I International Criminal Court
| DOI | 10.1177/016934411203000407 |
| Date | 01 December 2012 |
| Published date | 01 December 2012 |
| Subject Matter | Part B: Human Rights News |
Netherlands Q uarterly of Human R ights, Vol. 30/4, 489–508, 2012.
© Netherlands I nstitute of Human Rig hts (SIM), Printed in the Net herlands. 489
PART B: HUMAN RIGHTS NEWS
I INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
E F*
e International Cri minal Court (ICC) has a new Chief Prosecutor. Succeeding her
controversial former boss Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Gambian lawyer Fatou Bensouda
began her solemn undertaking and o cially took o ce on 15June 2012.1 Bensouda,
the Court’s former Deputy Prosecutor, has set out a number of goals to be pursued
during her nine-year term, which include improving the quality and e ciency of
investigations, ensuring violence against children and sexual and gender crimes
are fairly represented in charges, and improving the Court’s relationship with
Africa.2 On 11September 2012, she submitted the names of the three c andidates she
was nominating for her previous position to the Assembly of States Parties. In the
running for Deputy Prosec utor are: Ms. Raija Toiviainen (Finland), Mr. Paul Rutledge
(Australia), and Mr. James Stewar t (Canada).3
Bensouda’s term commenced in the midst of hard ti mes for the ICC. In the Libyan
situation, tensions between the Court and Libya increased when Libyan authorities
detained four ICC sta members of the Court’s O ce of Public Counsel for the
Defence on 7June 2012 a er a visit to their client Saif al-Islam Gadda in the Libya n
city Zintan.4 Libya accused one of the four sta members, lawyer Melinda Taylor,
of smuggling spying devices and a coded letter to Saif al-Islam.5 Taylor denied the
accusations. e sta members were released nea rly a month later on 2July 2012, and
* PhD Candidate , VU University Amsterd am, the Netherland s.
1 Internationa l Criminal Cou rt, Press Release IC C-CPI-20120615-PR811 (15June 2012), available at:
www.icc-cpi. int/menus/icc/press%20and%20med ia/press%20releases/pr811 (last vi sited 2October
2012).
2 Hirsch, A., ‘Fatou Bensouda: the Woman who could Redeem the International Crimina l Court’,
Guardian, 14 June 2012, available at: w ww.guardian.co.uk/law/2012/jun/14/fatou-bensouda-
internationa l-criminal-c ourt (last visite d 2October 2012).
3
International Criminal Court, Press Relea se ICC-OTP-20120911-PR835 (11 September 2012),
available at: ww w.icc-cpi.int/menus/icc/pres s%20and%20media/press%20releases/pr835 (last
visited 2October 2012). ( e Asse mbly has elected t he new Deputy Prosec utor during its 11th Session
in November 2012. However, at the ti me of writing in Oc tober 2012, the new Deput y Prosecutor was
not yet announced .).
4 Internationa l Criminal Cour t, Press Release ICC- CPI-20120609-PR805 (9June 2012), available at:
www.icc-cpi. int/menus/icc/press%20and%20me dia/press%20release s/pr805 (last visited 2Oc tober
2012).
5 Harding, L ., Borger, J., and Stephen, C., ‘Libya Accuses Aust ralian ICC O cial of Passing Secret
Letter to Gadda ’s Son ’, Guardian, 25 June 2012, available at: www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/
jun/25/melinda-t aylor-libya-accuse-spy ing (last visite d 2October 2012).
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