Last Updated 9 October 2008
Selected Events From: 2002-2005 | 2006
6 October 2008: In light of serious and converging information on attacks by the LRA against civilians in the DRC, ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo calls for renewed efforts to arrest LRA leader Kony and his top commanders.
1 October 2008: Public redacted version of the decision of Pre-Trial Chamber I confirming the charges against Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui is released.
26 September 2008: ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I confirms all but three of the alleged charges in the case against Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, sending the case against them to trial. Pre-trial judges found sufficient evidence to try Katanga and Ndgudjolo for seven counts of war crimes and three counts of crimes against humanity. The evidence was insufficient to try Katanga and Ngudjolo for inhuman treatment, outrages upon personal dignity and inhumane acts. The alleded crimes were committed from January to March 2003 in the village of Bogoro in the Ituri district of eastern DRC. The trial is expected to start in 2009.
22-26 September 2008: ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo meets with United Nations and African Union officials to discuss how to further the protection of civilians in Darfur, stop the crimes, and ensure the execution of the Court's judicial mandate and decisions.\
21 September 2008: The ICC participates in an open exhibition at the World Forum Convention Center in The Hague.
3 September 2008: Trial Chamber I rejects the Prosecutor’s application to re-commence proceedings in the Lubanga case. While noting that some progress had been made in respect to the Prosecutor’s inability to disclose potentially exculpatory documents to the Defense, a fair trial could not be guaranteed unless the Trial Chamber, and possibly the Appeals Chamber, were able to review the relevant documents and ensure that the accused would be given access to any documents material to his defense.
16 July 2008: The confirmation of charges hearing in the Katanga & Ngudjolo case concludes. The Pre-Trial Chamber indicates that it will issue a decision confirming or denying the charges by 26 September 2008.
11 July 2008: Appeals Chamber issues judgment on appeals by the Prosecution and the Defense of Trial Chamber I’s 18 January 2008 decision on victim participation in the Lubanga case. The Appeals Chamber reverses the Trial Chamber’s holding that victims may participate in a case even if that victim is unable to show that his or her harm resulted from the crimes for which the accused has been confirmed for trial. Rather, according the Appeals Chamber, the harm alleged by victims wishing to participate in a particular case must be linked with the charges against the accused. At the same time, the Appeals Chamber affirmed the Trial Chamber’s holding that it is possible for victims participating in a trial to lead evidence pertaining to the guilt or innocence of the accused and to challenge the admissibility of relevant of evidence.
7 July 2008: Appeals Chamber grants suspensive effect to the Prosecution’s appeal against “Decision on the release of Thomas Lubanga,” meaning that the accused will remain under custody of the ICC pending a final decision on the appeal.
3 July 2008: Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo is transferred from Belgium to the custody of the ICC. He will make his initial appearance before Pre-Trial Chamber III on 4 July 2008.
2 July 2008: Trial Chamber I orders the release of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, holding that there was no justification to hold the accused in provisional detention in light of the Trial Chamber’s stay of the proceedings. However, since an appeal may be filed within five days, the order granting release will not be enforced immediately.
27 June 2008: The confirmation of charges hearing commences in the Katanga & Ngudjolo case.
24 June 2008: Trial Chamber I holds that it would be premature to consider at this stage the release of the accused in the Lubanga case.
23 June 2008: Pre-Trial Chamber I determines that an individual expected to testify as a witness for the Prosecution during the confirmation of charges hearing in the Katanga & Ngudjolo case could also participate as a victim in that case.
18 June 2008: Appeals Chamber, with Judge Song partly dissenting, grants the 11 applicants who have victim status in the Darfur Situation the right to participate in the pending appeals by the Office of the Prosecutor and the Office of Public Counsel for the Defence regarding whether the Pre-Trial Chamber may grant applicants a procedural status of “victim” at the situation stage of proceedings before the Court.
13 June 2008: Trial Chamber I renders a decision indefinitely staying the proceedings against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo on the ground that a fair trial was impossible in light of the Prosecution’s inability to disclose potentially exculpatory documents obtained under conditions of confidentiality.
11 June 2008: During a public hearing in the Lubanga case, Trial Chamber I announces that the trial will not commence on 23 June 2008, as planned.
10 June 2008: Pre-Trial Chamber I issues decision on 97 victims’ applications to participate in the Katanga & Ngudjolo case. Fifty-one of the applications are granted.
24 May 2008: Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, who is believed to be a national of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is arrested by Belgian authorities following a warrant of arrest issued under seal by the International Criminal Court. Bemba, who is President and Commander in Chief of the Mouvement de Libération du Congo, is alleged to be criminally responsible for four counts of war crimes and two counts of crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the Central African Republic from 25 October 2002 to 15 March 2003.
28 April 2008: Pre-Trial Chamber I unseals the warrant of arrest against Congolese national Bosco Ntaganda, who is also known as “the Terminator.” Ntaganda, who is still at large, is alleged to have committed the war crimes of enlistment and conscription of children under the age of 15 and of using them to participate actively in hostilities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
28 April 2008: Pre-Trial Chamber I postpones the confirmation of charges hearing in the joint case against Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui from 21 May 2008 to 27 June 2008.
17 April 2008: Silvana Arbia is sworn-in as the Registrar of the International Criminal Court.
14 March 2008: Madagascar deposits its instrument of ratification to the Rome Statute, which will enter into force for Madagascar on 1 June 2008, bringing the total number of States Parties to the Rome Statute to 106.
13 March 2008: Trial Chamber I postpones the starting date of the Lubanga trial from 31 March 2008 to 23 June 2008.
10 March 2008: Pre-Trial Chamber I issues decision joining the cases of The Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga and The Prosecutor v. Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui.The hearing on the confirmation of the charges in the joint case is scheduled to start on 21 May 2008.
28 February 2008: Judges of the ICC elect Silvana Arbia of Italy as Registrar of the International Criminal Court for a five-year term.
26 February 2008: Trial Chamber I grants the Prosecution and the Defense leave to appeal certain aspects of the Chamber’s 18 January 2008 decision on victim participation in the Lubanga case.
13 February 2008: The Registrar of the International Criminal Court, Bruno Cathala, submits his resignation to the President of the Court, to take effect on 9 April 2008.
11 February 2008: Congolese national Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui makes his first appearance before Pre-Trial Chamber I. The arrest warrant issued against Ngudjolo was read aloud and the Chamber satisfied itself that Ngudjolo was informed of his rights under the Rome Statute, including the right to apply for interim release pending trial.
7 February 2008: Congolese national Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, who was arrested by the Congolese authorities yesterday, is surrendered to the custody of the ICC. Ngudjolo is alleged to have committed crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
30 January 2008: Pre-Trial Chamber I postpones the confirmation hearing in the Katanga case, which was provisionally scheduled to start on 28 February 2008. The Chamber explained that the delays were due to outstanding issues relating to disclosure of evidence from the Prosecution to the Defense.
18 January 2008: Trial Chamber I issues decision regarding victim participation in the trial phase of the Lubanga case. A majority of the Chamber, Judge Blattmann dissenting, held that, in order to meet the criteria for participation in a case, a victim need only show that he or she is affected by an issue arising during the trial; the victim need not show that he or she suffered harm as a result of the specific charges confirmed against the accused. The Trial Chamber also held that it is possible for victims participating in a trial to lead evidence pertaining to the guilt or innocence of the accused and to challenge the admissibility of relevant of evidence.
4 December 2007: The Assembly of States Parties elects Bruno Cotte (France), Daniel Nsereko (Uganda), and Fumiko Siaga (Japan) to fill judicial vacancies arising from the resignations of Maureen Harding Clark (Ireland) on 10 December 2006, Karl Hudson-Phillips (Trinidad and Tobago), effective 30 September 2007, and Claude Jorda (France), effective 12 August 2007.
30 November - 14 December 2007: The Assembly of States Parties holds is annual meeting in New York. Items on the agenda include elections to fill judicial vacancies, discussions concerning the Court's permanent premises, adoption of the budget for the sixth financial year, and reports from committees and working groups.
22 October 2007: Germain Katanga appears before Pre-Trial Chamber I. A confirmation of chages hearing is scheduled for Fenruary, 2008.
17 October 2007: In the Democratic Republic of Congo situation, Germain Katanga is surrendered by Congolese authorities and taken into custody in The Hague. The warrant of arrest for Katanga, the alleged commander of the Force de résistance patriotique en Ituri [Patriotic Resistance Force in Ituri] (FRPI), lists three counts of crimes against humanity and six counts of war crimes. He is the ICC's second suspect in custody.
1 October 2007: The Rome Statute enters into force in Japan, bringing the number of States Parties to the Rome Statue to 105.
14 June 2007: Serge Brammertz, Deputy Prosecutor for Investigations, submits his resignation to the Court.
22 May 2007: The Office of the Prosecutor opens an investigation into crimes of sexual violence occurring in the Central African Republic between late 2002 and early 2003. In a press release, Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo states, “The allegations of sexual crimes are detailed and substantiated. The information we have now suggests that the rape of civilians was committed in numbers that cannot be ignored under international law.” The investigation is the first in which the Court will focus primarily on allegations of sexual crimes, rather than killings.
9 May 2007: Citing issues of poor health, Judge Claude Jorda resigns from the ICC. He was assigned to the Pre-Trial Division and was a member of Pre-Trial Chamber I.Judge Jorda served as presiding judge in the case of the Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo.
2 May 2007: In the Darfur situation, the Pre-Trial Chamber issues warrants of arrest for crimes against humanity and war crimes for Ahmad Muhammad Harun, former Minister of State for the Interior of the Government of the Sudan, and Ali Kushayb, a leader of the Janjaweed militia.
22 March 2007: In the Kony et al. case, the Prosecutor requests the Pre-Trial Chamber to order “that the warrant of arrest issued for Raska Lukwiya be withdrawn and rendered without effect because of the changed circumstance of Lukwiya’s death.”
14 March 2007: Judge Karl T. Hudson-Phillips (Trinidad and Tobago) submits his resignation from the Trial Division “for personal reasons.” His resignation will take effect on 30 September 2007.
27 February 2007: In the Darfur situation, the Prosecutor presents evidence to the Pre-Trial Chamber showing that Ahmad Muhammad Harun, former Minister of State for the Interior of the Government of the Sudan, and Ali Kushayb, a leader of the Janjaweed militia, jointly committed crimes against the civilian population of Darfur, Sudan, including 51 counts of alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes, and requests a summons directing them to appear before the Court for initial proceedings. Although Ali Kushayb is also being investigated by the government of Sudan, the Prosecutor has determined that those proceedings do not address the same incidents or conduct that are the subject of the ICC case.
29 January 2007: In the Lubanga case, the Pre-Trial Chamber confirms the three war crimes charges against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo and refers the case for trial — the first scheduled to be held before the ICC. The three-judge chamber finds “substantial grounds to believe” that Lubanga is responsible for enlisting children under the age of fifteen, conscripting children under the age of fifteen, and using children under the age of fifteen to participate actively in hostilities.
