On the picture Dr Raul C. Pangalangan.
By Roy Lie A Tjam.
President Barbara Couwenbergh and the Board of the International Women’s Contact The Hague (IWC) Invited Dr Raul C. Pangalangan, Judge at the International Criminal Court, to deliver a discourse at their monthly meeting. It was at the Marriott Hotel on the lovely winter morning of 8 February 2016.
Among the 150 attendees were four men. H.E. Ambassador of the Philippines Jaime Victor B. Ledda, graced the event with his presence. Right from the start Justice Raul Pangalangan captured the attention of the audience with his vivid presentation on the International Criminal Court.
Dr Raul Pangalangan in his introduction related how our ancestors have struggled to solve conflicts. At first they’ve tried to find solutions by means of military force. This has proven not to be effective. It was then decided to turn to Divine authority, Papal intervention was implemented, this too proved to be of no avail.
Along came the grand illuminated spirit, Hugo Grotius, he proposed to use Reason. It took several centuries before anything tangible materialized. A court of arbitration was established in The Hague to meditate in conflicts between states.
The International Criminal Court deals with humans, individuals. It aspires to combat impunity. ICC is not a human rights court. It only investigates and prosecutes individuals.
The US chief prosecutor to the Nuremberg tribunal stated that four great nations, stay the hand of vengeance and willingly submit their captive enemies to the judgment of the law is one of the most significant tributes that Power has ever paid to Reason.
Let’s stress that the ICC is an independent international organisation and not part of the United Nations. However, the Court cooperates closely with the UN. The International Criminal Court was created by a treaty called the Rome Statute which was negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations and adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome, Italy, on 17 July 1998. The ICC entered into force. on the 1st of July 2002.
The ICC has four main organs:
The Presidency, consisting of a President and two Vice-Presidents. The Presidency is responsible for judicial administration, conclusion of international agreements, facilitating inter-organ coordination and representing the Court as a whole.
Then, the Judiciary which is divided into three divisions: Pre-Trial, Trial and Appeals. There are 18 judges, who guarantee the fairness of the proceedings from the issuance of arrest warrants through trials to final judgement.
The ICC’s structure also houses an independent Office of the Prosecutor, responsible for investigations and prosecution.
Finally, we have a Registry, which provides services to the other parts of the Court.
A Trust Fund provides assistance to victims of crimes under the ICC’s jurisdiction, and implements judicial reparation orders.
The ICC is concerned with the most serious international crimes:
- Genocide
- War crimes
- Crimes against humanity and
- Crime of aggression.
There are several tribunals:
- International /Ad Hoc – Nuremberg, Tokyo, Yugoslavia, Rwanda
- Mixed / Ad Hoc – Kosovo / Sierra Leone / Cambodia
- Domestic – Kuroda / Yamashita / Indonesia / East Timor
The ICC comes into action when crimes are committed on the territory of the 123 state parties or by a subject of a state party. Furthermore in a situation referred to the ICC by the UN security council
Importantly, it is the national justice systems of the States Parties that have the primary right – and the responsibility – to investigate and prosecute any ICC crimes under their jurisdiction. The ICC can intervene only if justice is not provided at the national level.
One of the most important tenets of the Rome Statute is the complementarily principle, meaning that the ICC complements national jurisdictions rather than replaces them.
How do cases come before the ICC? Via the so-called triggering mechanisms. First, the UN Security Council may refer a situation to the Prosecutor. The second possibility is that a State Party may refer a situation to the ICC Prosecutor. So far, four African States have done this, each one of them referring their own situation to the ICC. The third route is that the ICC Prosecutor opens an investigation into alleged crimes on his or her own initiative, on the basis of information received from any source. Here, however, unlike with referrals, the Prosecutor will first have to obtain the authorization of a Pre-Trial Chamber.
Justice Raul Pangalangan concluded his revealing expose with an integrative session, this gave much allure to his presentation.
Photography by Diny van Herwijnen IWC.
