ICC - Pre-Trial Chamber I receives documents containing the charges and list of evidence against Mr Thomas Lubanga Dyilo
Press Release
Pre-Trial Chamber I receives documents containing the charges and list of evidence against Mr Thomas Lubanga Dyilo
ICC-20060828-156
Situation: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Case: The Prosecutor vs. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo
On 28 August, in the case The Prosecutor vs. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, the Registry of the International Criminal Court (ICC) registered the document containing the charges and the list of the evidence that the Office of the Prosecutor intends to present at the confirmation hearing. The hearing is scheduled to take place on 28 September at 11 a.m. The documents will be transmitted to the judges of Pre-Trial Chamber I and to the Defence.
Thomas Dyilo Lubanga, a Congolese national, is alleged to have committed the crimes of enlisting, conscripting and using children under 15 years of age to participate actively in hostilities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Defence has until 12 September to file the list of evidence it intends to present at the confirmation hearing. The Office of the Prosecutor will also have access to this evidence.
The confirmation hearing is a hearing at which ICC Judges will decide whether or not to confirm the charges brought by the Prosecutor against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo and commit him to trial. The case will be presented by a team of the Office of the Prosecutor lead by Fatou Bensouda, Deputy Prosecutor and Ekkehard Withopf, Senior Trial Lawyer.
Thomas Lubanga Dyilo and his counsel M. Jean Flamme will also be present at the hearing. They can object to the charges, challenge the evidence presented by the Prosecutor and present their own evidence.
Based on the evidence presented during the hearing, the Pre-Trial Chamber will decide whether there are substantial grounds to commit Thomas Lubanga Dyilo to trial. The Chamber can either: (1) confirm the charges and commit Thomas Lubanga Dyilo to trial in a Trial Chamber; (2) decline to confirm the charges; or (3) adjourn the hearing to allow the Prosecutor to submit more evidence, continue the investigation, or amend the charges.
Background information:
The International Criminal Court was established by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, adopted in Rome, Italy on 17 July 1998. The Statute entered into force on 1 July 2002. The International Criminal Court is the only independent, permanent international court to try individuals accused of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole, namely genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Following upon the United Nations ad hoc international criminal tribunals in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, the ICC is a permanent court working to bring those responsible for such crimes to justice. While the International Court of Justice presides over disputes between nations, the ICC can prosecute criminal cases against individuals. To date, 100 countries have ratified the Court’s founding treaty. So far, three countries, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic have requested that the Court investigate crimes committed on their territory. In addition, the Darfur situation in the Sudan has been referred to the Court by the UN Security Council.
The Court only exercises its jurisdiction when States are unwilling or unable to prosecute.
The situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was referred to the Prosecutor of the ICC by the Government of the DRC on 3 March 2004. Following a preliminary analysis, as required by the Rome Statute, the Prosecutor on 23 June 2004 announced his decision to open an investigation in the situation in the DRC.
On 12 January 2006 the Prosecutor submitted an application to the Pre-Trial Chamber of the Court for the issuance of a warrant of arrest against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo. On 17 March 2006 the Pre-Trial Chamber made public the warrant of arrest and on that same day Thomas Lubanga Dyilo was transferred from custody in the DRC to the ICC. He is now held in the ICC Detention Centre in The Hague.
Pre-Trial Chamber I is composed of Judge Claude Jorda (France); Judge Akua Kuenyehia (Ghana) and Judge Sylvia Steiner (Brazil).
For more information about the Court, please contact Ms Sonia Robla-Ucieda, Head Public Information and Documentation Section. Telephone: +31 (0)70 515-8089 or Email: [email protected]