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 Prosecutor or Prosecutor).

This election has been the object of considerable online commentary

on established blogs1 and civil society organisations 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 particular

challenges that will immediately test his or her capacity to show

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

the International Criminal Court (ICC) authorised an investigation

into the Afghanistan Situation2 and the Prosecutor 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 Palestine should the Pre-Trial Chamber

– currently seized with 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 Lawyer at the ICC and Founder of Strategic

International Legal Consulting, available at w.strategic-ilc.com>. The

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

1 Such as Opinio Juris available at and Justice in

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

extensive symposiu m on the next Prosecutor in the spring.

2 ICC Judgment on the appeal against the decision on the authorisation of an

investigation into the situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ICC-02/17-

138, 5 March 2020.

3 On this, see Kevin Jon Heller ‘Statement Against US Sanctions on ICC

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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