On Wednesday 1st June , the Opening Ceremony for the VI Ibero-American Week of International Justice will take place at the Peace Palace. H.E. Judge Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi, President of the International Criminal Court, H.E. Mr. Álvaro Moerzinger, Vicepresident of the Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court, H.E. Mr. Philippe Courvreur, Secretary of the International Court of Justice, H.E. Mr. Johan Van der Werff, Ambassador of the Netherlands to International Organisations, and Prof. Héctor Olasolo Alonso, Chairman of the Ibero-American Institute of The Hague for Peace, Human Rights and International Justice (IIH) will be the speakers of such an occassion. Since 2011, the Ibero-American Week of International Justice is organised each year during the first ten days of June by the IIH. It has the the institutional support of the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, the Hague Municipality, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the University of The Hague for Applied Sciences, the Grotious Center for International Studies, the TMC Asser Institute, the Hague Academic Coalition, the Embassies of several Ibero-American States, the General Ibero-American Secretariat, the Public Policy and Human Rights Institute of MERCOSUR, the Coalition for the ICC, the Chinese Initiative on International Law and a number of Ibero-American Universities and organisations. According to Prof. Hector Olasolo, IIH Chairman, “the aim of the Ibero-American Week is to create a space in which academics, international and national state officials, members of civil society, students, and the general public at large, coming from the countries in the Ibero-American region and the Netherlands, may exchange their views and initiatives on International Justice. Likewise, it aims to promote a deeper knowledge and a better understanding of Hague-based International Court, Tribunals and Organisations”. The Ibero-American Week is comprised of a number of events in Spanish, with some lectures in Portuguese, including a Moot Court on the International Criminal Court, an Essay Contest on International Justice, a Seminar on Ibero-American Thinking  on International Justice, a Research Group on the Ibero-American Epistemological Perspective on Justice, a guided tour to the historical buildings of the City of The Hague, and several visits to Hague-based International Courts, Tribunals and Organisations. Translation into English is provided for some of the activities. On the occassion of its VI Edition, the Argentinean Embassy will present on 7th June at 17h00 at the Hague University of Applied Sciences (Johanna Westerdijkplein 75), the joint proposal by Argentina, Belgium, Slovenia and The Netherlands of a Multilateral Treaty on Mutual legal Assistance and Extradition for Atrocity Crimes. Moreover, a Hague Talk on Ibero-American victims of international crimes will be held on 8 June at 19h30 at the Humanity House (prinsegracht 8), as part of The Hague Talks for Peace and Justice organised by the Municipality of the City of The  Hague. Furthermore, on 9 June at 17h00 the I Sino-Iberoamerican Panel on International Justice, jointly organised by the IIH and the Chinese Initiative on International Law (CIIL), will be held at the Hague University of Applied Sciences (Johanna Westerdijkplein 75).

Statement of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, on opening a Preliminary Examination into the situation in Burundi  Since April 2015, I have closely followed the situation in Burundi and repeatedly called upon all involved to refrain from violence, warning that those alleged to be committing crimes falling within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “the Court”) could be held individually accountable. In the course of the on-going crisis, more than 430 persons were reportedly killed, at least 3,400 people have been arrested and over 230,000 Burundians forced to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. My Office has reviewed a number of communications and reports detailing acts of killing, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, as well as cases of enforced disappearances. All these acts appear to fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC. I have decided therefore to open a preliminary examination into the situation in Burundi since April 2015. A preliminary examination is not an investigation but a process of examining the information available in order to reach a fully informed determination on whether there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation pursuant to the criteria established by the Rome Statute. Specifically, under article 53(1) of the Rome Statute, the Prosecutor must consider issues of jurisdiction, admissibility and the interests of justice in making this determination.  The Office gives due consideration to all submissions and views conveyed to the Office during the course of a preliminary examination, strictly guided by the requirements of the Rome Statute and in the independent and impartial exercise of its mandate.  There are no timelines provided in the Rome Statute for a decision on a preliminary examination. Depending on the facts and circumstances of each situation, the Office will decide whether to continue to collect information to establish a sufficient factual and legal basis to render a determination; initiate an investigation, subject to judicial review as appropriate; or decline to initiate an investigation if there is no reasonable basis to proceed. In conformity with the complementarity principle, my Office will also be engaging with the Burundian authorities with a view to discussing and assessing relevant investigations and prosecutions at the national level. Burundi is a State Party to the Rome Statute, and as such, the ICC has jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed on the territory or by nationals of Burundi since 1 December 2004, the date when the Statute entered into force in Burundi.    

Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections to Google on Android operating system and applications   The European Commission has informed Google of its preliminary view that the company has, in breach of EU antitrust rules, abused its dominant position by imposing restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators. The Commission’s preliminary view is that Google has implemented a strategy on mobile devices to preserve and strengthen its dominance in general internet search. First, the practices mean that Google Search is pre-installed and set as the default, or exclusive, search service on most Android devices sold in Europe. Second, the practices appear to close off ways for rival search engines to access the market, via competing mobile browsers and operating systems. In addition, they also seem to harm consumers by stifling competition and restricting innovation in the wider mobile space. The Commission’s concerns are outlined in a Statement of Objections addressed to Google and its parent company, Alphabet. Sending a Statement of Objections does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “A competitive mobile internet sector is increasingly important for consumers and businesses in Europe. Based on our investigation thus far, we believe that Google’s behaviour denies consumers a wider choice of mobile apps and services and stands in the way of innovation by other players, in breach of EU antitrust rules. These rules apply to all companies active in Europe. Google now has the opportunity to reply to the Commission’s concerns.” Smartphones and tablets account for more than half of global internet traffic, and are expected to account for even more in the future. About 80% of smart mobile devices in Europe and in the world run on Android, the mobile operating system developed by Google. Google licenses its Android mobile operating system to third party manufacturers of mobile devices. The Commission opened proceedings in April 2015 concerning Google’s conduct as regards the Android operating system and applications. At this stage, the Commission considers that Google is dominant in the markets for general internet search services, licensable smart mobile operating systems and app stores for the Android mobile operating system. Google generally holds market shares of more than 90% in each of these markets in the European Economic Area (EEA). In today’s Statement of Objections, the Commission alleges that Google has breached EU antitrust rules by: requiring manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and Google’s Chrome browser and requiring them to set Google Search as default search service on their devices, as a condition to license certain Google proprietary apps; preventing manufacturers from selling smart mobile devices running on competing operating systems based on the Android open source code; giving financial incentives to manufacturers and mobile network operators on condition that they exclusively pre-install Google Search on their devices. The Commission believes that these business practices may lead to a further consolidation of the dominant position of Google Search in general internet search services. It is also concerned that these practices affect the ability of competing mobile browsers to compete with Google Chrome, and that they hinder the development of operating systems based on the Android open source code and the opportunities they would offer for the development of new apps and services. In the Commission’s preliminary view, this conduct ultimately harms consumers because they are not given as wide a choice as possible and because it stifles innovation.   The Commission’s concerns Licensing of Google’s proprietary apps The Commission’s investigation showed that it is commercially important for manufacturers of devices using the Android operating system to pre-install on those devices the Play Store, Google’s app store for Android. In its contracts with manufacturers, Google has made the licensing of the Play Store on Android devices conditional on Google Search being pre-installed and set as default search service. As a result, rival search engines are not able to become the default search service on the significant majority of devices sold in the EEA. It has also reduced the incentives of manufacturers to pre-install competing search apps, as well as the incentives of consumers to download such apps. Similarly, in its contracts with manufacturers Google also required the pre-installation of its Chrome mobile browser in return for licensing the Play Store or Google Search. Thereby, Google has also ensured that its mobile browser is pre-installed on the significant majority of devices sold in the EEA. Browsers represent an important entry point for search queries on mobile devices. Thus, by reducing manufacturers’ incentives to pre-install competing browser apps and consumers’ incentives to download those apps, competition in both mobile browsers and general search has been adversely affected. Anti-fragmentation Android is an open-source system, meaning that it can be freely used and developed by anyone to create a modified mobile operating system (a so-called “Android fork”). However, if a manufacturer wishes to pre-install Google proprietary apps, including Google Play Store and Google Search, on any of its devices, Google requires it to enter into an “Anti-Fragmentation Agreement” that commits it not to sell devices running on Android forks. Google’s conduct has had a direct impact on consumers, as it has denied them access to innovative smart mobile devices based on alternative, potentially superior, versions of the Android operating system. For example, the Commission has found evidence that Google’s conduct prevented manufacturers from selling smart mobile devices based on a competing Android fork which had the potential of becoming a credible alternative to the Google Android operating system. In doing so, Google has also closed off an important way for its competitors to introduce apps and services, in particular general search services, which could be pre-installed on Android forks. Exclusivity Google has granted significant financial incentives to some of the largest smartphone and tablet manufacturers as well as mobile network operators on condition that they exclusively pre-install Google Search on their devices. Google has thereby reduced the incentives of manufacturers and mobile network operators to pre-install competing search services on the devices they market. In fact, the Commission has evidence that the exclusivity condition affected whether certain device manufacturers and mobile network operators pre-installed competing search services.