Category Archives: Courts

Over the next weeks, Amnesty International will issue opinion pieces examining the Office of the Prosecutor’s use of Article 19(3) and the substance of the question of jurisdiction it has posed to the Pre-Trial Chamber. In this first piece, Legal Adviser Jonathan O’Donohue joins others in expressing concern about the closed process so far and calls for greater transparency and consultation.

Amnesty International’s International Justice Team provides some initial reflections on the most controversial aspects of the Judgment and challenges a number of criticisms.

In this third opinion piece examining the ICC’s approach to evidence in the Bemba et al. case, International Criminal Justice Clinic student Ellen Leishman raises concern regarding the Court’s failure to determine the admissibility of evidence consistently with internationally recognized human rights.

Since early 2015, the Nigerian military has recaptured vast swathes of territory that had come under the control of Boko Haram in the north-east of the country. This report examines what happened to the group of people who fled or were forced from rural towns and villages that had been controlled by Boko Haram, as the military intensified its operations.

Building on initial concerns about the ICC’s approach to evidence in the Bemba et al. Appeals Chamber judgment, Chiara Loiero, Legal Assistant at Amnesty International’s Centre for International Justice, criticizes the ICC’s emerging practice of deferring any consideration on admission of evidence until deliberating the judgment.

Drawing on their long experience of following the ICC’s annual budget process, Matt Cannock – Head of Amnesty’s Centre for International Justice – and Legal Adviser Jonathan O’Donohue call for a new approach in 2019, starting with the ICC putting forward a request that actually reflects its resource needs.

Guest opinion piece writer Dr. Rosemary Grey, Amnesty’s Legal Adviser Jonathan O’Donohue and International Criminal Justice Clinic student Leonard Krasny reflect on the Trial Chamber’s recent decision to reject requests by victims’ lawyers for three victims to present evidence of sexual violence against boys and men.

Matt Cannock, Head of Office of Amnesty International’s Centre for International Justice, comments on the Philippines’ withdrawal from the ICC and its consequences for victims of international crimes committed in the country.

Legal Adviser Jonathan O’Donohue provides an initial reaction to last Thursday’s summary judgment by the ICC Appeals Chamber confirming the conviction of five persons for offences against the administration of justice in the Bemba case.

Legal Adviser Jonathan O’Donohue reflects on the 20th anniversary of the Rome Statute not as a time for celebration but a crisis point for international justice that demands robust action by the International Criminal Court (ICC).