The ICC’s trials and tribulations

The on-again, off-again trial of Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is back on. The International Criminal Court’s appeals chamber today ordered the resumption of the trial, which had been halted because of a dispute between prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo and the trial judges over confidentiality. While the appeals judges sided with the prosecution on the ...

By , a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.

The on-again, off-again trial of Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is back on. The International Criminal Court's appeals chamber today ordered the resumption of the trial, which had been halted because of a dispute between prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo and the trial judges over confidentiality. While the appeals judges sided with the prosecution on the question of resuming the trial, they did find that the prosecutor had improperly flouted court rulings.

The on-again, off-again trial of Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is back on. The International Criminal Court’s appeals chamber today ordered the resumption of the trial, which had been halted because of a dispute between prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo and the trial judges over confidentiality. While the appeals judges sided with the prosecution on the question of resuming the trial, they did find that the prosecutor had improperly flouted court rulings.

The Appeals Chamber considers, however, that the Trial Chamber erred by resorting immediately to a stay of proceedings without first imposing sanctions to bring about the Prosecutor’s compliance with its orders. ‘Sanctions are a key tool for Chambers to maintain control of proceedings within the trial framework and to safeguard a fair trial without having to have recourse to the drastic remedy of staying proceedings’, stated Judge Song in the summary of the judgments.

The ICC is approaching a decade in operation and still has not achieved a conviction.

David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist

More from Foreign Policy

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?

The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.
Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World

It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.

Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.
Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing

The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.