2006 International Criminal Court judges election

Last updated

An ordinary election for six judges of the International Criminal Court was held during the resumption of the 4th session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in New York on 26 January 2006. [1]

Contents

Background

The judges elected at this election were to take office on 11 March 2006. All six judges elected for a three-year term in 2003 were eligible for re-election, all of them ran.

The election was governed by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Its article 36(8)(a) states that "[t]he States Parties shall, in the selection of judges, take into account the need, within the membership of the Court, for:

Furthermore, article 36(3)(b) and 36(5) provide for two lists:

Each candidate must belong to exactly one list.

Further rules of election were adopted by a resolution of the Assembly of States Parties in 2004. [2]

Nomination process

Following these rules, the nomination period of judges for the 2006 election lasted from 18 July to 20 November 2005. The following persons were nominated: [3]

NameNationalityList A or BRegionGender
Károly Bard Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary List BEastern European StatesMale
Haridiata Dakoure Flag of Burkina Faso.svg  Burkina Faso List AAfrican StatesFemale
Hans-Peter Kaul Flag of Germany.svg  Germany List BWestern European and Other StatesMale
Erkki Kourula Flag of Finland.svg  Finland List BWestern European and Other StatesMale
Akua Kuenyehia Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana List BAfrican StatesFemale
Tuiloma Neroni Slade Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa List AAsian StatesMale
Sang-hyun Song Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea List AAsian StatesMale
Cheikh Tidiane Thiam Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal List BAfrican StatesMale
Ekaterina Trendafilova Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria List AEastern European StatesFemale
Anita Ušacka Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia List BEastern European StatesFemale

The candidature of Effie Owuor of Kenya was withdrawn. [4]

Minimum voting requirements

Minimum voting requirements governed part of the election. This was to ensure that article 36(8)(a) cited above is fulfilled. For this election, the following minimum voting requirements existed; they were to be adjusted once the election was underway.

Regarding the List A or B requirement, there was a minimum voting requirement (not to be waived at any time) of one judge from List A and one judge from List B. [5]

Regarding the regional criteria, there were minimum voting requirements for one African, one Asian and two Eastern European judges.

Regarding the gender criteria, there was a minimum voting requirement for one female judge.

The regional and gender criteria could have been adjusted even before the election depending on the number of candidates. Paragraph 20(b) of the ASP resolution that governed the elections states that if there are less than double the number of candidates required for each region, the minimum voting requirement shall be a (rounded-up) half of the number of candidates; except when there is only one candidate which results in no voting requirement. Furthermore, if the number of candidates of one gender is less than ten, then the minimum voting requirement shall not exceed a certain number depending on the number of candidates.

The regional and gender criteria could have been dropped either if they were not (jointly) possible any more, or if after four ballots not all seats were filled.

The voting requirements were as follows:

CriterionVoting requirement ex anteCandidates as of nowAdjusted voting requirementAdjusted requirement equals ex ante?
Lists A or B
List A141Yes
List B161Yes
Regional criteria
African states131Yes
Asian states121Yes
Eastern European states232Yes
Latin American and Caribbean States000Yes
Western European and other States020Yes
Gender criteria
Female141Yes
Male060Yes

Ballots

The only ballot took place on 26 January 2006.

NameNationalityList A or BRegionGenderBallot
Number of States Parties voting100
Two-thirds majority67
Ekaterina Trendafilova Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria List AEastern European StatesFemale82
Anita Ušacka Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia List BEastern European StatesFemale77
Erkki Kourula Flag of Finland.svg  Finland List BWestern European and Other StatesMale73
Akua Kuenyehia Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana List BAfrican StatesFemale72
Sang-hyun Song Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea List AAsian StatesMale70
Hans-Peter Kaul Flag of Germany.svg  Germany List BWestern European and Other StatesMale67
Tuiloma Neroni Slade Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa List AAsian StatesMale50
Károly Bard Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary List BEastern European StatesMale36
Cheikh Tidiane Thiam Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal List BAfrican StatesMale29
Haridiata Dakoure Flag of Burkina Faso.svg  Burkina Faso List AAfrican StatesFemale16

With the exception of Judge Slade (who was replaced by Ekaterina Trendafilova) all re-eligible judges were in fact re-elected.

Related Research Articles

International Criminal Court Permanent international tribunal

The International Criminal Court is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal that sits in The Hague, Netherlands. The ICC has jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. It is intended to complement existing national judicial systems and it may therefore exercise its jurisdiction only when national courts are unwilling or unable to prosecute criminals. The ICC lacks universal territorial jurisdiction, and may only investigate and prosecute crimes committed within member states, crimes committed by nationals of member states, or crimes in situations referred to the Court by the United Nations Security Council.

Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court treaty

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome, Italy on 17 July 1998 and it entered into force on 1 July 2002. As of November 2019, 123 states are party to the statute. Among other things, the statute establishes the court's functions, jurisdiction and structure.

President of Kenya Head of state and head of government of Kenya

The president of the Republic of Kenya is the head of state and head of government of Kenya. The president leads the executive branch of the Government of Kenya and is the commander-in-chief of the Kenya Defence Forces. The official residence of the president is at State House, Nairobi.

Folketing Parliament of Denmark

The Folketing, also known as the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark—Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Established in 1849, until 1953 the Folketing was the lower house of a bicameral parliament, called the Rigsdag; the upper house was Landstinget. It meets in Christiansborg Palace, on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen.

Vice President of India Second-highest constitutional office of India

The Vice President of India is the second-highest constitutional office in India after the President. Article 63 of Indian Constitution states that "There shall be a Vice President of India." The Vice President acts as President in the absence of the president due to death, resignation, impeachment, or other situations.

National Assembly (Serbia) legislature of Serbia

The National Assembly is the unicameral legislature of Serbia. The assembly is composed of 250 proportionally elected deputies by secret ballot, on 4 years term. The assembly elects a president (speaker) who presides over the sessions.

States parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Wikimedia list article

The states parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court are those sovereign states that have ratified, or have otherwise become party to, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The Rome Statute is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court, an international court that has jurisdiction over certain international crimes, including genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes that are committed by nationals of states parties or within the territory of states parties. States parties are legally obligated to co-operate with the Court when it requires, such as in arresting and transferring indicted persons or providing access to evidence and witnesses. States parties are entitled to participate and vote in proceedings of the Assembly of States Parties, which is the Court's governing body. Such proceedings include the election of such officials as judges and the Prosecutor, the approval of the Court's budget, and the adoption of amendments to the Rome Statute.

Judges of the International Criminal Court position

The eighteen judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) are elected for nine-year terms by the member-countries of the court. 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".

Constitution of Kenya Supreme law of the Republic of Kenya

The Constitution of Kenya is the supreme law of the Republic of Kenya. There have been three significant versions of the constitution, with the most recent redraft being enabled in 2010. The 2010 edition replaced the 1963 independence constitution. The constitution was presented to the Attorney General of Kenya on 7 April 2010, officially published on 6 May 2010, and was subjected to a referendum on 4 August 2010. The new Constitution was approved by 67% of Kenyan voters. The constitution was promulgated on 27 August 2010.

Electoral system Method by which voters make a choice between options

An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. Political electoral systems are organized by governments, while non-political elections may take place in business, non-profit organisations and informal organisations. These rules govern all aspects of the voting process: when elections occur, who is allowed to vote, who can stand as a candidate, how ballots are marked and cast, how the ballots are counted, limits on campaign spending, and other factors that can affect the outcome. Political electoral systems are defined by constitutions and electoral laws, are typically conducted by election commissions, and can use multiple types of elections for different offices.

2011 Liberian constitutional referendum Election

A referendum to amend the Constitution of Liberia was held on 23 August 2011. Voters chose whether to ratify four amendments regarding judge tenure, elections scheduling, presidential candidate requirements and the electoral system. The National Elections Commission of Liberia (NEC) oversaw the referendum.

Six judges of the International Criminal Court were elected during the 10th session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in New York between 12 and 21 December 2011. The judges elected, Anthony Carmona of Trinidad and Tobago, Miriam Defensor Santiago of the Philippines, Chile Eboe-Osuji of Nigeria, Robert Fremr of the Czech Republic, Olga Venecia Herrera Carbuccia of the Dominican Republic and Howard Morrison of the United Kingdom, took office on 11 March 2012.

The 2011 International Court of Justice election began on 10 November 2011 at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. In the set of triennial elections, the General Assembly and the Security Council concurrently elect five judges to the Court for nine-year terms, in this case beginning on 6 February 2012. From the eight candidates, the five winners were Giorgio Gaja (Italy), Hisashi Owada (Japan), Peter Tomka (Slovakia), Xue Hanqin (China) and Julia Sebutinde (Uganda).

A special election for two judges of the International Criminal Court was held during the 8th session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in The Hague on 18 November 2009.

An ordinary election for six judges of the International Criminal Court was held during the resumption of the 7th session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in New York on 19 and 20 January 2009.

A special election for three judges of the International Criminal Court was held during the 6th session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in New York on 30 November and 3 December 2007.

An ordinary election for the first full bench of 18 judges of the International Criminal Court was held during the first resumption of the 1st session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in New York between 3 and 7 February 2003.

Six judges of the International Criminal Court were elected during the 13th session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court scheduled for 8 to 17 December 2014 in New York. The judges were elected for terms of nine years and took office on 11 March 2015.

A special election for one judge of the International Criminal Court was held during the 12th session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court which took place in The Hague from 20 to 28 November 2013.

A special election for one judge of the International Criminal Court was held during the resumption of the 13th session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court which took place in The Hague from 24 to 25 June 2015.

References

  1. "Second election of the judges of the International Criminal Court" (PDF). International Criminal Court . Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  2. "Resolution ICC-ASP/3/Res.6" (PDF). International Criminal Court. 10 September 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  3. "Alphabetical listing". International Criminal Court. 3 October 2007. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  4. Alphabetical listing of candidates. ICC. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  5. Note verbale governing the election Archived 15 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine . ICC. Retrieved 11 December 2011.