Statement of the International Criminal Court correcting misleading media reports regarding the visit by the Chief Justice of Bangladesh

On 20 June 2017, the International Criminal Court ("ICC" or the "Court")  welcomed a visit by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh to the seat of the Court as part of a general visit to meet with a number of judicial institutions in The Hague, Netherlands. During the visit, the Court expressed recognition of Bangladesh's support of the Court as a State Party to the Rome Statute. 

The Chief Justice was received by the ICC President, and, separately, by the Deputy Prosecutor of the ICC. The Court very much regrets the misrepresentations that have appeared in certain Bangladeshi media reports concerning the discussions that took place during these meetings.

During their meetings with the Chief Justice, neither the President nor the Deputy Prosecutor expressed any opinion whatsoever about proceedings being conducted before the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh ("ICT") or any other national court proceedings. For her part, the President of the ICC made no mention at all about the national trials in Bangladesh. The Deputy Prosecutor mentioned the visit he made to the ICT when he was in Dhaka in 2015, and in his general remarks, stressed the principle of prosecutorial independence and impartiality and the importance of a strong defence; he offered no views on the war crimes trials themselves. 

For further information, please contact Fadi El Abdallah, Spokesperson/Head, Public Affairs Unit, International Criminal Court, by telephone at: +31 (0)70 515-9152 or 31 (0)6 46448938 or by e-mail at: [email protected]

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