The Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court has launched Formal Investigations into the Situations In Darfur, Congo, Uganda and Central African Republic.

The  only lawyer in the upper Midwest admitted to practice before the Hague based  the International Criminal Court (ICC) , John fossum, recently came back to Minnesota from Hague and shared some of the details about some of some actions taken by Court  with the African News Journal.
“ICC  is unique among the International tribunals for a number of reasons, first, that it is intended to be permanent, and second that it is establishing procedures to allow the participation of victims in the court proceedings.” Fossum Told African New Journal

John said that at the ICC some of the cases, for example,  From the Congo, there is currently one defendant in trial, and two defendants at the court awaiting trial.  From the Central African Republic, there is one defendant currently proceeding to trial, and one defendant from the Sudan has recently appeared voluntarily at the court and will be heard at a confirmation of charges hearing in October. 

“Refugees from these locations, and others where the court decides to open investigations, have an unprecedented right to participate in these proceedings, and to influence the cases, as well as to receive services from the court, including protection and social services. Victims who can prove a loss may ultimately seek reparations from convicted defendants, or from the victim's trust fund once it is funded.” Fossum added

He said that the persons seeking to appear before the court as victims have a right to legal representation at the court's expense. Fossum was admitted to practice before the ICC in 2005, and he is now seeking an opportunity to represent victims who are interested in participating or seeking reparations.  Such representation would be under the court's legal aid scheme and would be provided to interested parties at no cost or expense to them. 

In our discussion, ANJ asked few questions toJohn and here they are:
1- How do you see the impact it will have in some countries of ICC's launching formal investigations into the situations of some African countries?  The impact will vary of course by country.  The interesting scenario at the moment is the indictment of President Bashir of Sudan, the first ever indictment of a sitting head of state. The reaction of other heads of state from countries which have signed and ratified the treaties will be the test of the court's abilities to assert its jurisdiction over the indictees.  There were conflicting reports recently that South Africa recommended that President Bashir not attend the inauguration of President Mbeki, because its obligations under the treaty would have required South Africa to arrest President Bashir and transport him to the court. President Bashir cited a scheduling conflict.

Another question will be if warring parties can use the court as a negotiating tool in resolving their conflicts.  For example, the indictees in Uganda have attempted to negotiate peace deals with the government which require dismissal of the indictments by the ICC and an agreement not to send them to the court.  Whether such agreements would be valid in the court's opinion or if the court would proceed with prosecution in the face of such an agreement by one of the state parties to the ICC will be a question the court will have to resolve.

 
2- How the ICC prosecutor's office selects its cases ?
 
The court is formed by the treaty of Rome and controlled by the Association of State's parties, the governments which have ratified the treaty.  The cases come to the court by one of three means, by referral from a state party, by referral from the UN security council, or by a recommendation of individuals or NGOs who report the occurrence of war crimes.  Of the current situations,the situation in the Congo was referred by the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the situation in the Central African Republic by its government, the situation in Uganda was referred by the government of Uganda, and the situation in Sudan was referred by the Security Council.

Based on those reports, the prosecutor starts a preliminary investigation, and then seeks approval from the judges of the court to open a "situation" and then to issue indictments and arrest warrants for those believed to be culpable for war crimes. 
  

3- Can you please, send us, if you have,  more info. into the criteria relating "formal investigation'

For more details, I would refer you to the website of the court.  The criteria are probably best laid out there, and they are difficult to summarize. Basically they look for evidence that war crimes, particularly the targeting of civilians, extermination, or genocide, among other crimes occurred, evidence that they were intentional, with a command structure, and many people were involved, and that there is evidence to support a case against a political or military leader who knew of and ordered or could have prevented the war crimes from occurring.
 www.icc-cpi.int