The Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court ("the Assembly") held its twenty-second session from 4 to 14 December 2023 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The Assembly was attended by States Parties, Observer States, the Court, international and regional organizations as well as non-governmental organizations.
The Assembly held its General debate, enriched by the participation of ministers, international organizations and representatives of non-governmental organizations. The Assembly held two thematic plenary sessions: one on cooperation and one on the Review of the International Criminal Court and the Rome Statute system. Numerous side events were held during the session.
The Assembly adopted eight resolutions by consensus on the following topics: cooperation; the Review of the International Criminal Court and the Rome Statute system; the 2024 budget of the Court; amendments to the Rules of Procedure and Evidence; an amendment to article 39 of the Rome Statute; the implementation of a tenure policy; the election of members of the Committee on Budget and Finance; and the “omnibus” resolution which, inter alia, included the adoption of a due diligence procedure for candidates for elected officials of the International Criminal Court.
The Assembly elected six new judges for a term of nine years.
- BEN-MAHFOUDH, Haykel, Group of African States (Tunisia), list B, male;
- DAMDIN, Erdenebalsuren, Group of Asia-Pacific States (Mongolia), list A, male;
- GUILLOU, Nicolas, Group of Western European and Other States (France), list A, male;
- HOHLER, Beti, Group of Eastern European States (Slovenia), list A, female;
- MOTOC, Iulia Antoanella, Group of Eastern European States (Romania), list B, female;
- PAEK, Keebong, Group of Asia-Pacific States (Republic of Korea), list A, male.
List A judges have established competence in criminal law, while List B judges have competence in relevant areas of international law, such as international humanitarian law as well as human rights law.
More information on the elections is available here: https://asp.icc-cpi.int/elections/judges/2023
The Assembly also elected six members of the Committee on Budget and Finance for a three-year mandate starting on 1 January 2024: Ms. Sanyu Awori (Kenya), Mr. Werner Druml (Austria), Mr. Fawzi Gharaibeh (Jordan), Ms. Mónica Sánchez Izquierdo (Ecuador), Ms. Elena Sopková (Slovakia), and Mr. Jun Yamada (Japan). In addition, the Assembly adopted a resolution to increase the number of seats on the Committee on Budget and Finance from twelve to seventeen, as of 1 January 2025, distributing the seats among the five regional groups in the following manner: African States, four seats (two additional seats); Asia-Pacific States, three seats (one additional seat); Eastern European States, three seats (one additional seat); Group of Latin American and Caribbean States, three seats (one additional seat); and Western European and Other States, four seats (same number of seats).
The Assembly adopted the 2024 programme budget of the Court with appropriations totalling € 187,084,300 and a staffing level of 972.
The Assembly decided that its twenty-third session will be held from 2 to 7 December 2024 in The Hague.
Further information about the session can be found at the website of the Assembly.
The Assembly of States Parties is the management oversight and legislative body of the ICC. It is comprised of representatives of States that have ratified or acceded to the Rome Statute.