Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi Case: ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I issues non-compliance finding for Libyan Government and refers matter to UN Security Council
On December 10th 2014, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a finding of non-compliance by the Government of Libya with respect to the non-execution of two requests for cooperation transmitted by the ICC, and decided to refer the matter to the Security Council of the United Nations.
The Chamber found that Libya has failed to comply with the requests by the Court: (i) to surrender Saif Al‑Islam Gaddafi to the Court; and (ii) to return to the Defence of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi the originals of the documents that were seized by the Libyan authorities from the former Defence counsel for Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi in June 2012 in Zintan, and to destroy any copies thereof.
The Chamber stressed that both outstanding obligations are of paramount importance for the exercise by the Court of its functions and powers under the Rome Statute and that the non‑compliance by Libya effectively prevents the Court from fulfilling its mandate, including its duty to protect the rights of the parties and the interests of victims.
The Chamber recognised that throughout the proceedings, Libya demonstrated in several respects its commitment to the Court and made genuine efforts to maintain a constructive dialogue. The Chamber also noted the volatile political and security situation in Libya and stated that it was sensitive to the serious difficulties that Libya is currently facing.
The Chamber emphasized that its decision was only based on the objective failure to obtain cooperation. It was not intended to sanction or criticize Libya but solely to seek the assistance of the Security Council to eliminate the impediments to cooperation.
