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Judges of the International Criminal Court

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Judge Song Sang-Hyun, President of the ICC from 2009 to 2015

The eighteen judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) are elected for nine-year terms by the member-countries of the court.[1] Candidates must be nationals of those countries and they must "possess the qualifications required in their respective States for appointment to the highest judicial offices".[1]

A judge may be disqualified from "any case in which his or her impartiality might reasonably be doubted on any ground",[2] and a judge may be removed from office if found "to have committed serious misconduct or a serious breach of his or her duties" or is unable to exercise his or her functions.[3]

The judges are organized into three divisions: the Pre-Trial Division, Trial Division, and Appeals Division.[4]

Qualifications, election and terms

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Former Judge Erkki Kourula

Judges are elected to the ICC by the Assembly of States Parties, the court's governing body.[4] They serve nine-year terms[4] and are not generally eligible for re-election.[5]

By the time of their election, all judges must be nationals of states parties to the Rome Statute, and no two judges may be nationals of the same state.[1] They must be "persons of high moral character, impartiality and integrity who possess the qualifications required in their respective States for appointment to the highest judicial offices",[1] and they must "have an excellent knowledge of and be fluent in at least one of the working languages of the Court" (English and French).[1]

Judges are elected from two lists of candidates. List A comprises candidates who have "established competence in criminal law and procedure, and the necessary relevant experience, whether as judge, prosecutor, advocate or in other similar capacity, in criminal proceedings".[1] List B comprises candidates who have "established competence in relevant areas of international law such as international humanitarian law and the law of human rights, and extensive experience in a professional legal capacity which is of relevance to the judicial work of the Court".[1] Elections are organised so as to maintain at least nine judges from List A and at least five from List B on the court.[1][6]

The Assembly of States Parties is required to "take into account the need for the representation of the principal legal systems of the world, equitable geographical representation and a fair representation of female and male judges. They shall take into account the need to include judges with legal expertise on specific issues, including, but not limited to, violence against women and children."[6] For this purpose, voting requirements have been established that aim to maintain at least six female judges and at least six male judges on the court, and at least two from each regional group of the United Nations. If a regional group has more than sixteen states parties, the minimum voting requirement for this regional group increases by one. Therefore, since the Statute's entry into force for the Maldives on 1 December 2011, all regional groups can claim a third judge.

Elections

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The following elections have taken place:[7][8]

  • In February 2003, the Assembly of States Parties elected the first bench of eighteen judges from a total of 43 candidates.[9] After this first election, the President of the Assembly of States Parties drew lots to assign the eighteen judges to terms of three, six or nine years;[1][10] those who served for three years were eligible for re-election in 2006.[5] The first bench of judges was sworn in at the inaugural session of the court on 11 March 2003.[11]
  • The second election was held on 26 January 2006.[12] Five of the six outgoing judges were re-elected, but Judge Tuiloma Neroni Slade was defeated.[13] He was succeeded by Ekaterina Trendafilova.[12]
  • The first special election took place on 3 December 2007, to replace three judges who had resigned.[14][15] The three new judges were assigned to serve the remaining portions of their predecessors' terms.[14] Pursuant to a drawing of lots, Fumiko Saiga served the remainder of Claude Jorda's term, which expired on 10 March 2009.[16][17] The other two new judges' terms ended on 10 March 2012.[16][17]
  • The third ordinary election took place on 19–20 January 2009.[18][19] Twenty-one individuals were nominated to fill the six vacancies.[20] Only one incumbent judge, Fumiko Saiga, was eligible for re-election;[5] she ran and was elected.[18]
  • The second special election took place on 18 November 2009 to replace two judges who had died and resigned, respectively. Kuniko Ozaki of Japan and Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi were elected to serve until 2018.[21]
  • The fourth ordinary election took place during the 10th Session of the Assembly of States Parties from 12 to 21 December 2011. None of the six judges to be replaced were eligible for re-election.
  • The third special election took place in November 2013 to replace a judge who had resigned.
  • The fifth ordinary election took place in December 2014 to replace the judges elected in 2006.
  • The fourth special election took place in June 2015 to replace a judge who had resigned.
  • The sixth ordinary election took place in December 2017 to replace the judges elected in 2009.
  • The seventh ordinary election took place in December 2020 to replace the judges whose terms ended in 2021. Four of those judges had been elected in 2011 for full nine-year terms; the other two had been elected in the special elections in 2013 and 2015 to replace two judges elected in 2011 who had resigned.
  • The eighth ordinary election took place in December 2023 to replace the judges elected in 2014.

Disqualification and removal from office

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The prosecutor or any person being investigated or prosecuted may request the disqualification of a judge from "any case in which his or her impartiality might reasonably be doubted on any ground".[2] Any request for the disqualification of a judge from a particular case is decided by an absolute majority of the other judges.[2]

A judge may be removed from office if "found to have committed serious misconduct or a serious breach of his or her duties" or is unable to exercise his or her functions.[3] The removal of a judge requires both a two-thirds majority of the other judges and a two-thirds majority of the states parties.[3]

Presidency

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Main article: Presidency of the International Criminal Court
Judge Philippe Kirsch, the first President of the court

The Presidency is the organ responsible for the proper administration of the court, except for the Office of the Prosecutor.[22] The Presidency oversees the activities of the Registry and organises the work of the judicial divisions. It also has some responsibilities in the area of external relations, such as negotiating agreements on behalf of the court and the promoting public awareness and understanding of the institution.[23]

The Presidency comprises the President and the First and Second Vice-Presidents – three judges of the court who are elected to the Presidency by their fellow judges for a maximum of two three-year terms.[24] The Presidents of the ICC were Philippe Kirsch, who served from 2003 to 2009, Sang-hyun Song from 2009 to 2015, Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi from 2015 to 2018, Chile Eboe-Osuji from 2018 to 2021 and Piotr Hofmański from 2021 to 2024. As of March 2024, the President is Tomoko Akane from Japan; Rosario Salvatore Aitala of Italy is First Vice-President and Reine Alapini-Gansou of Benin is Second Vice-President. All three were elected on 11 March 2024.[25]

Judicial divisions

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The eighteen judges are organized into three divisions: the Pre-Trial Division, Trial Division and Appeals Division.[4] The Pre-Trial Division (which comprises the Second Vice President and five other judges)[4] confirms indictments and issues international arrest warrants. The Trial Division (the First Vice President and six other judges) presides over trials. Decisions of the Pre-Trial and Trial Divisions may be appealed to the Appeals Division (the President and four other judges). Judges are assigned to divisions according to their qualifications and experience.

Current structure

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Judges

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As of July 2024, after the 2023 International Criminal Court judges election, there are 18 full-time judges serving their mandate.

Judges of the International Criminal Court (sortable)
Name Country Took office Term End Division
 Remark
Tomoko Akane  Japan 2018 2027 Appeals President
Rosario Salvatore Aitala  Italy 2018 2027 Pre-Trial First Vice-President
Reine Alapini-Gansou  Benin 2018 2027 Pre-Trial Second Vice-President
Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza  Peru 2018 2027 Appeals
Solomy Balungi Bossa  Uganda 2018 2027 Appeals
Kimberly Prost  Canada 2018 2027 Trial
Joanna Korner  United Kingdom 2021 2030 Trial
Gocha Lordkipanidze  Georgia 2021 2030 Appeals
Socorro Flores Liera  Mexico 2021 2030 Pre-Trial
Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godínez  Costa Rica 2021 2030 Pre-Trial
Miatta Maria Samba  Sierra Leone 2021 2030 Trial
Althea Violet Alexis-Windsor  Trinidad and Tobago 2021 2030 Trial
Keebong Paek  South Korea 2024 2033 Trial
Erdenebalsuren Damdin  Mongolia 2024 2033 Appeals
Iulia Motoc  Romania 2024 2033 Pre-Trial
Haykel Ben Mahfoudh  Tunisia 2024 2033 Pre-Trial
Nicolas Guillou  France 2024 2033 Trial
Beti Hohler  Slovenia 2024 2033 Trial


As of July 2024, 11 of the 18 judges are female. The geographical representation is as follows:[26]

Regional group Number of judges
Western European and other states 4
African states 4
Latin American and Caribbean states 4
Eastern European states 3
Asian states 3

Chambers

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The Judicial Chambers[27] are organized into three main divisions. The Appeals Chamber consists of the whole Appeals Division whereas the Pre-Trial Chambers cover whole situations, authorizing as well the opening of investigation or cases. The Trial Chambers single cases (which can consist of one or more accused). As of 2024, the judges are assigned as follows.

Chamber Members Committed to
Appeals Division
Appeals Akane, Ibáñez, Balungi Bossa, Lordkipanidze, Damdin
Trial Division
Trial Chamber I Korner (Presiding), Alapini-Gansou, Alexis-Windsor Abd-Al-Rahman trial (Darfur, Sudan)
Trial Chamber II Flores Liera (Presiding), Prost, Guillou Lubanga (DR Congo), Katanga (DR Congo), Al Mahdi (Mali), Ongwen (Uganda)
Trial Chamber IV Prost (Presiding), Paek, Guillou Banda trial (Darfur, Sudan)
Trial Chamber V Schmitt (Presiding), Kovács, Chung, Hohler (Alternate) Yekatom and Ngaïssona trial (Central African Republic II)
Trial Chamber VI Samba (Presiding), Flores Liera, Ugalde, Paek (Alternate) Said trial (Central African Republic II)
Trial Chamber X Kesia-Mbe Mindua (Presiding), Akane, Prost Al Hassan trial (Mali)
Pre-Trial Division
Pre-Trial Chamber I Motoc (Presiding), Alapini-Gansou, Flores Liera Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo II
Libya (UN Security Council Resolution 1970)
Mali
Bangladesh / Myanmar (Rohingya genocide)
Georgia
Venezuela I
Venezuela II
Philippines
Motoc (Presiding), Alapini-Gansou, Guillou Palestine
Pre-Trial Chamber II Aitala (Presiding), Ugalde, Ben Mahfoudh Central African Republic I
Central African Republic II
Darfur, Sudan
Kenya
Cote d'Ivoire
Afghanistan
Burundi
Ukraine
Pre-Trial Chamber III Alexis-Windsor (Presiding), Motoc, Ben Mahfoudh Uganda

Former judges

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Former judges of the International Criminal Court, as of July 2024
Name Country Took office Term End Notes
SladeTuiloma Neroni Slade Samoa Samoa 2003 2006 Defeated in 2006 election.[13]
ClarkMaureen Harding Clark Republic of Ireland Ireland 2003 2006 Resigned to serve on the High Court of Ireland.[28]
JordaClaude Jorda France France 2003 2007 Resigned "for reasons of permanent ill-health".[29]
Hudson-PhillipsKarl Hudson-Phillips Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago 2003 2007 Resigned "for personal reasons".[30]
PillayNavanethem Pillay South Africa South Africa 2003 2008 Resigned to serve as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.[31]
KirschPhilippe Kirsch Canada Canada 2003 2009
PikisGeorghios Pikis Cyprus Cyprus 2003 2009
PolitiMauro Politi Italy Italy 2003 2009
SaigaFumiko Saiga Japan Japan 2007, 2009[5] 2009 Died in office.[32]
Ntanda NserekoDaniel Nsereko Uganda Uganda 2007 2012
BlattmannRené Blattmann Bolivia Bolivia 2003 2012 Continued in office as member of Trial Chamber I.
FulfordAdrian Fulford United Kingdom United Kingdom 2003 2012 Continued in office as member of Trial Chamber I.
Odio BenitoElizabeth Odio Benito Costa Rica Costa Rica 2003 2012 Continued in office as member of Trial Chamber I.
SteinerSylvia Steiner Brazil Brazil 2003 2012 Continued in office as member of Trial Chamber III.
CarmonaAnthony Carmona Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago 2012 2013 Resigned to become President of Trinidad and Tobago.
CotteBruno Cotte France France 2007 2014 Continued in office as member of Trial Chamber II.
DiarraFatoumata Dembélé Diarra Mali Mali 2003 2014 Continued in office as member of Trial Chamber II.
SantiagoMiriam Defensor Santiago Philippines Philippines 2012 2014 Resigned due to health issues.[33]
KaulHans-Peter Kaul Germany Germany 2003, 2006[5] 2014 Resigned due to health issues.[34]
KourulaErkki Kourula Finland Finland 2003, 2006 2015
KuenyehiaAkua Kuenyehia Ghana Ghana 2003, 2006 2015
SongSang-Hyun Song South Korea South Korea 2003, 2006 2015
TrendafilovaEkaterina Trendafilova Bulgaria Bulgaria 2006 2015
UsackaAnita Ušacka Latvia Latvia 2003, 2006 2015
MonagengSanji Monageng Botswana Botswana 2009 2018
WyngaertChris van den Wyngaert Belgium Belgium 2009 2018
TarfusserCuno Tarfusser Italy Italy 2009 2018
OzakiKuniko Ozaki Japan Japan 2009 2018
AluochJoyce Aluoch Kenya Kenya 2009 2018
FernándezSilvia Fernández de Gurmendi Argentina Argentina 2009 2018
Eboe-OsujiChile Eboe-Osuji  Nigeria 2012 2021
FremrRobert Fremr  Czech Republic 2012 2021
HendersonGeoffrey A. Henderson  Trinidad and Tobago 2014 2021
Herrera CarbucciaOlga Venecia Herrera Carbuccia  Dominican Republic 2012 2021
MorrisonHoward Morrison  United Kingdom 2012 2021
PangalanganRaul Cano Pangalangan  Philippines 2015 2021 Continued in office as member of Trial Chamber IX.
ChungChung Chang-ho  South Korea 2015 2024 Continued in office as member of Trial Chamber V.
HofmańskiPiotr Hofmański  Poland 2015 2024
BrichambautMarc Perrin de Brichambaut  France 2015 2024
SchmittBertram Schmitt  Germany 2015 2024 Continued in office as member of Trial Chamber V.
MinduaAntoine Kesia-Mbe Mindua  Democratic Republic of the Congo 2015 2024 Continued in office as member of Trial Chamber X.
KovácsPéter Kovács  Hungary 2015 2024 Continued in office as member of Trial Chamber V.

Mohamed Shahabuddeen of Guyana was elected to the court in January 2009 but he resigned for personal reasons before taking office.[35]

Classes of judges

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In 2003, the first judges were divided into three different classes of terms: those with term ending in 2006 (and re-eligible), those with term ending in 2009 and those with term ending in 2012. This list shows to which class the different judges belong.

Classes of judges' terms
Period Class of judges with initial term ending in 2006 Class of judges with initial term ending in 2009 Class of judges with initial term ending in 2012 Period
2003–2006 Kaul, Kourula, Kuenyehia, Slade, Song, Ušacka Blattmann, Jorda, Kirsch, Pikis, Pillay, Politi
Jorda resigned in 2007
Saiga elected in 2007
Pillay resigned in 2008 		Clark, Diarra, Fulford, Hudson-Phillips, Odio Benito, Steiner
Clark resigned in 2006
Hudson-Phillips resigned in 2007
Cotte, Nsereko elected in 2007 		2003–2006
2006–2009 Kaul,[5] Kourula,[5] Kuenyehia,[5] Song,[5] Trendafilova, Ušacka[5]
Kaul resigned in 2014 		2006–2009
2009–2012 Aluoch, Monageng, Saiga,[5] (Shahabuddeen), Tarfusser, Van den Wyngaert
Shahabuddeen did not take office in 2009
Saiga died in 2009
Fernandez de Gurmendi, Ozaki elected in 2009 		2009–2012
2012–2015 Carmona, Defensor-Santiago, Eboe-Osuji, Fremr, Herrera Carbuccia, Morrison
Carmona resigned in 2013
Henderson elected in 2013
Defensor-Santiago resigned in 2014
Pangalangan elected in 2015 		2012–2015
2015–2018 Chung, Hofmański, Kovács, Mindua, Perrin de Brichambaut, Schmitt 2015–2018
2018–2021 Ibáñez, Akane, Alapini-Gansou, Bossa, Prost, Aitala elected in 2017[36] 2018–2021
2021–2024 Korner, Lordkipanidze, Samba, Flores Liera, Ugalde, Alexis-Windsor elected in 2020[37] 2021–2024
2024-2027 Damdin, Motoc, Guillou, Hohler, Ben Mahfoudh, Paek elected in 2023[38] 2024-2027
2027-2030 2027-2030

Notes and references

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court" (PDF). International Criminal Court. Article 36. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Article 41 Archived 15 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine of the Rome Statute. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
  3. ^ a b c Article 46 Archived 15 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine of the Rome Statute. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
  4. ^ a b c d e International Criminal Court. Chambers. Retrieved 21 July 2007.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Article 36, paragraph 9 Archived 15 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine, of the Rome Statute provides for two circumstances under which judges may be re-elected. Firstly, the six judges who were elected to three-year terms in 2003 were eligible for re-election in 2006. Secondly, any judge elected to fill a vacancy serves the remainder of their predecessor's term; if the remainder of the term is less than three years, the judge can subsequently be re-elected to a second term. (For example, Fumiko Saiga was elected in December 2007 to serve the remainder of Claude Jorda's term. Since Jorda's term expired in March 2009, Saiga was eligible for re-election. See International Criminal Court (28 November 2007). "Election of judges of the International Criminal Court: Frequently asked questions" (PDF).[dead link‍] (38.6 KiB). Retrieved 18 January 2008.)
  6. ^ a b International Criminal Court (10 September 2004). "Procedure for the nomination and election of judges of the International Criminal Court" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2007. (77.1 KiB). Retrieved 16 October 2007.
  7. ^ Coalition for the International Criminal Court. Election of ICC and ASP Officials – Judges. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  8. ^ "Elections – Judges". Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  9. ^ United Nations (2003). Nominations for judges of the International Criminal Court – First election Archived 8 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  10. ^ "First Election — 2003". Coalition for the International Criminal Court. Archived from the original on 18 December 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  11. ^ Coalition for the International Criminal Court. Judges and the Presidency. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  12. ^ a b UN News Centre (26 January 2006). At UN, 6 judges elected to the International Criminal Court. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  13. ^ a b United Nations Department of Public Information (26 January 2006). States Parties to the International Criminal Court statute elect six judges. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  14. ^ a b International Criminal Court (4 December 2007). Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute elects three judges. Retrieved 5 December 2007.
  15. ^ International Criminal Court (2007). Election 2007. Retrieved 1 September 2008.
  16. ^ a b International Criminal Court (4 December 2007). Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute elects three judges Archived 23 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 December 2007.
  17. ^ a b International Criminal Court (28 November 2007). "Election of judges of the International Criminal Court: Frequently asked questions" (PDF).[permanent dead link‍] (38.6 KiB). Retrieved 5 December 2007.
  18. ^ a b International Criminal Court (20 January 2009). Results of the third election of the judges of the International Criminal Court[permanent dead link‍]. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  19. ^ International Criminal Court (2008). Election of judges 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2008.
  20. ^ International Criminal Court (5 December 2008). "Third election of judges of the International Criminal Court" (PDF).[permanent dead link‍]. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  21. ^ ICC information page on the November 2009 election of judges. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  22. ^ International Criminal Court. The Presidency. Retrieved 21 July 2007.
  23. ^ International Criminal Court (11 March 2009). Judge Song (Republic of Korea) elected President of the International Criminal Court; Judges Diarra (Mali) and Kaul (Germany) elected First and Second Vice-Presidents respectively Archived 3 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
  24. ^ Article 38 Archived 15 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine of the Rome Statute. Retrieved 21 July 2007.
  25. ^ "New ICC Presidency elected for 2024-2027". 11 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  26. ^ "Judges Who's who | International Criminal Court". www.icc-cpi.int. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  27. ^ ICC Presidency assigns judges to judicial divisions and Chambers. ICC. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  28. ^ International Criminal Court (11 December 2006). Resignation of Judge Maureen Harding Clark. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  29. ^ International Criminal Court (8 May 2007). Resignation of Judge Claude Jorda Archived 20 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  30. ^ International Criminal Court (19 March 2007). Resignation of Judge Karl T. Hudson-Phillips Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  31. ^ International Criminal Court (30 July 2008). Resignation of Judge Navanethem Pillay Archived 9 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 September 2008.
  32. ^ International Criminal Court (24 April 2009). Passing of Judge Fumiko Saiga Archived 27 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  33. ^ "Miriam quits as ICC judge". The Philippine STAR.
  34. ^ Resignation of ICC Judge Hans-Peter Kaul Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine. ICC press release. 30 June 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  35. ^ International Criminal Court (18 February 2009). Resignation of Mr. Mohamed Shahabuddeen Archived 23 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 February 2009.
  36. ^ International Criminal Court. "2017 - Election of six judges – Results". Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  37. ^ 2020 Election of six judges Results (icc-cpi.int)
  38. ^ International Criminal Court. "2023 - Election of six judges – Results". Retrieved 11 March 2024.
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