Communications and Referrals

 

To date, there have been three state referrals from the governments of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and the Central African Republic, and one referral from the United Nations Security Council regarding the situation in Darfur. The Office has also received over 8733 communications since July 2002 from more than 140 countries, with a majority of those communications from individuals in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia and France.

Neither referrals, whether by a State Party or the UN Security Council, nor private communications automatically "trigger" the powers of the Prosecutor. In all cases the OTP must first conduct an analysis of information in order to determine whether the statutory threshold to start an investigation is met: there must be “a reasonable basis to proceed”.

Where the Prosecutor receives a referral, Article 53 provides that the Prosecutor shall initiate an investigation unless he determines that there is no reasonable basis to proceed under the Rome Statute. However, when the Prosecutor receives a communication, the test is the same but the starting point is reversed: the Prosecutor shall not seek to initiate an investigation unless he first concludes that there is a reasonable basis to proceed. Once a decision to initiate an investigation is taken, senders of related communications are promptly informed of the decision, with reasons for the decision.

Content of information sent to the Office

The Statute does not specify what the communication should contain. The Office analyses all communications received and the extent of the analysis is affected by the detail and substantive nature of the information available. If the available information does not provide sufficient guidance for an analysis that could lead to a determination that there is a reasonable basis to proceed, the analysis is concluded and the sender informed. This decision is provisional and may be revised in the event that new information is forthcoming.

The working languages of the Court are English and French and the official languages of the Court are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. Where information is submitted in a language other than these, the Office will endeavour to obtain informal translations. Where this is not possible, senders are advised in English and French, the working languages of the Court.

Submitting Information

To submit information about alleged crimes, please send it to:

International Criminal Court
Office of the Prosecutor
Communications
Post Office Box 19519
2500 CM The Hague
The Netherlands.

Or send it by email to: otp.informationdesk@icc-cpi.int,
or send it by facsimile to: +31 70 515 8555