NCJ Number
226175
Journal
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 98 Issue: 3 Dated: Spring 2008 Pages: 1069-1118
Date Published
2008
Length
50 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the progress of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC’s) case regarding Darfur, Sudan.
Abstract
Since the most recent crisis began in Darfur, villages have been burned and looted, thousands of people have been killed and raped, and millions have been displaced from their homes. The severity of the conflict has given urgency to bringing the perpetrators of the violence to justice and ending the culture of impunity. This is the first time an investigation by the ICC has been conducted during an ongoing conflict. One of the individuals named in the recently issued arrest warrants in the Darfur cases is a prominent official within the Sudanese government. Perhaps most significantly, Darfur is the first ICC case in which an issue of complementarity has been raised regarding jurisdictional issues between the ICC and established national courts, such as those in Sudan. This article reviews the history of the ICC and its structure, as well as substantive and procedural law applicable to the ICC. Complementarity, one of the most important and distinctive features of the ICC, is explained. An overview of the United Nations (U.N.) involvement in Darfur addresses the U.N. Commission of Inquiry and U.N. Security Council’s referral of the Darfur case to the ICC Prosecutor’s Office. A review of the ICC’s progress on Darfur focuses on the investigation, the prosecutor’s application, and the pretrial Chamber’s issuing of arrest warrants for Harun and Kushayb. The emerging issues discussed in the case are complementarity and the Sudanese Special Courts, proposals for an integrated approach to resolving the crisis, and the execution of arrest warrants for Harun and Kushayb. The ICC’s assertion of jurisdiction over the case in Darfur is an important step in seeing that justice is served for the horrific atrocities. 171 notes