ICC judges to meet with the prosecutor on Darfur case

By Wasil Ali

Feb 28, 2007 (THE HAGUE) — The judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) today issued an order to convene a closed meeting session on March 8 with the ICC’s chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo and the Victims and Witnesses Unit at the court.

The Pre-Trial Chamber I at the ICC which has been assigned the Darfur case stated in its decision that the meeting is to discuss “matters arising from the Prosecution’s Application” that was made on Tuesday to issue summons to appear against two individuals suspected of committing war crimes in Darfur, Sudan.

The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo announced on Tuesday that he filed charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity against Ahmed Muhammed Harun the Sudanese minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Janjaweed militia leader Ali Kosheib.

Under the Rome Statue which forms the basis of the ICC, the judges have the power to issue arrest warrants or summons to appear at the request of the prosecutor. The judges may also request more information from the prosecutor on the evidence he files with the chamber. The time it takes for the judges to decide on issuing arrest warrants or summons to appear is not defined by the Rome Statue. The longest time it took for the ICC judges to issue arrest warrants was in the case of Uganda Lord Resistance Army (LRA) rebels which took two months since an application was filed by the ICC prosecutor.

Sudan has not ratified the Rome Statue, but the UN Security Council triggered the provisions under the Statue that enables it to refer situations in non-State parties to the world court if it deems that it is a threat to international peace and security.

(ST)