ICC - Solemn undertaking of the Deputy Prosecutor (Investigations)

Solemn undertaking of the Deputy Prosecutor (Investigations)

ICC-OTP-20031103-40

 

On Monday 3 November 2003, Mr. Serge Brammertz (Belgium) has made his solemn undertaking as Deputy Prosecutor (Investigations) of the International Criminal Court. The ceremony was held in open court at the ICC premises in The Hague.

During the course of the ceremony, presided over by Judge Akua Kuenyehia, vice-President of the ICC, the Deputy Prosecutor has pledged to perform his “duties and exercise [his] powers as Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court honourably, faithfully, impartially and conscientiously, and [to] respect the confidentiality of investigations and prosecutions”. 

Mr. Brammertz was elected for a period of six years by the Assembly of States Parties on 9 September 2003. His nomination resulted from a stringent process established by the Prosecutor of the ICC to identify the best candidates for the post.

Serge Brammertz has great prosecutorial expertise and is familiar with the activities of prosecutors around the world. He began his career as a prosecutor in a region that has three international borders, so he has been involved, for a long time, in matters of cross-border cooperation between prosecutors and police forces. He wrote a doctoral thesis on international police cooperation. As a National Magistrate in Brussels, his main responsibility was to co-ordinate criminal investigations at the international level.

In May 2002 he was appointed Federal Prosecutor of Belgium, a position that had not previously existed in his country. His selection for that job is evidence of the great trust that his country and his peers have placed on him. His work as Federal Prosecutor has required him to direct his office in its role as the competent judicial authority to handle cases of genocide and violations of international humanitarian law, to handle cases of terrorism, and to be the main contact point for the ICTY and ICTR.

More recently, he was very involved in the prosecution of two terrorist groups that were convicted for attempting to blow-up a military base in Brussels. Serge Brammertz also has extensive experience coordinating large-scale national operations, including the coordination of 500 policemen that carried out 60 house-searches.

In addition to these accomplishments in the course of his career in Belgium, Serge Brammerzt contributed to the creation of the European Judicial Network, which was a Belgian idea before it became a joint project of the European Union. He is a former chairman of this network.


Speech of the Vice-President of the International Criminal Court    

Speech of the Vice-President of the Assembly of States Parties 

Speech of the Registrar of the International Criminal Court 

Speech of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court 

Speech of the President of the College of Eurojust

Speech of the President of the International Association of Prosecutors

 

Source: Office of the Prosecutor