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

States Parties/ASP Budget for the ICC
116
In light of the significant increase in the number
of cases before the Court, the CBF recommended
an urgent review of the legal aid system to be
undertaken by the Court, and expressed concern
about the possibility of an automatic increase
each year in funds requested for legal aid as
the Court’s activities continue to increase. 435
However, in its report, the CBF notes the costs
incurred by the Court for the first two cases
in the DRC Situation (Lubanga and Katanga &
Ngudjolo) amount to €41,585,800, not including
legal aid to the defence in the amount of
€6,638,500 and for victims in the amount of
€2,802,400. 436 The CBF notes that this amount
also does not include possible appeals and
reparations phases. Citing the growing financial
impact of the current legal aid system on the
Court’s finances, and acknowledging the need to
strike a balance between the right of individuals
to defend themselves and the obligations arising
from the Court’s basic documents, the CBF notes
that there are nonetheless choices lying within
the sole remit of the ASP, in particular whether
to maintain the current system or to introduce
greater flexibility while at the same time
respecting the obligations of the Court. 437
In setting out possibilities for potential change
of the legal aid system, the CBF recommends
limiting the total amount allotted to teams,
setting an overall ceiling of €500,000 per accused
per year. The CBF also suggests putting an end
to the compensation of professional charges.
With respect to legal aid for victims, the CBF
notes that limiting victims’ legal representation
to internal counsel from the OPCV is more cost
efficient but that this should not exclude the
possibility of obtaining external counsel in the
event of conflicting interests between groups
of victims. In the event that external counsel
is retained, they recommend an amount of
€223,000 per group of victims [per year]. 438
435 ICC-ASP/10/15, Advance version, para 30.
436 ICC-ASP/10/15, Advance version, Annex III. No cost
breakdowns are provided for these figures. The costs
incurred for the defence and for victims are for the period
of 2005 – 23 August 2011.
437 ICC-ASP/10/15, Advance version, Annex III.
438 ICC-ASP/10/15, Advance version, Annex III.
Security Council Referrals
The Libya Situation, one of the main cost drivers of
the 2012 proposed budget, was the second Situation
referred to the ICC by the UN Security Council
(UNSC). The CBF notes that because these Situations
were referred to the Court by the UNSC, ‘as a
matter of principle it is unclear why the Assembly
should alone bear the full costs’. 439 Accordingly,
the CBF suggested that this issue be addressed
by the Bureau and/or one of the working groups
to determine whether to raise this issue with the
Security Council for future referrals.
Investigations
The proposed budget for the OTP for 2012
(€318,027,000) represents a 19.6% (€52,047,000)
increase from the 2011 approved budget
(€265,980,000). 440 The OTP outlined that this budget
increase is largely due to the referral of the Libya
situation. The OTP plans for a rotation of resources
and staff to accommodate for the increase in activity
and no new permanent posts are requested by the
OTP, while additional GTA posts are requested.
The OTP proposes no new posts in the investigation
teams, intending to meet all investigation needs for
the new situation through using existing resources,
and through the rotation of investigation teams.
Specifically, the Prosecutor proposes transferring
investigation staff from the Lubanga and Katanga
& Ngudjolo cases to the two Kenyan cases and the
Mbarushimana case. 441 The OTP forecasts that in
2012 it will have seven active investigations and
maintenance of nine residual investigations, 442
including a potential six trial proceedings in 2012. 443
439 ICC-ASP/10/15, Advance version, para 35.
440 ICC-ASP/10/10, p 25-28.
441 ICC-ASP/9/10, para 89.
442 ICC-ASP/10/10, para 14.
443 Estimate of the Women’s Initiatives for <strong>Gender</strong> Justice based
on ongoing trial proceedings in the Katanga & Ngudjolo and
Bemba cases; commencement of trial proceedings in the Banda
& Jerbo case subject to the resolution of interpretation issues;
and commencement of trial proceedings in the Ruto et al,
Muthaura et al, and Mbarushimana cases subject to charges
being confirmed.