Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court
Encyclopedia
The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is the officer of the International Criminal Court
whose duties include the investigation and prosecution of the crimes under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, namely genocide
, crimes against humanity and war crimes as well as the crime of aggression once that crime comes under the Court's jurisdiction which will not be the case before 2017.
The Prosecutor heads the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP).
The current Prosecutor is Luis Moreno Ocampo
who has been in office since 16 June 2003. He will leave office after nine years in June 2012. His successor is to be elected at the 10th session of the Assembly of States Parties in December 2011.
The second election of the Prosecutor will take place during the tenth session of the Assembly of States Parties that will take place in New York in December 2011. A Search Committee was established which received 52 communications regarding a new Prosecutor. It shortlisted four candidates of which the two African contenders, Fatou Bensouda
and Mohamed Chande Othman, turned out to be frontrunners.
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...
whose duties include the investigation and prosecution of the crimes under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, namely genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
, crimes against humanity and war crimes as well as the crime of aggression once that crime comes under the Court's jurisdiction which will not be the case before 2017.
The Prosecutor heads the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP).
The current Prosecutor is Luis Moreno Ocampo
Luis Moreno Ocampo
José Luis Moreno OcampoMoreno Ocampo's surnames are often hyphenated in English-language media to distinguish Moreno as a surname, rather than a given name. is an Argentine lawyer who has been the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court since June 16, 2003...
who has been in office since 16 June 2003. He will leave office after nine years in June 2012. His successor is to be elected at the 10th session of the Assembly of States Parties in December 2011.
List of Prosecutors
| Name | Country | Elected | Term commenced | Term ended | Situations opened |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luis Moreno Ocampo Luis Moreno Ocampo José Luis Moreno OcampoMoreno Ocampo's surnames are often hyphenated in English-language media to distinguish Moreno as a surname, rather than a given name. is an Argentine lawyer who has been the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court since June 16, 2003... |
21 April 2003 | 16 June 2003 | 15 June 2012 | 7 | |
Elections of the Prosecutor
The first election of the Prosecutor took place on 21 April 2003, during the second resumption of the first session of the Assembly of States Parties in New York. The only official candidate was Luis Moreno Ocampo. Moreno Ocampo was elected with 78 votes with no votes against and no abstentions. Nine states parties did not vote.The second election of the Prosecutor will take place during the tenth session of the Assembly of States Parties that will take place in New York in December 2011. A Search Committee was established which received 52 communications regarding a new Prosecutor. It shortlisted four candidates of which the two African contenders, Fatou Bensouda
Fatou Bensouda
Fatou B. Bensouda is a Gambian lawyer, former government civil servant, international criminal law prosecutor and legal adviser. She has been a Deputy Prosecutor in charge of the Prosecutions Division of the International Criminal Court since 2004...
and Mohamed Chande Othman, turned out to be frontrunners.