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

structure and administration of the court 177
The International Criminal Court is composed of four ‘organs’: the Presidency,
the Divisions, the Office of the Prosecutor and the Registry. 5 There
are three Divisions: the Appeals Division, the Trial Division and the Pre-
Trial Division. The term ‘Division’ rather than ‘Chamber’ was used in order
to resolve a dispute about whether there should be one or several pre-trial
chambers. 6
The judges of the Court
The eighteen judges of the court are elected by the Assembly of States Parties,
of whom three make up the Presidency. Any State party may propose one
candidate for the Court in any given election. That candidate need not
be a national of the nominating State but must be a national of a State
party. But there can be only one judge of any given nationality at any one
time. Judges are to be of ‘high moral character, impartiality and integrity’, a
phraseology that is rather typical of international instruments. 7 They must
also be qualified for appointment to the highest judicial offices in their
respective States, 8 and are to have an excellent knowledge of and be fluent in
at least one of the working languages of the Court, namely, English or French.
The Statute allows for an ‘advisory committee’ on nominations. 9 But this is a
timid affair indeed compared with the thoroughgoing screening procedure
to ensure qualifications that was originally mooted by the United Kingdom,
somewhat along the lines of the procedure in force for appointments to
the European Court of Human Rights. However, many States resented any
attempt to limit their right to designate their own candidates. 10
The Statute requires a degree of expertise in the subject matter of the
Court. Here it creates two categories of candidates, those with criminal law
experience and those with international law experience. Specific reference
is made to international humanitarian law and the law of human rights.
During an election there are two lists of candidates, one with the criminal
law profile (‘List A’), the other with the international law profile (‘List B’).
A nominee for the Court who meets both requirements may choose the list
on which he or she will appear. At the first election, a minimum of nine and
5 Ibid., Art. 34. 6 Jarasch, ‘Establishment, Organization and Financing’, p. 20.
7 Art. 2 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice speaks of ‘a body of independent judges
elected regardless of their nationality from among persons of high moral character’.
8 Rome Statute, Art. 36(3). 9 Ibid., Art. 36(4)(c).
10 Jarasch, ‘Establishment, Organization and Financing’, p. 21.