Prosecutions

Based on the Statute, the Office adopted a policy of focusing its efforts on the most serious crimes and individuals who bear the greatest responsibility for those crimes. Determining which individuals bear the greatest criminal responsibility is done according to, and dependent on, the evidence that emerges in the course of an investigation. Furthermore, the Court is complementary to national efforts.

Warrants of arrest

For crimes committed in Northern Uganda, ICC judges have issued warrants of arrest for the top leaders of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) on July 8 2005: Joseph Kony, the Chairman and Commander of the LRA, Vincent Otti, the Vice Chairman and 2^nd in Command of the LRA, Okot Odhiambo, LRA Army Commander, Raska Lukwiya (Killed in battle on 12 August 2006), LRA Deputy Army Commander and Dominic Ongwen, LRA Brigade Commander, have all been named in numerous counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes. Alleged crimes are: enslavement, sexual slavery, rape, murder, intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population, enlisting children and pillaging.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, four arrest warrants have been issued for the leader of the Union des Patriotes Congolais, a militia rebel group in the DRC Thomas Lubanga Dyilo for war crimes. For the former senior commander of the Force de Résistance Patriotique en Ituri (“FRPI”) Germain Katanga, and for the former senior commander of the Front Nationalistes et Intégrationistes (FNI), the Force de Résistance Patriotique en Ituri (“FRPI”) in the DRC, Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, and for former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Forces Patriotiques pour la Libération du Congo (FPLC), and current alleged Chief of Staff of the Congrès national pour la défense du people (CNDP) armed group, active in North Kivu in the DRC, Bosco Ntaganda. Mr. Ntaganda, a former associate of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is charged with war crimes.

The trial against Thomas Lubanga started on 26 January 2009. The trial against  Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui began on 24 November 2009. If Pre-Trial judges, confirm the charges, the cases will proceed to trial.

In the Central African Republic (CAR), an arrest warrant for Mr. Jean-Pierre Bemba, the former vice president of the DRC, was issued on 23 May 2008 for crimes against humanity and war crimes in CAR. Mr. Bemba was arrested in Brussels, Belgium on 24 May 2008. Mr. Bemba, the first person to be arrested in the context of the ICC investigation in CAR, was later transferred to The Hague on 3 July 2008. The confirmation of charges hearing in this case will be heard before Pre-Trial Chamber judges on 4 November 2008.

For the first investigation in the Darfur region of the Sudan for crimes committed in 2003/2004, two arrest warrants were issued on 2 May 2007: for Sudanese government Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Ahmad Muhammad Harun and Ali Kushayb for numerous counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes. These warrants are outstanding.

Following a second investigation for crimes committed in the whole of Darfur over the last five years, the Office of the Prosecutor presented evidence to ICC judges showing that Sudanese President, Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir, committed crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur. On 4 March 2009, Pre-Trial Chamber 1 issued a second warrant of arrest agaist Omar Al Bashir for three counts of genocide committed against the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups.

Three summonses to appear have also been issued for the rebels. The three summonses were issued for the attack against the African Union base at Haskanita in September 2007. The summonses were against Bahar Idriss Abu Garda, Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain and Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus.

Surrender of Individuals sought by the Court

The Court does not have a mandate to execute arrests. Thus it relies on the help of states and other actors to implement warrants of arrest to enable the Court to fulfill its mandate. The surrender of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, Germain Katanga, Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui and Jean-Pierre Bemba are important illustrations of how the Court relies on States and other bodies in fulfilling its mandate. These arrests necessitated a complex process involving cooperation with the territorial State, States Parties and international organisations.