Thread by @rosselle

Ok, long thread coming up.

Not meant to be exhaustive , but I’ll try to discuss the procedural aspect in a nutshell. Prefacing w what I know comes from formal coursework on ICL & ICL procedure, plus a seminar organized by the Office of the Public Counsel for the Defence.

The OTP request for authorization to open an investigation states that there is reasonable grounds to believe that the Crimes Against Humanity of Murder was committed from at least 1 July 2016 to 16 March 2019 in the context of the WoD.

CAH is one of the 4 core crimes within the ICC’s jurisdiction, the other 3 being genocide, war crimes, and the crimes of aggression. CAH is in Art. 7 of the Rome Statute.

CAH means any of the acts provided (e.g. murder, torture, rape or sexual slavery etc.) when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack.

Specific to the CAH of murder, the elements are:

icc-cpi.int/nr/rdonlyres/3…

But wait, there’s more! In int’l crimes, the contextual elements must be present as well: the widespread or systematic attack, the “nexus” between the individual act and the attack, and the perp’s knowledge that their act constituted part of the attack.

In the request, the OTP stated that there is reasonable grounds to believe (w/c is the threshold at this point; it gets higher as the proceedings progress) that CAH was committed. Only the acts prior to the PH’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute are addressed.

Why did the OTP have to limit? Because for jurisdiction to be triggered, the acts must fit the SUBJECT MATTER and TEMPORAL jurisdiction of the ICC. Meaning, it must be a crime punished by the court, and must be within the time period over which the ICC can exercise its powers.

That out of the way, what happens next? the Pre-Trial Chamber must now decide if it will open an investigation. If the PTC authorizes an investigation, how long will it take? Short answer: the OTP does not have a timeline.

There is no requirement that the Prosecutor must conclude her investigations at the pre-trial stage. Any evidence gathered must be disclosed to the Defense.

OTP will have to reach the reasonable grounds to believe threshold in order to ask the PTC to issues summons or a warrant of arrest. If such threshold is met, the PTC issues a decision under Art. 58 (warrant or summons issued).

Suspects will then be arrested and transferred to the ICC. We know that it does not have a police force. It has to ask cooperation from State-parties, which have the duty to comply. It may still ask non-State parties, but these are more in the nature of invitations.

After the first appearance of the suspect, the pre-trial proceedings will unfold. OTP then will have to formulate the Document Containing the Charges. Confirmation of Charges Hearings will then commence.

OTP, defense, or victims may participate at this point (Confirmation hearings). The evidentiary threshold at this point is substantial grounds. NOTE: theConfirmation hearing is not a mini trial.

In the Confirmation hearings, judges can do 3 things: confirm the charges and go to trial; dismiss all or some the charges ; or adjourn the confirmation of charges hearing and ask the OTP to do further investigation.

If charges are confirmed? Proceed to trial. Trial chamber deliberates whether to convict on the basis of guilt beyond reasonable doubt or to acquit. Appeals, if any. Here's my very poor illustration of a rough timeline:

Ok ang haba na nito but I hope this helps! It’s a long road towards international accountability. But we continue to hope.

POSTSCRIPT: The ICC is a court of limited jurisdictional reach. It is NOT conferred with "universal jurisdiction".

What about complementarity? Complementarity is an issue of admissibility, and NOT jurisdiction. ICC can have jurisdiction, but it can deem a case inadmissible.