Defence and the Registry are to submit a report to the Chamber on those arrangements by 21 January 2013, including on the possibility of video-link from the detention centre. Laurent Gbagbo allegedly bears individual criminal responsibility, as an indirect co-perpetrator, for four counts of crimes against humanity, namely murder, rape and other sexual violence, persecution and other inhuman acts, allegedly committed in the context of post-electoral violence in the territory of Côte d’Ivoire between 16 December 2010 and 12 April 2011. Laurent Gbagbo was surrendered and transferred to the ICC’s custody on 30 November 2011. His initial appearance in Court took place on 5 December 2011. Appeals Chamber confirms ICC jurisdiction On 12 December 2012, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) dismissed unanimously the appeal submitted by the Defence of Mr Laurent Gbagbo and confirmed the decision by Pre-Trial Chamber I on the Defence’s challenge to the jurisdiction of the ICC. On 15 August 2012, Pre-Trial Chamber I had declined to grant Mr Gbagbo’s request to find that the Court would lack jurisdiction over the post-2010 election period and events on which the warrant of arrest and the charges laid against him are based. The Defence alleged that Côte d’Ivoire, which is not a State Party to the Rome Statute – the Court’s 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 founding treaty, accepted the ICC’s jurisdiction on 18 April 2003 only in relation to the events in 2002 and 2003, and not in relation to future crimes. In the alternative, the Defence asked the Pre-Trial Chamber to stay the proceedings in the case because of alleged violations of Mr Gbagbo’s fundamental rights during the period of his detention in Côte d’Ivoire. Judge Anita Ušacka, Presiding Judge of the Appeals Chamber on this appeal, delivered today a summary of the judgment in open session. The Appeals Chamber highlighted that under the terms of article 12 (3) of the Rome Statute, a State may accept the jurisdiction of the Court generally. The Appeals Chamber could not find a temporal limitation in the 2003 Declaration, contrary to what the Defence argued. “To the contrary, the last paragraph of the 2003 Declaration suggests that Côte d’Ivoire explicitly accepted the jurisdiction of the Court with respect to crimes committed after the 2003 Declaration ”, stated Judge Ušacka. The Presiding Judge also explained that the grounds of appeal related to the Pre-Trial Chamber’s denial of the request to stay the proceedings could not be presented directly before the Appeals Chamber and were dismissed for procedural reasons. Mr Gbagbo allegedly bears individual criminal responsibility, as an indirect co-perpetrator, for four counts of crimes against humanity, namely murder, rape and other sexual violence, persecution and other inhuman acts, allegedly committed in the context of post-electoral violence in the territory of Côte d’Ivoire between 16 December 2010 and 12 April 2011. Decisions taken between 10 - 14 December 2012 Judgment on the appeal of Mr Laurent Koudou Gbagbo against the decision of Pre-Trial Chamber I on jurisdiction and stay of the proceedings​​ Issued by the Appeals Chamber on 12 December 2012 Decision on the "Requête de la défense aux fins de levée de certaines expurgations accordées par la Juge unique au Procureur dans sa Décision du 13 novembre 2012 (ICC-02/11-01/11-294)" Issued by Pre-Trial Chamber I on 12 December 2012 Decision on the date of the confirmation of charges hearing and proceedings leading thereto Issued by Pre-Trial Chamber I on 14 December 2012 Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) ratified the Rome Statute, the founding instrument of the ICC, on 11 April 2002. On 3 March 2004, the Government of the DRC referred to the Court the situation (the events falling under the Court’s jurisdiction) in its territory since the entry into force of the Rome Statute on 1 July 2002. 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 Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui are currently in the custody of the ICC. The suspects Bosco Ntaganda and Sylvestre Mudacumura remain at large. The trial in the case The Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo started on 26 January 2009. Trial Chamber I convicted Mr Lubanga Dyilo on 14 March 2012. He was thereafter sentenced to a total period of 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. All three decisions are currently subject to appeal. The trial in the case The Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui started on 24 November 2009. Closing statements in the case 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. The Chamber is scheduled to issue the decision on the innocence or guilt of Mr Ngudjolo Chui on 18 December 2012. On 16 December 2011, Pre-Trial Chamber I declined to confirm the charges in the caseThe Prosecutor v. Callixte Mbarushimana. Mr Mbarushimana was released on 23 December 2011. Ngudjolo Chui Case ICC Trial Chamber II to deliver verdict on 18 December 2012 On Tuesday, 18 December 2012, Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) will deliver its decision on the innocence or guilt of Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui pursuant to article 74 of the Rome Statute – the Court’s founding treaty. The Chamber, composed of Presiding Judge Bruno Cotte (France), Judge Fatoumata Dembele Diarra (Mali) and Christine Van Den Wyngaert (Belgium), will deliver its verdict in an open hearing which will start at 09:00 (The Hague local time). Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, a Congolese national, is charged with three counts of crimes against humanity and seven counts of war crimes allegedly committed on 24 February 2003 during the attack against the Bogoro village. It is alleged that this attack was carried out by combatants led by Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui and Germain Katanga, that it was part of a widespread attack directed not only against a military camp located in Bogoro village but also against the civilian population of the village. Information on the trial Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui were transferred to the ICC detention centre in The Hague (Netherlands) on 17 October 2007 and 7 February 2008, respectively. Their cases were joined on 10 March 2008 and their trial started on 24 November 2009. Closing statements from trial participants 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. The verdict in the case against Germain Katanga will be delivered at a later stage. 2 Judicial Update Over the course of 239 hearings, the Chamber heard 24 witnesses and experts called by the Office of the Prosecutor, 28 witnesses and experts called by the two Defence teams and two witnesses called by the legal representatives of the victims participating in the proceedings.