The International Criminal Court came into existence on the 1st July 2002. The Court is the first permanent, treaty-based, international criminal court to be established. It was established under the Rome Statute as a significant step forward in ensuring all those who commit the most serious of crimes, such as genocide and crimes against humanity,(…)
Several recent high-profile elections such as Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma as Chair of the African Union, Christine Lagarde as Managing Director of the IMF, Fatou Bensouda as Chief Prosecutor at the ICC as well as Margaret Chan at at the World Health Organisation, Irina Bokova at UNESCO and the candidacy of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at the World Bank, suggests progress has been(…)
The Gambian Fatou Bensouda was sworn in this morning as the International Criminal Court’s new Chief Prosecutor, succeeding the Argentine Luis Moreno-Ocampo. Much has been made of the fact that she is the first woman to hold the post, but given that she is only the second chief prosecutor and the Swiss Carla Del Ponte(…)
The recent events in Houla have, yet again, put Syria front and centre of news reports. Over recent months we have featured posts on Syria here, here, here and here but as the situation disintegrates and fears regarding a sectarian civil war rise, this post discusses, with a particular focus on the Security Council, what the options(…)
Judgment in the trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor will take place shortly in the Special Court for Sierra Leone. You can see the judgment here. Charles Taylor was charged with an 11-count indictment alleging responsibility for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious violations of international humanitarian law committed by rebel forces(…)
Human Rights in Ireland is delighted to welcome this guest post from Julie McBride. Julie is a PhD Candidate at Queen’s University Belfast, researching the development of the war crime of child soldier recruitment in international criminal law, and a member of the United Nations Global Experts, specialising in international crime and transitional jus tice.(…)
The International Criminal Court delivered its first ever verdict in The Hague this morning in the case of Thomas Lubanga. Lubanga, who became the political leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots in 2002, had been charged with recruiting and using child soldiers in armed hostilities in the north-eastern region of the Democratic Republic of(…)
What Just Happened? President Abbas has submitted the application for a granting of Member State of the United Nations status to Palestine. The Secretary General has forwarded the application to UN Security Council which is the body which initially adjudicates on its validity. Under the UN Charter, the admission of a new Member state is ‘effected(…)
The recent avalanche of protests and revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa has been broadly welcomed by the international community. While some states, (for example France with regard to Tunisia) have been caught initially on ‘the wrong side of history‘, generally the peaceful and leaderless revolutions have been cautiously welcomed. Perhaps too cautiously at times, as states balance(…)
As many readers may know, over the past few weeks governments (including Ireland’s), academics (including two from Ireland: Prof. William Schabas (NUI Galway) and Dr Yassin M’Boge (UCD)) and NGOs have been gathered in Kampala, Uganda for the Review Conference of the International Criminal Court. The ICC—established by means of the Rome Statute of 1998—has(…)
