Litigation procedures before the International Criminal Court

Abstract

The International Criminal Court is the first permanent judicial body established by an international convention governed by a statute, which gives it a major role in establishing international criminal justice. In order to achieve its goal of bringing criminals to justice and ensuring that they do not escape punishment, the Court relies on the referral system established by its Statute. Such referrals may be made by States Parties, by the Security Council acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, or by the Prosecutor on his own initiativeOnce a case has been referred to the Prosecutor, he or she initiates an investigation and then notifies the Pre-Trial Chamber of the referral so that it may grant approval for referral to the Trial Chamber, i.e. the trial stage, based on the evidence and documents submitted by the Prosecutor.
This study aims to identify the procedures for litigation before the court by identifying the cases referred and the investigation procedures carried out by the Prosecutor before the Pre-Trial Chamber, leading to trial before the Trial Chamber, which issues first instance judgments that are subject to appeal and review before the Appeals Chamber, ultimately resulting in the enforcement of those judgments once the charges against the individuals have been proven.