The Humanitarian Law Center (HLC), on behalf of the Coalition for International Criminal Court (CICC) on the occasion of marking July 17th, International Criminal Justice Day, and forthcoming December election of the prosecutor and six judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC), calls for the Government of the Republic of Serbia to propose and support, during the election process, the most qualified candidates for the positions of the prosecutor and judges of ICC. Serbia, as one of the founders of ICC, should take active part in the election process and it should make effort to make this process transparent and just.
HLC uses this opportunity to relay messages of the CICC relating to ICC and a broader context of combat against the most serious international crimes – genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, and at the same time it calls for representatives of relevant state institutions and civil society to discuss them and use their power and influence to implement them in practice. We would especially like to highlight the following:
– the election of prosecutor must be carried out through a merit-based process that ensures that most highly qualified candidates get elected, taking into account criteria for assessing qualifications for the position, which include experience in international criminal law, dedication to a well-functioning, respected and effective ICC, excellent management skills and diplomatic skills, as well as the ability to work impartially and independently;
– non-governmental organizations should put pressure on member states to provide comprehensive and efficient application of the Rome Statute and ratify the ICC Agreement on Privileges and Immunities and to encourage non-member states to ratify the Rome Statute and to accept it in national legislation; to continue with activities aimed at raising victims’ awareness regarding their right to justice at the national level, to discuss the possibility of initiating court proceedings (on behalf of victims and with their active participation) at the national level for serious crimes against international law, and to monitor these proceedings in all stages, including the investigation stage;
– states should provide the Court with sufficient resources to effectively fulfil its judicial mandate. In particular, continue to support a fully-funded legal aid program for the defence and victims to ensure their adequate representation from the earliest stages, contribute to the fund for family visits of detainees at the seat of the Court in The Hague, contribute to the newly established ICC Special Fund for relocations, and ensure the Trust Fund for Victims is adequately funded to complement potential upcoming reparation awards while continuing to carry out current assistance activities. Continue to financially support ICC outreach programs, which are essential for the court’s work to be well understood and increase its impact on victims and affected communities, and to provide the necessary resources to strengthen the ICC field presence.
