Minister of Justice of Georgia H.E. Ms Tea Tsulukiani and ICC First Vice-President Judge Robert Fremr signing an Agreement on the Enforcement of Sentences on 24 January 2019 ©ICC-CPI
The International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “Court”) and the Government of Georgia have concluded an Agreement on the Enforcement of Sentences. Under the agreement, persons convicted by the ICC may serve their sentence of imprisonment in Georgia if so decided by the Court and accepted by the Government of Georgia.
On 24 January 2019, Judge Robert Fremr, First Vice-President of the Court, and H.E. Ms Tea Tsulukiani, Minister of Justice of Georgia, signed the agreement at the Court’s premises.
The Rome Statute provides that sentences of imprisonment imposed by the ICC “shall be served in a State designated by the Court from a list of States which have indicated to the Court their willingness to accept sentenced persons”.
Welcoming the Government of Georgia’s commitment and support for the Court in signing the Agreement, First Vice-President Fremr stated: “The active support of the States Parties is a fundamental precondition for the Court’s ability to carry out its mandate. In addition to obligatory cooperation under the Rome Statute, it is essential that all States Parties consider which forms of voluntary cooperation they may be able to offer to the Court”.
H.E. Ms Tea Tsulukiani, Minister of Justice of Georgia said that: “The signing of the Agreement on Enforcement of Sentences is clear manifestation of Georgia’s commitment to strengthen the ICC as a legal institution, by contributing to enforcing international justice. This agreement creates necessary legal infrastructure to place the ICC sentenced persons in the Georgian prisons and the Georgian penitentiary system would join the limited number of those designated by ICC for enforcing sentences as being of high standards. ”
Similar agreements on the enforcement of sentences are currently in force between the ICC and the governments of Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Mali, Norway, Serbia, Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
