An Introduction To The International Criminal Court - Institute for ...

punishment and the rights of victims 169
be no doubt that it is germane. According to the International Criminal
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia:
where the accused is found to have committed the offence charged with cold,
calculated premeditation, suggestive of revenge against the individual victim
or group to which the victim belongs, such circumstances necessitate the
imposition of aggravated punishment. On the other hand, if the accused is
found to have committed the offence charged reluctantly and under the influence
of group pressure and, in addition, demonstrated compassion towards
the victim or the group to which the victim belongs, these are certainly mitigating
factors which the Trial Chamber will take into consideration in the
determination of the appropriate sentence. 31
In imposing sentence of imprisonment, the International Criminal Court
is to ‘deduct the time, if any, previously spent in detention in accordance
with an order of the Court. The Court may deduct any time otherwise
spent in detention in connection with conduct underlying the crime.’ 32
This seems only fair, although it was opposed by some delegations at the
Rome Conference.
When sentence is pronounced for more than one offence, the Court must
specify the sentence for each offence as well as a total period of imprisonment.
The total period cannot be less than the highest individual sentence
pronounced, nor may it exceed the total set out in Article 77(1)(b), that is,
life imprisonment or a fixed term of thirty years. In effect, the Statute leaves
to the judges of the Court the criteria to be applied in the imposition of
multiple sentences. It imposes a ceiling, and from a practical standpoint in
cases of the most serious crimes there will be little discretion to exercise,
because individual offences will deserve the maximum available sentence.
Enforcement
The Court will have no prison, and must rely upon States parties for the
enforcement of sentences of imprisonment. 33 States are to volunteer their
services, indicating their own willingness to allow convicted prisoners to
31 Prosecutor v. Delalic et al. (Case No. IT-96-21-T), Judgment, 16 November 1998, para. 1235.
32 Rome Statute, Art. 78(2).
33 Antonio Marchesi, ‘The Enforcement of Sentences of the International Criminal Court’, in Flavia
Lattanzi and William A. Schabas, eds., Essays on the Rome Statute of the ICC, Rome: Editrice il
Sirente, 2000, pp. 427–46.