Gender Report Card on the International Criminal ... - YWCA Canada

States Parties/ASP Governance
that Chamber’, the assignment of a judge to a
particular division may have implications for the
extension of their mandate. This, in turn, may
have significant budgetary consequences for
the Court. Notably, as discussed in greater detail
in the ASP – Elections section of this <strong>Report</strong>,
the six Judges whose terms will end in March
2012 could all have their mandate extended
given that they are currently serving on the
bench of on ongoing trial 331 and on the Appeals
Chamber. 332 A judge whose mandate has been
extended only serves in that capacity for the
limited purpose of the extension and no longer
participates in the plenum of judges.
The SGG focused specifically on two questions
regarding judges’ mandates. The first related to
the discretion of the President to temporarily
attach a ‘pre-trial judge’ to the trial division
and vice versa. 333 The second concerned the
assignment of judges to a particular division.
Judges are assigned to a particular division of
the Court, ie pre-trial, trial or appeals division, 334
331 Judges Fulford and Odio-Benito are on the Lubanga case;
Judge Steiner is on the Bemba case; Judges Diarra and
Cotte are on the Katanga case. Their mandates will likely
be extended until the end of the respective trial, pursuant
to Article 36(10).
332 Judge Nsereko is on the Appeals Chamber and should the
Appeals Chamber be seized of a matter on Appeal, his
mandate will be extended.
333 For instance, despite Judge Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi’s
(Argentina) assignment to the pre-trial division, following
the confirmation of charges decision by Pre-Trial Chamber
I in the case against Banda & Jerbo, on 16 March 2011 the
President temporarily attached her to the pre-trial division
to hear the case against Banda & Jerbo. ICC-02/05-03/09-
124.
334 Article 39(1) provides that ‘the Appeals Division shall be
composed of the President and four other judges, the
Trial Division of not less than six judges and the Pre-Trial
Division of not less than six judges. The assignment of
judges to divisions shall be based on the nature of the
functions to be performed by each division and the
qualifications and experience of the judges elected to the
Court, in such a way that each division shall contain an
appropriate combination of expertise in criminal law and
procedure and in international law. The Trial and Pre-Trial
Divisions shall be composed predominantly of judges with
criminal trial experience.’
by the plenary of judges for a period of three
years, with the exception of an appointment to
the appeals division. 335
Pursuant to the SGG’s request, on 23 June 2011,
the Presidency submitted an information note
to the SGG on the practices of the Presidency
relevant to the composition of Chambers. In the
information note, the Presidency set out the
factors relevant to the composition of Chambers,
including the divisional composition, the longterm
needs of the Court, the workload and
appropriate representation, and the need for
potential extensions of mandate. 336 Additional
factors include gender and geographical balance
of a particular Chamber, the representation of
the principal legal systems and the appropriate
experience and expertise (eg a balance between
List A and List B judges). 337 The Presidency noted
that these factors are assessed on a case-bycase
basis and the assessment cannot always be
carried out in public. However, the Presidency
stressed that ‘even where a justification for a
given composition might not be easily discernible
to outsiders, it always results from a detailed
assessment and balancing of the above factors,
guided by the overarching objective of ensuring
the efficient management of the Court’s
workload’. 338
335 Article 39(3)(b) provides that judges in the appeals division
serve in that function until the end of their term.
336 Information note on the practices of the Presidency relevant
to the composition of Chambers, 23 June 2011, para 4.
337 Information note on the practises of the Presidency relevant
to the composition of Chambers, 23 June 2011, para 4.
338 Information note on the practises of the Presidency relevant
to the composition of Chambers, 23 June 2011, para 6.
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