Nomination
Period for ICC Judges Closes
Human Rights First Urges Consideration of Merit Rather than Politics
NEW YORK – The nomination period for judges to the International
Criminal Court (ICC) closed on November 30, 2002 with 45 candidates
nominated. The deadline for the nomination of a Prosecutor for the
ICC has been extended until December 8, 2002 since no nomination has
yet been submitted. Elections for both judges and a prosecutor are
to be held in early February 2003.
“We applaud this important step toward the creation of the
International Criminal Court,” said Fiona McKay, Director
of the International Justice Program at Human Rights First. “Now the onus rests on States to ignore political
considerations and vote for the candidates with the strongest qualifications.”
Candidates for the election of judges are evenly spread out among
regional groups with:
- 9 candidates from Africa
- 6 candidates from Asia
- 9 candidates from Latin America
- 12 candidates from Western Europe and other
States and
- 7 candidates from Eastern Europe.
- 23 candidates are experienced in national
criminal law and 22 candidates are experienced in international
law.
Only 10 out of the 45 judge candidates are women, despite repeated
calls from Human Rights First and other members of the Coalition
for an International Criminal Court urging States Parties to ensure
fair gender representation among candidates. Considering the limited
number of women candidates, Human Rights First is concerned that
the requirements of the Rome Statute with regard to fair gender
representation may not be fulfilled and that the ICC bench will
reflect a gender imbalance.
The election of judges to the ICC, and of the Prosecutor, will
take place in a resumed meeting of the Assembly of States Parties
from February 3 – 7, 2003. The search for a Prosecutor is
still ongoing as States Parties are trying to reach consensus on
a few outstanding candidates. Human Rights First urges all States
Parties to actively search for qualified candidates for the post
of Prosecutor. States Parties now have until December 8th to submit
their nominations.
The election procedures provide for a system of minimum voting
requirements with regard to the qualification, gender and geographical
representation of candidates, per Article 36 of the Rome Statute.
The effectiveness of the new election procedure will depend upon
the number, quality, and diversity of candidates. It is essential
that the judges, the Prosecutor and other high officials of the
Court meet the highest standards of legal rigor, human sensitivity
and professional probity.
Human Rights First urges States Parties to:
- Refrain from political vote trading and support candidates
exclusively on the basis of their qualifications.
- Support and vote for candidates who have a wealth of experience
and the qualities and qualifications needed to dispense international
justice fairly and with wisdom.
- Use objective criteria when deciding which candidates to support.
- Use Human Rights First’s “Criteria
for the Assessment of the Qualifications of Candidates for Judges
of the International Criminal Court” as guiding principles.
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