International Criminal Court Election Nomination Period Extended to 16 September

Global Coalition Urges States to Utilize Extension and Nominate the Most Highly-Qualified Candidates

New York/The Hague—The Coalition for the International Criminal Court—a global network of more than 2,500 non-governmental and civil society organizations in 150 countries—today urged states to use the extended nomination period for the upcoming International Criminal Court (ICC) elections to continue to identify the most highly-qualified candidates for the available positions. States parties to the Rome Statute—the ICC’s founding treaty—now have until 16 September 2011 to nominate candidates for six judicial vacancies. The election, together with that of the Prosecutor and six members of the Committee on Budget and Finance, scheduled to take place at the tenth session of Assembly of States Parties (ASP) in December 2011, represents the most significant changeover in ICC officials since the creation of the Court. 

The Rome Statute envisions a judiciary which represents the judicial systems of the world as well as its regions. The minimum voting requirements for each election are calculated based on the number of states parties in a region as well as the number of judges from each region remaining on the bench. This system helps to guide votes in certain directions but does not determine the outcome of the election.

"The judges elected in December will shape the Court's future direction and contribute to the ICC's standing as a permanent and respected international judicial institution," said William R. Pace, Convenor of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court. "Civil society will continue to advocate for states parties to nominate highly-qualified candidates to ensure the ICC continues to deliver accountability for victims of international crimes wherever they occur."

The extension of the nomination period for the judicial elections was initiated to allow Latin American and Caribbean (GRULAC) states to fulfil the minimum voting requirement of four candidates for the two judicial positions for which ICC states parties would be required to vote from that region. As of 8 September 2011, only three candidates from GRULAC have been nominated. However, as part of its global Campaign on ICC Elections—which calls on states to nominate the most highly-qualified judicial candidates through a fair, transparent and merit-based election process to ensure the independence and effectiveness of the Court—the Coalition stresses that the extension applies to all nominations, not just those from Latin American and Caribbean states. To date, 17 candidates have been nominated in the judicial election, with eight of those coming in the last week of the initial nomination period which ended on 2 September 2011.  Of the seventeen nominated, however, only one is female.

Because there will be fewer male than female judges at the time that the outgoing judges complete their terms, states parties will be required to vote for at least two male candidates in early rounds of voting.

"We are disappointed more States haven't nominated women candidates for the judicial election,” said Brigid Inder, Executive Director of Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice. “Does this mean states are not paying attention to this election, or that only the Philippines believes it has women judges capable of serving on the bench of the ICC?"

In order to promote the nomination of the most highly-qualified judicial candidates, the Coalition has asked judicial nominees to complete questionnaires concerning their backgrounds and qualifications.  Completed questionnaires can be viewed on the Coalition’s website at:

http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/?mod=electionjudges. The Coalition as a whole does not endorse or oppose individual candidates but advocates for the integrity of the nomination and election procedures.

The Nomination period for the position of prosecutor, as well as for six members of the Committee on Budget and Finance (CBF) has also been extended to 16 September, in the latter case this was to facilitate equitable geographic representation on the CBF, which is presently missing candidates from the group of Latin American and Caribbean states.

 
For more information on the Coalition’s Campaign on ICC Elections, see: 

www.coalitionfortheicc.org/elections 

The ICC is composed of judges representing all regions and principal legal systems of the world; eleven judges are women. Current judges are: Sang-Hyun Song (Republic of Korea), Fatoumata Dembele Diarra (Mali), Hans-Peter Kaul (Germany), Elizabeth Odio Benito (Costa Rica), Akua Kuenyehia (Ghana), Erkki Kourula (Finland), Anita Ušacka (Latvia), Sir Adrian Fulford (United Kingdom), Sylvia Steiner (Brazil), Ekaterina Trendafilova (Bulgaria), Daniel David Ntanda Nsereko (Uganda), Bruno Cotte (France), Joyce Aluoch (Kenya), Sanji Mmasenono Monogeng (Botswana), Christine van den Wyngaert  (Belgium), Cuno Tarfusser (Italy), Silvia Alejandra Fernández de Gurmendi (Argentina), Kuniko Ozaki (Japan), and René Blattman (Bolivia). The ICC Prosecutor is Luis Moreno-Ocampo (Argentina), and the Deputy Prosecutor is Fatou Bensouda (Gambia).

The ICC is the world’s first permanent international court to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. There are currently 117 ICC States Parties. Central to the Court’s mandate is the principle of complementarity, which holds that the Court will only intervene if national legal systems are unwilling or unable to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

There are currently six active investigations before the Court: the Central African Republic; the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Darfur, the Sudan; Uganda, Kenya and Libya. The ICC has publicly issued 18 arrest warrants and nine summonses to appear. Three trials are ongoing. The ICC Prosecutor recently requested authorization from Judges to open an investigation in Côte d’Ivoire. His office has also made public that it is examining eight other situations on four continents, including Afghanistan, Colombia, Georgia, Guinea, Honduras, Republic of Korea, Nigeria and Palestine. 

The Coalition for the International Criminal Court is a global network of civil society organizations in 150 countries working in partnership to strengthen international cooperation with the ICC; ensure that the Court is fair, effective and independent; make justice both visible and universal; and advance stronger national laws that deliver justice to victims of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. For more information, visit:

www.coalitionfortheicc.org.   

 

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