News

The closing and oral statements in the trial of Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo are taking place this week at the International Criminal Court (ICC), where he is charged with crimes committed in the Central African Republic (CAR).

It is a judgement that has ground-breaking potential for more than one reason, says Solange Mouthaan, Associate Professor at The University of Warwick’s School of Law.

An expert on legal protection of minorities and the effective protection of individuals through the International Criminal Court, she said: “Most importantly, this is the first hearing before the ICC to place crimes of sexual violence against women, men and children, used as a “tool” to terrorise the civilian population, at the forefront of the case.

“As a consequence, the judgment could potentially become a landmark decision for the prosecution of gender-based crimes. The presence of an all-female bench is therefore also noteworthy, because it puts women at the forefront of decision-making in a trial focussed on gender-based offences.

“Finally, this is the first case before the ICC of a high level accused for command responsibility for crimes committed by subordinates. As military commander he had effective authority and control of the MLC troops and he failed to control or punish in order to prevent these crimes from taking place.”

The prosecution focuses on atrocities, in particular murder, pillage and rape, committed in the 2002-2003 coup in CAR by Bemba then vice-president of the DRC, but also the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Mouvement de Libération du Congo (MLC).

The ICC, the first permanent criminal tribunal to try international crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes has charged Bemba with two counts of crimes against humanity (murder and rape) and three counts of war crimes (murder, rape and pillaging).

The Centre for Operational Policing Research (COPR) are holding a networking lunch and we'd like to reach out to all researchers working on policing in the University.

Time: 8th December (the Monday after term ends), 12:00-14:30

Location: IAS Seminar Room, Milburn House

For more and registration: http://www.warwick.ac.uk/go/copr/newsandevents/networking_lunch/

Do pass this invitation along if you know someone somewhere else in the University working on policing.

As MPs prepare to vote on whether the UK should opt in to a range of EU legal measures, including the European Arrest Warrant, Professor Jacqueline Hodgson, from the School of Law at the University of Warwick, commented: "Having provided expert evidence in European Arrest Warrant (EAW) cases, as well as conducting comparative empirical studies into the criminal justice processes of various European countries, there are clearly some problems with the procedure.

“Issuing a EAW effectively activates the police and courts of another jurisdiction, so it is also important that this is not done lightly and that proper protections are in place: extradition must only be for the purpose of prosecution or sentence and not simply for investigation; the procedure should not be abused for minor offences; and suspects must be assured of the same legal protections and fair trial rights wherever they are prosecuted and tried.

“These issues will not be resolved by the UK pulling out of the EAW procedure - they are better resolved at EU level so that extradition works better for UK citizens extradited abroad, and for the UK authorities requiring the extradition of individuals for trial in this jurisdiction.

“Without the EAW, extradition is slower and more complex and it will be more difficult to prosecute individuals for cross-border crime. This is also the view of senior British police officers working with Europol.”

Last week, we were incredibly privileged to have one of the most influential people in international criminal law at the moment, Judge Howard Morrison CBE QC, not only give a public lecture on 'The Future of International Criminal Justice' but also generously partake in a question and answer session with this year's International Criminal Law students.

A lot of the discussions were based around future developments such as environmental crimes being labelled as crimes against humanity, transnational corporations becoming accountable under the jurisdiction of the ICC, and the potential of tribunals being established in areas such as Israel and Syria. However, what was abundantly clear throughout was that despite the potential for many changes for the ICC and international criminal justice in the future, Judge Morrison's unwavering devotion to the rule of law, the principle of no impunity and the fundamental necessity of adhering to the fair trial procedure shall always remain intact.

His lasting message was that while the ICC cannot solve the world's problems, it should at the very least make sure that what it can do must be done properly, without pandering to power politics or convenience. That is what true international criminal justice should constitute, whether in the past, present, or future.

If you have missed it, a recording of his public lecture is available at: https://lecturecapture.warwick.ac.uk/ess/echo/presentation/0eeab87c-d7e1-40d4-aa9c-f2c430993823

Jackie Hodgson and Laurène Soubise presented a draft paper 'Understanding the Sentencing Process in France' at a three-day workshop on comparative sentencing in Bologna, Italy, in October 2014.

This forms part of a major comparative project on sentencing laws and practices initiated and coordinated by Michael Tonry from the University of Minnesota which aims to describe current sentencing laws, practices, and punishment patterns, as well as explain major changes in sentencing since 1990.

Other speakers included Arie Freiberg (Monash University), Julian Roberts and Andrew Ashworth (University of Oxford), Thomas Weigend (Cologne University), Dirk Van Zyl Smit (University of Nottingham) and Clare Ballard (University of the Western Cape), Anthony Doob (University of Toronto) and Cheryl Webster (University of Ottawa), Sonja Snacken and Veerle Scheirs (Vrije University Brussel), Krzystof Krajewski (Jagiellonian University) and Tapio Lappi-Seppälä (National Research Institute of Legal Policy Helsinki, Finland).