Current Development: No such thing as a perfect candidate: A comment on the process of choosing the next ICC Prosecutor

• Jurisdiction: South Africa
• Published date: 30 October 2020
• Author: Jacobs, D.
• Citation: (2019) African Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law 123
• Pages: 123-127
• Date: 30 October 2020

123

No such thing as a perfect candidate:

A comment on the process of

choosing the next ICC Prosecutor

Dov Jacobs*

There are few topics in international criminal law (ICL) right now

gathering more attention than the election of the next Prosecutor

of the International Criminal Court (ICC Prosec utor or Prosecutor).

This election has been t he object of considerable online commentary

on established blogs1 and civil society organ isations have likewise

weighed in quite extensively on the election process.

While the work of the ICC Prosecutor has always been under

scrutiny, the next Prosecutor will arguably be faced with part icular

challenges that will im mediately test his or her capacity to show

his or her competence. Earlier this year, the Appeals Cha mber of

the International Criminal Court (ICC) authorised an investigation

into the Afghanistan Situa tion2 and the Prosec utor will continue to

face strong and aggressive opposition from the United States.3 The

Prosecutor will als o have to decide how to move forward with a possible

investigation in the Situation of Palestin e should the Pre-Trial Chamber

– currently seized w ith a request to clarify the territorial parameters

of such an investigation4 – consider that the Prosecutor can indeed

exercise jurisdiction under the Rome Statute of the ICC.

The new Prosecutor will also have to deal with the outcome of the

Expert Review launched at the last Assembly of State Parties (ASP) to

* Dr Dov Jacobs is a Defence Trial L awyer at the ICC and Founder of St rategic

International Lega l Consulting, ava ilable at w.strategic-ilc.com>. The

views in this com ment are expressed in his persona l capacity.

1 Such as Opinio Jur is available at a nd Justice in

Conict avai lable at .org/>, which co-hosted an

extensive symposiu m on the next Prosecutor in the spring.

2 ICC Judgment on th e appeal against the decision on t he authorisation of a n

investigation into the situ ation in the Islamic Republic of Afghani stan ICC -0 2/17-

138, 5 March 2020.

3 On this, see Kevi n Jon Heller ‘Statement Agai nst US Sanctions on IC C

Investigat ions’ Opinio Juris 30 June 2020, available at tps://opiniojuris.

org/2020/06/30/statement-against-u s-sanctions-on-icc-investigations/>

(accessed on 18 August 2020).

4 ICC Prosecution request pursu ant to article 19(3) for a ruling on the Court’s terr itorial

jurisdiction in Palestin e ICC-01/18-12, 22 January 2020.

(2019) African Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law 123

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