On 21 December 2011, the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (“the Assembly”) concluded its tenth session at UN Headquarters in New York.
In the latter part of the session, the Assembly elected six members of the Committee on Budget and Finance for a three-year term, namely: Mr. Hugh Adsett (Canada), Mr. Fawzi Gharaibeh (Jordan), Mr. Samuel P.O. Itam (Sierra Leone), Ms. Mónica Sánchez Izquierdo (Ecuador), Ms. Elena Sopková (Slovakia) and Mr. Masatoshi Sugiura (Japan). The Assembly also designated a new external auditor, la Cour des comptes (France), for a four-year period.
Further, the Assembly adopted six resolutions: on cooperation, amendment to the rule 4 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, reparations, permanent premises, the “omnibus” resolution and the 2012 budget.
In the resolution on cooperation, the Assembly, inter alia, addressed the issue of the importance of timely and effective cooperation of States and non-States Parties with the Court as well as the need for the ratification process of the Rome Statute to be matched by national implementation of the ensuing obligations.
The amendment to the rule 4 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence aimed at strengthening the Presidency of the Court and increase efficiency of the judicial proceedings by having the Presidency decide on the assignment of judges to divisions in accordance with article 39, paragraph 1.
The resolution on reparations requested the Court to establish coherent principles, which would guide the process of issuing individual orders for reparations. The resolution underlined the importance of identification and freezing of any assets of the convicted individuals in order to provide timely and effective assistance through all necessary measures, including effective communication with relevant States. Furthermore, the resolution stressed that liability for reparations is exclusively based on the individual criminal responsibility of a convicted person.
The resolution on the permanent premises reiterated the firm intention of the project to remain within proposed €190 million budget. Additionally, it emphasized the role of the Oversight Committee on permanent premises to deliver on its mandate by ensuring that design and functionality requirements stay within approved budget and that the ownership costs of the permanent premises are kept at the lowest level possible. The Assembly also elected nine of the ten members of the Oversight Committee for a two-year term.
The Assembly also adopted the omnibus resolution, which contained, inter alia, procedures relating to non-cooperation, which is understood as the failure by a State Party or a State which has entered into an ad hoc arrangement or an agreement with the Court to comply with a specific Court request for cooperation.
The Assembly approved, by consensus, appropriations totalling €111,000,000 with €108,800,000 for the budget and €2,200,000 to replenish the Contingency Fund. Furthermore, the Assembly approved a staffing level of 766.
The Assembly of States Parties will hold its eleventh session from 14 to 22 November 2012 in The Hague, The Netherlands.
Closing statement at the ninth plenary meeting by Amb. Tiina Intelmann, the President of the Assembly
21.12.2011 -Statement English on Prosecutor - English
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