How long does icc take

For instance, the Bush administration pressured governments around the world to enter into bilateral agreements requiring them not to surrender US nationals to the ICC. But these efforts did little more than erode US credibility on international justice and gradually gave way to a more supportive US posture, starting in In , the US Congress expanded its existing war crimes rewards program to provide rewards to people providing information to facilitate the arrest of foreign individuals wanted by any international court or tribunal, including the ICC.

As far as America is concerned the ICC has no jurisdiction, no legitimacy, and no authority. Trump issued a sweeping executive order on June 11, authorizing asset freezes and family entry bans that could be imposed against certain ICC officials. The executive order also provides for the same sanctions with regard to those who assist certain court investigations, risking a broad chilling effect on cooperation with the ICC. The matter is pending before the court. Given strong evidence that serious crimes have been committed in Palestine since , including the transfer of Israeli civilians into the occupied West Bank and alleged war crimes committed during the hostilities in Gaza by the Israeli military and Palestinian armed groups , Human Rights Watch has called on the ICC prosecutor to open a formal investigation of serious international crimes committed in Palestine by Israelis and Palestinians.

What safeguards exist at the ICC to prevent politically motivated cases? Numerous safeguards are set out in the Rome Statute to prevent frivolous or politically motivated cases. Unless there is a referral from a state or the UN Security Council, the ICC prosecutor is not able to begin an investigation on her own initiative; it requires authorization from a pre-trial chamber of three judges.

The focus of ICC investigations and prosecutions in Africa in its early years have led to criticisms of bias by some African leaders, although attacks on the ICC emanating from Africa have ebbed in recent years. Still, international justice has been applied unevenly: powerful countries and their allies have been able to evade the reach of justice when serious crimes are committed on their territories by not joining the ICC and by blocking referrals by the Security Council.

The ICC has the backing of established and emerging democracies around the world. The prosecutor and the judges are accountable to the ASP. The ASP has the authority to remove them from office in the event that they abuse their powers.

Among other functions, the oversight mechanism can conduct investigations of alleged misconduct or fraud concerning any elected court official or court staff. An effort by the government of Kenya — at a time when its president and deputy president were facing charges before the court — to lead a mass withdrawal of African states from the treaty failed to materialize.

The ICC has so far opened more than two dozen cases, and pre-trial or trial proceedings are ongoing in three cases. However, trials for war crimes and crimes against humanity have only been completed in a handful of cases, with four people convicted and four others acquitted. Some other cases have been dismissed for lack of evidence. Court officials have made a number of missteps and stronger investigations by the ICC prosecutor, better choices in the selection of cases, more efficient proceedings, and more effective outreach with victims and affected communities are needed.

The review, conducted by a panel of nine experts, is expected to be completed by the end of September The court also faces steep challenges in carrying out its mandate. Without a police force, it relies on states for cooperation in arrests, and that cooperation has been inadequate.

Arrest warrants remain outstanding against 14 individuals. The court certainly needs to continue to learn lessons, correct mistakes, and improve its work. But an effective ICC backed by the strong support of the international community is needed more than ever to send the message that impunity for mass atrocities will not be tolerated.

Get updates on human rights issues from around the globe. Join our movement today. Help us continue to fight human rights abuses. The TC delivers its verdict with written justifications. The rights of the Accused are a fundamental pillar of the ICC. An accused person has the right:. In an appeal, the Appeals Chamber will:. The Prosecutor — but not the victims — can appeal an acquittal.

If the accused is convicted, the Trial Chamber can order that the accused pay reparations to the victims. The victims can appeal an order for reparations. Victims can participate during almost every stage of the ICC judicial process. Under the Rome Statute, victims have the right to be represented by legal counsel, to have protective measures, to receive notifications of hearings, and have their views and concerns raised during proceedings. For example:.

The death penalty is not an option. The TC can impose up to 30 years of imprisonment or a life imprisonment. If the Trial Chamber TC convicts the Accused, it may also order reparations for victims for the harm suffered. Reparations can only be ordered for those crimes for which the Accused has been convicted. Reparations can take multiple forms, including rehabilitation, compensation, and restitution. The Appeals Chamber can uphold, reverse, or amend the reparations.

Thomas Lubanga Dylio of the Democratic Republic of Congo was found guilty of the war crimes of enlisting and conscripting children under the age of 15 years and using them to participate actively in hostilities in This verdict was the first one for the ICC. On 3 March , the Appeals Chamber instructed the Trust Fund for Victims to draft a plan for the issuance of collective reparations for the victims involved.

Introduction Genocide Genocide is an act committed with the intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. The atrocities must have been committed: on the territory of the State Party that makes the referral or on the territory of another State Party; or by a national from the referring State Party or another State Party. Preliminary Examination Initial Assessment The ICC Prosecutor must first determine whether the alleged crimes satisfy fundamental jurisdictional requirements of the Rome Statute , specifically temporal , territorial , subject matter , and personal jurisdiction.

Preliminary Examination Subject Matter Jurisdiction An alleged crime must be either a war crime, a crime against humanity, or genocide, as defined in the Rome Statute. Preliminary Examination Gravity The alleged crimes must be the gravest of atrocity crimes. Investigation Investigative Process The ICC Office of the Prosecutor OTP may turn a preliminary examination into a formal investigation called a situation such as the situation in Libya if the four phases of analysis in a preliminary examination are satisfied.

An investigation may include: Inspection where the alleged crime occurred; Collection of evidence like cellphone data, emails, radio intercepts, videos, photographs, minutes of meetings, military and police communications, speeches and forensic material such as exhumation reports; Interviewing witnesses and victims; Consultation with relevant experts and specialists; Analysis of financial transactions.

Cooperation and assistance may include: Allowing access to documents and other evidence; Tasking domestic personnel to assist OTP personnel Helping locate witnesses and victims; and Assisting in the identification of crime sites. Dominic Ongwen.

To date, witnesses and victims in all ICC cases have required some form of protective measures. In practice, this creates additional workload and requires additional time. In the Al Hassan case, difficulties resulting from a challenging security situation in Mali prompted the postponement of the confirmation hearing from September to July It is not unusual that years will go by between the issuance of an arrest warrant and its execution.

Sometimes this is because the suspects are fugitives. But even when their whereabouts are known, cooperation failures over the execution of arrest warrants may mean that victims and their families have to wait for years or even decades while suspects remain at large, because the Rome Statute does not permit trials in absentia. The Ongwen case is a good example. The arrest warrants for Dominic Ongwen and four other Ugandan suspects were issued in July Significant investigation ceased in , and it seemed for many years that no suspects in the Uganda situation would be brought to justice.

Ongwen was eventually arrested in January To ensure that his trial encompassed more than events taking place in one place on a single day, which had been the basis for his original arrest warrant, the prosecution were granted a period of a year between his arrest and confirmation hearing to conduct further investigations into evidence which had become available since In order to ensure that their advocates are able properly to investigate their own case and to test the prosecution case, accused persons often request postponements or extensions of time limits in the proceedings.

A significant source of delay between the first appearance of an accused and the commencement of their trial is the time taken to effect disclosure of relevant documentary materials in the possession of the prosecution to the defence team. Typically, judges require this process to be completed three months before the commencement of trial. In most cases the prosecution has thousands of documents in its possession.

Each has to be reviewed for potential relevance and then often redacted to obscure sensitive information. This process can take many months. Once a case begins at the ICC, there will be tens of thousands of pages of documents. All those that form a significant part of the case will have to be translated into a language spoken by the accused. Courtroom proceedings, which have to proceed slowly enough to permit interpretation and transcription, last for hundreds of hours.