Rule 1
[1] In the present document:
- “article” refers to articles of the Rome Statute;
- “Chamber” refers to a Chamber of the Court;
- “Part” refers to the Parts of the Rome Statute;
- “Presiding Judge” refers to the Presiding Judge of a Chamber;
- “the President” refers to the President of the Court;
- “the Regulations” refers to the Regulations of the Court;
- “the Rules” refers to the Rules of Procedure and Evidence.
This rule, as its title and the introductory words indicate, is intended only to state the meanings with which terms are used in the Rules of Procedure and Evidence (RPE) of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The RPE has a different structure than the Rome Statute. In order to avoid confusion it was agreed during the negotiations of the RPE under Rule 1 on use of Terms that terms such as "Articles" and "Parts" should be reserved to refer exclusively to divisions and provisions of the Rome Statute (Fernández de Gurmendi, p. 244). Instead the RPE uses terms suchs as "Rules" and "Chapters".
The Rome Statute is the main instrument regulating the functioning of the Court. The main subsidiary instrument for judicial activities are the RPE, adopted by the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) under article 51 of the Rome Statute. Other instruments includes Elements of Crimes adopted by the ASP under article 9, the Regulations of the Court adopted by the Judges pursuant to article 52, Staff regulations pursuant to article 44 and the Financial Regulations and Rules pursuant to article 113. Article 51(2) indicates that the the Regulations shall be consistent with the Rome Statute and the RPE.
Doctrine:
1. Silvia A. Fernández de Gurmendi, "The Elaboration of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence" in Roy S. Lee (Ed.) The International Criminal Court: elements of Crime and Rules of Procedure and Evidence, Transnational Publishers, Ardsley, 2001, pp. 235-257.
2. Christopher Staker/Dov Jacobs, "Article 52" in Triffterer/Ambos (Eds.), The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court – A Commentary, Third Edition, C.H. Beck/Hart/Nomos, München/Oxford/Baden-Baden, 2016, pp. 49-62
Author:
Mark Klamberg
Updated:
30 April 2017
Rule 2
[2] The Rules have been adopted in the official languages of the Court established by article 50, paragraph 1. All texts are equally authentic.
Article 50 provides that the official languages of the Court shall be Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. This requirement is primarily relevant for the work of the Assembly of States Parties [Schabas, 2016, p. 803].
Preparatory works
The ILC draft (1994 ILC Final Report) declared English and French to be the working languages of the Court, i.e. the official languages of the United Nations, French and English. At the Rome conference a distinction was made between official and working languages and the addition of the otyher offvcial langues of the UN: Arabic, Russian, Chinese and Spanish [Schabas, 2016, pp. 802-803].
Doctrine:
William A. Schabas, The International Criminal Court: A Commentary on the Rome Statute, Oxford University Press, Oxford, Second Edition, 2016, pp. 634-641.
Author:
Mark Klamberg
Updated:
30 April 2017
Rule 3
[3] 1. Amendments to the rules that are proposed in accordance with article 51, paragraph 2, shall be forwarded to the President of the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties.
2. The President of the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties shall ensure that all proposed amendments are translated into the official languages of the Court and are transmitted to the States Parties.
3. The procedure described in sub-rules 1 and 2 shall also apply to the provisional rules referred to in article 51, paragraph 3.
Article 51(2) provides that Rule amendments can be proposed by: any State Party; the judges acting in absolute majority, or the Prosecutor, and enter into force when adopted by a two-thirds majority of the Assembly of States Parties.
The procedure of amending rules entails that the proposal is forward to the President of the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties. Further, the proposed amendments are translated into the official languages of the Court and are transmitted to the States Parties. Pursuant to rule 3(1) this procedure also applies to provisional rules adopted by the judges under article 51(3).
Author:
Mark Klamberg
Updated:
30 April 2017
Rule 1
[1] In the present document:
- “article” refers to articles of the Rome Statute;
- “Chamber” refers to a Chamber of the Court;
- “Part” refers to the Parts of the Rome Statute;
- “Presiding Judge” refers to the Presiding Judge of a Chamber;
- “the President” refers to the President of the Court;
- “the Regulations” refers to the Regulations of the Court;
- “the Rules” refers to the Rules of Procedure and Evidence.
This rule, as its title and the introductory words indicate, is intended only to state the meanings with which terms are used in the Rules of Procedure and Evidence (RPE) of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The RPE has a different structure than the Rome Statute. In order to avoid confusion it was agreed during the negotiations of the RPE under Rule 1 on use of Terms that terms such as "Articles" and "Parts" should be reserved to refer exclusively to divisions and provisions of the Rome Statute (Fernández de Gurmendi, p. 244). Instead the RPE uses terms suchs as "Rules" and "Chapters".
The Rome Statute is the main instrument regulating the functioning of the Court. The main subsidiary instrument for judicial activities are the RPE, adopted by the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) under article 51 of the Rome Statute. The term "Rules of Procedure and Evidence" is consistent with the terminology of the ad hoc tribunals.
Other instruments includes Elements of Crimes adopted by the ASP under article 9, the Regulations of the Court adopted by the Judges pursuant to article 52, Staff regulations pursuant to article 44 and the Financial Regulations and Rules pursuant to article 113. Article 51(2) indicates that the the Regulations shall be consistent with the Rome Statute and the RPE.
Doctrine:
1. Silvia A. Fernández de Gurmendi, "The Elaboration of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence" in Roy S. Lee (Ed.) The International Criminal Court: elements of Crime and Rules of Procedure and Evidence, Transnational Publishers, Ardsley, 2001, pp. 235-257.
2. William A. Schabas, The International Criminal Court: A Commentary on the Rome Statute, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2010, pp. 642-649.
3. Christopher Staker/Dov Jacobs, "Article 52" in Triffterer/Ambos (Eds.), The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court – A Commentary, Third Edition, C.H. Beck/Hart/Nomos, München/Oxford/Baden-Baden, 2016, pp. 1352-1354.
Author:
Mark Klamberg
