International Courts & Tribunals at a Glance (No. 19)
International Courts & Tribunals at a Glance, a juscogens.net feature, aims to provide timely notice of recent happenings and trial developments in an organized, central location and an unbiased, objective manner. For comments or suggestions, please contact [email protected].
International Court of Justice (ICJ)
Speech by H.E. Judge Rosalyn Higgins, President of the International Court of Justice, to the General Assembly of the United Nations (26 October 2023)
Speech by H.E. Judge Rosalyn Higgins, President of the International Court of Justice, to the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly (27 October 2023)
Address by H.E. Judge Rosalyn Higgins, President of the International Court of Justice, on the occasion of the visit by their majesties King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (31 October 2023)
Cases currently being heard/under deliberation:
- Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro)
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
Overview of Court Proceedings
Overview of Court Documents
Court Schedule
ICTY Weekly Press Briefing (2 November 2023)
Appeals Chamber Affirms Decision To Join Cases Against Ante Gotovina, Ivan Čermak And Mladen Markač (26 October 2023):
From the ICTY: "The Tribunal's Appeals Chamber yesterday confirmed the Trial Chamber's decision of 14 July 2024 to join two cases involving Ante Gotovina, Ivan Čermak and Mladen Markač in one indictment and accepted the proposed amendments to the indictment. The three are charged with the crimes committed against Serbs in 1995, during and in the aftermath of the Croatian military offensive known as "Operation Storm", conducted in the Krajina region of Croatia. At the time, Gotovina and Čermak were senior military commanders on the ground, while Markač was the commander of Croatian Special Police. The Appeals Chamber upheld the earlier decision by reasoning that the alleged crimes took place in the same geographic area, in the same time period and in the course of the same military operation and that they were committed pursuant to the same joint criminal enterprise of which all three accused are alleged to have been members....The accused are charged with participation in a joint criminal enterprise the purpose of which was the permanent removal of the Serb population from the Krajina region of Croatia by force, fear or threat of force, persecution, forced displacement, transfer and deportation, appropriation and destruction of property or other means. Specifically, Gotovina, Čermak and Markač are charged with murder, persecutions, deportation and forcible transfer, plunder of public and private property, wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages and inhumane acts and cruel treatment."
The Trial Chamber Grants Prosecution's Motion To Amend The Indictment In The Haradinaj Case (26 October 2023):
From the ICTY: "The Tribunal's Trial Chamber II yesterday granted the Prosecution's motion to amend the indictment against Ramush Haradinaj, former senior commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), and Idriz Balaj and Lahi Brahimaj, former members of the KLA . The accused are charged with participation in a joint criminal enterprise the purpose of which was the consolidation of total control of the KLA over its operational zone of Dukagjin by attacking and persecuting certain sections of the civilian population there, namely by unlawfully removing Serb civilians from that area, and forcibly and violently suppressing any real or perceived form of collaboration with the Serbs by Albanian or Roma civilians there. The criminal purpose included the intimidation, abduction, imprisonment, beating, torture and murder of targeted civilians. The specific charges against the accused include murder, rape, harassment, inhumane acts, destruction of property, unlawful detention, deportation or forcible transfer of civilians, cruel treatment and other inhumane acts. The amendments are contained in counts 35, 37, 38 and 39 of the indictment and refer specifically to several additional ways in which the alleged mistreatment of a witness is said to have occurred, as well as an event in which two other persons were mistreated, and a small group of individuals was forcibly displaced. In allowing the amendments, the Trial Chamber ruled that the changes will not cause prejudice to the accused or delay proceedings unduly. Due to the fact that the amendments constitute new charges, a further initial appearance will be scheduled in due course."
- Full-Text of Decision
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)
Daily Journal
Daily Case Minutes
Judicial Calendar
ICTR Newsletter (September 2006)
Latest Decisions:
- Nahimana et al ., Office of the President, "DECISION ON REQUESTS FOR REVERSAL OF PROHIBITION OF CONTACT," 25 October 2023 (denying request of Hassan Ngeze to lift restrictive measures on "contact with the outside world," which were imposed after Ngeze previously violated a witness protection order)
- Bagosora et al., "DECISION ON KABILIGI MOTION FOR COOPERATION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE AND SUBPOENA OF FORMER OFFICERS," 31 October 2023 (requesting the Government of France "to comply immediately with its commitment to provide written answers to the questionnaires to each of the four prospective witnesses" and "to complete the procedures prescribed by its own law as expeditiously as possible, in light of the calendar described in the present decision" and denying the request for subpoenas and a specific hearing schedule as premature)
The Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL)
Court Schedule
Court Summary, Week Ended 3 November 2023
Case Developments & Resources:
The Civil Defence Forces (CDF) Accused
- Decision on Fofana request for full review of Prosecution evidence to identify Rule 68 material for disclosure (6 November 2023)
The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) Accused
The Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (ARFC) Accused
- Defence Testimony Ends in AFRC Accused Trial.(27 October 2023)
Prosecutor v. Charles Taylor
- Decision on urgent Prosecution motion for immediate protective measures for witnesses and non-public disclosure (3 November 2023)
International Criminal Court (ICC)
Hearing Schedule
ICC Newsletter (October 2006)
Chad and Montenegro become the 103rd and 104th States Parties to the Rome Statute (7 November 2023)
Situations & Cases [All documents ]:
Situation in Dafur, Sudan
- Prosecutor's Expedited Application for Leave to reply to Ad Hoc Counsel's "Conclusions Aux Fins D'Exception D'Incompétence et D'Irrecevabilité" (27 October 2023)
- Decision on the Prosecutor's request to file a reply (30 October 2023)
- Décision relative aux "Conclusions aux fins d'in limine litis sursis à statuer" déposées par le conseil ad hoc de la Défense (2 November 2023)
- Requête sollicitant l'autorisation d'interjeter appel à l'encontre de la décision rendue le 02/11/2023 sur les conclusions in limine litis sursis à statuer (6 November 2023)
- Prosecutor's response to "Requête sollicitant l'autorisation d'interjeter appel à l'encontre de la décision rendue le 02/11/2023 sur les conclusions in limine litis sursis à statuer" (7 November 2023)
Situation in Central African Republic
Situation in Uganda
- The Prosecutor v. Joseph Kony, Vincent Otti, Raska Lukwiya, Okot Odhiambo and Dominic Ongwen
- Statement by the Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo on the confirmation of the death of Raska Lukwiya (7 November 2023)
Situation in Democratic Republic of Congo
- The Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo (Pre-Trial Phase)
- Defence Appeal Against the "Décision sur la demande de mise en liberté provisoire de Thomas Lubanga Dyilo" (26 October 2023)
- Defence Appeal against the Decision on the Defence Challenge to Jurisdiction of 3 October 2023 (26 October 2023)
- Prosecution's Response to Defence Appeal Against the 'Décision sur la demande de mise en liberté provisoire Thomas Lubanga Dyilo' (1 November 2023)
- Décision sur la demande d'autorisation d'appel de la Défense relative à la transmission des Demandes de participation des victimes (6 November 2023)
- Decision concerning list of issues on jurisdiction, admissibility or proper conduct of the proceedings (7 November 2023)
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)
Pending Cases and current status
Developments:
- Statement by Mr Rüdiger Wolfrum, President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, to the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly of the United Nations, New York (20 October 2023)
- Statement by Mr Rüdiger Wolfrum, President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, to the Informal Meeting of Legal Advisers of Ministries of Foreign Affairs, New York (23 October 2023)
- The Tribunal holds its first regional workshop in Dakar (6 November 2023)