Universiteit van Amsterdam
International Criminal Tribunals (Procedural Aspects) – Transnational and International Criminal Law
– 2024/2025
Literature summary International Criminal Tribunals – Procedural Aspects
Table of content
WEEK 1 – INTRODUCTION: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ............................................................... 3
PRESCRIBED LITERATURE ........................................................................................................................................... 3
Darryl Robinson et al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure (5th edition, CUP:
2024), sections 17.1-17.3 ............................................................................................................................... 3
J.I. Turner, ‘Pluralism in International Criminal Procedure’ in Darryl K. Brown, Jenia I. Turner, and Bettina
Weisser (eds), Oxford Handbook of Criminal Process (OUP: 2018) ................................................................ 8
WEEK 2 - INITIATION OF INVESTIGATION AND SELECTION OF CASES ............................................................... 9
PRESCRIBED LITERATURE ........................................................................................................................................... 9
Robinson et al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, sections 8.7-8.9, 17.4 &
17.5.1 .............................................................................................................................................................. 9
Chapter 17 International Criminal Procedure ............................................................................................... 10
ICC-OTP, 'Policy Paper on Preliminary Examinations' - under revision (November 2013) ............................ 13
ICC-OTP, 'Policy Paper on Case Selection and Prioritisation' (September 2016) .......................................... 15
ICC-OTP, 'Policy on Complementarity and Cooperation' (April 2024) p. 1-11, 48-72 ................................... 16
PRESCRIBED CASE LAW ............................................................................................................................................ 18
ICC, Situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Judgment on the appeal against the decision on the
authorisation of an investigation into the situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, ICC-02/17 OA4,
5 March 2020, paras. 19-54 ......................................................................................................................... 18
WEEK 3 – INVESTIGATIONS ............................................................................................................................ 20
PRESCRIBED LITERATURE ......................................................................................................................................... 20
Robinson et al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, section 17.5.2 ................... 20
Göran Sluiter, 'Human Rights in International Criminal Proceedings - The Impact of the Judgement of the
Kosovo Specialist Chambers of 26 April 2017' (2019) 27(3) William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal 623....... 21
Eurojust & International Criminal Court, 'Documenting international crimes and human rights violations
for accountability purposes: Guidelines for civil society organisations' (2022) ............................................ 23
ICC Independent Expert Review, September 2020 p. 238-253...................................................................... 25
WEEK 4 – ARREST AND DETENTION ................................................................................................................ 27
PRESCRIBED LITERATURE ......................................................................................................................................... 27
Robinson et al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, section 17.6 ...................... 27
Krit Zeegers, International Criminal Tribunals and Human Rights Law: Adherence and Contextualization
(2015) p. 193-282 ......................................................................................................................................... 28
PRESCRIBED CASE LAW ............................................................................................................................................ 31
ICC, Situation in the State of Palestine, Order deciding on the United Kingdom's request to provide
observations pursuant to Rule 103(1) of the RPE, and setting deadlines for any other requests for leave to
file amicus curiae observations, ICC-01/18, 27 June 2024 ........................................................................... 31
ICC, Prosecutor v. Bemba et al, Judgment on the appeals against Pre-Trial Chamber II’s decisions regarding
interim release in relation to Aimé Kilolo Musamba, Jean-Jacques Mangenda, Fidèle Babala Wandu, and
Narcisse Arido and order for reclassification, ICC-01/05-01/13 OA 5, OA 6, OA 7, OA 8, OA 9, 29 May 2015,
paras. 21-57.................................................................................................................................................. 33
WEEK 5 – LAW OF EVIDENCE .......................................................................................................................... 35
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, PRESCRIBED LITERATURE ......................................................................................................................................... 35
Robinson et al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, section 17.7-17.9 ............. 35
Matthew Gillett and Wallace Fan, 'Expert Evidence and Digital Open Source Information' (2023) 21 Journal
of International Criminal Justice 661 ............................................................................................................ 38
PRESCRIBED CASE LAW ............................................................................................................................................ 40
ICC, Prosecutor v Bemba et al, Separate Opinion of Judge Geoffrey Henderson to the Appeals Judgment,
ICC-01/05-01/13-2275-Anx, 8 March 2019 .................................................................................................. 40
WEEK 6 – ROLE AND LEGAL STATUS OF VICTIMS IN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS ..................... 42
PRESCRIBED LITERATURE ......................................................................................................................................... 42
Robinson et al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, chapter 18 ........................ 42
Michelle Coleman, 'The Tension between the Presumption of Innocence and Victims’ Participation Rights
at the International Criminal Court' (2020) 20 International Criminal Law Review 371 .............................. 44
Sara Kendall and Sarah Nouwen, 'Representational Practices at the International Criminal Court: The Gap
Between Juridified and Abstract Victimhood' (2013) 76(3/4) Law and Contemporary Problems 235 ......... 45
Sylvia Acan, 'Symposium on Dominic Ongwen Case: Prepare Victims to Receive Reparations' OpinioJuris
(11 April 2024) .............................................................................................................................................. 46
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,Week 1 – Introduction: international criminal procedure
Prescribed literature
Darryl Robinson et al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and
Procedure (5th edition, CUP: 2024), sections 17.1-17.3
17.1 General issues
Every international or hybrid criminal tribunal has needed to develop its own procedural system based
on the often limited and inconclusive legal framework.
17.1.1 Legal traditions
There are two main legal traditions by which international criminal procedure is shaped:
1. Common law (Anglo-American);
2. Civil law (continental, or Romano-Germanic).
Both legal traditions aim at establishing the truth and guarantee fairness, but they way that they do so
is very different.
Common law (adversarial) Civil law (inquisitorial)
Investigations and evidentiary presentations are Judge-led – parties must assist the judge in
driven by the parties establishing the objective truth. Only prosecutor
can collect evidence
The jury decides, the judge is rather passive The judge takes the lead in the examination of
(referee and secure fairness and equality of evidence
arms)
Strict rules of evidence to protect the jurors Relaxed admissibility rules
The procedural truth emerges from the Ability of in absentia hearings
adversarial dual
Many fair trial guarantees for the accused
With the drafting of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence (RPE) there has been searched for a
combination between the two, but in earlier stages international criminal practitioners tended more
towards their own system (procedural narcissism). Plucking and picking from different legal systems
has the risk to lead to experimental, sub-par solutions falling short of the standards and guarantees
adopted in any given domestic system.
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, 17.1.2 International Models
There have been several ways of development of international criminal proceedings:
1. Level of detail and sophistication of procedural law has increased;
2. In flux in comparative law terms:
a. The Nuremberg and Tokyo Charters were consistent with a combination of the two
legal regimes, but that scale was very dependent upon who was writing the Charters;
only basis provisions of procedure were included
Example to illustrate
As the Soviet and the French contributed to the drafting of the IMT’s charter, it had
a more civil law influence.
b. For the ICTY and ICTR Statutes, there were more, but still a few, provisions on
procedure when the focus was more on judges. It was, however, quite adversarial;
c. For the ICC, the RPE, the Statute and the Regulations together form an enclosed, nearly
exhaustive regime:
i. These last three can be considered to have unique (sui generis), or hybrid,
procedural systems.
International criminal procedure was not devised for automatic adoption on domestic level as it was
framed in the light of the specific circumstances of international courts.
17.2 Actors
17.2.1 Judges
At the ICTY/ICTR At the ICC
Role of the judges corresponded to the one By contrast, the ICC statute organizes a more
under the adversarial model, and hence a limited active role for the PTC judges as a whole: while
role in the parties’ investigations + remained this reflects a stronger civil law influence, the
passive during trials. role of the PTC falls short of that of an
investigative judge in the inquisitorial systems:
Judges could order parties to present additional the PTC doesn’t conclude investigations itself,
evidence and ex officio summon a witness. but ensures human rights supervision and
Over time, the ICTY judges gave themselves a facilitates investigations by the parties, including
stronger role in the management of pre-trial by assisting them in state cooperation.
proceedings: the Trial Chambers exercised a
tighter control over the length of the parties’ The role of the judges in the pre trial case and
cases as well as the introduction of pre-trial trial proceedings at the ICC are not regulated
judges. exhaustively by the Statute and the RPE.
• pretrial phase:
Acted more as ‘case managers’ rather than ‘fact- o Judges’ principal function: the issuance of
finders’ at the pre-trial stage: the parties the arrest warrant or summons to
remained in charge of investigation and appear, which marks the start of a case
presentation of evidence. focused on a particular individual
o the PTC also confirms charges, thereby
committing the person for trial and fixing
the scope of the case for that stage
• trial phase:
o each TC holds a discretionary power to
define the trial procedures to be followed
in a case, in consultation with the parties.
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