Saturday 14 March 2009

Finally, a Debate about Complementarity

Defence counsel for Germain Katanga have filed a motion challenging admissibility: http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/doc/doc642392.pdf. This will be the first real judicial debate about complementarity at the International Criminal Court. Many interesting arguments are invoked, including the claim that Katanga's fair trial rights are compromised at the International Criminal Court because he cannot compel the testimony of defence witnesses. The motion points to rulings of the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda denying transfer of cases to the national jurisdictions of Rwanda because of perceived difficulties in securing defence testimony. Defence counsel argue that in some respects, trial in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is superior to trial in The Hague.
Thanks to Goran Sluiter.

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