The administration of the International Criminal Court (ICC), in a decision disclosed on Tuesday extended the mandate of the judges involved in the Laurent Gbagbo/Ble Goude case, until March 31, 2021, in view of closing the appeal against their acquittal.
“The Appeals Chamber is currently seized of an appeal against the acquittal in the case of the Prosecutor against Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Ble Goude (respectively “the appeal” and “the case”’), the ICC says.
Following a review of the situation, the ICC announces that “by internal administrative decision of January 28, 2021, it granted an extension of mandate to judges until March 31, 2021 at the latest, for the purpose of closing the appeal.”
According to the note, the Presidency of the ICC, in its ad hoc composition, is made up of First Vice-President Robert Fremr, Second Vice-President Marc Perrin de Brichambaut and Judge Olga Herrera Carbuccia.
“The Presidency explains that on January 20 and 21, 2021, respectively, it received administrative requests from the presiding judge of the case, Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji, and Judge Howard Morrison regarding the extension of their respective mandates for the purposes of completing the appeal in the case,” the statement explains.
From the analysis of the Presidency, it emerges that “in accordance with Article 41 of the Rome Statute and Article 33 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, Judge Eboe-Osuji has been excused from the presidency for the purposes of review by the latter because of the obvious risk of a lack of impartiality.”
For the ICC presidency, “Judge Eboe-Osuji should be involved in the decision-making related to his own request.”
Accordingly, it “takes note of its responsibility, in accordance with Article 38 of the Rome Statute, for the proper administration of the court, with the exception of the Office of the Prosecutor”.
The Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the Rome Statute has just elected Karim Khan to become the next ICC Prosecutor.
The new Prosecutor who will take office on June 16, 2021, for a non-renewable nine-year term, will succeed Fatou Bensouda of The Gambia.
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