Defending a charge before the international criminal court

Abstract

Ten years have passed since the establishment of the International Criminal Court and inevitably throughout these years, this Court has grown and developed considerably. Therefore, given that significant time has now elapsed since its inception, it is possible to examine in some detail the current juridical position of an individual being investigated and eventually charged, accused and sentenced by the International Criminal Court. The focus of this thesis is on the individual since only individuals can be prosecuted before the International Criminal Court. This work conveys a thorough analysis of the rights and obligations of the person under investigation, the accused, the appellant and the convict throughout the different stages of the trial, from the pre-trial stage up to a definitive conviction (a res judicata). Particular emphasis is drawn on the substantive defences that are available in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, as this thesis presents a detailed analysis of the codified substantive defences. This thesis poses various questions, namely: (a) What rights and obligations exist for the Defence at the investigative stage, the trial stage, the appeal stage and the sentencing stage? (b) Are there sufficient rights at all these stages? (c) Are there any limitations to such rights? (d) Are these rights safeguarded in practice? (e) Which are the substantive defences available to the Defence? (f) Can the substantive defences be successfully raised? These questions form the subject-matter of this study and this thesis seeks to answer them through a critical analysis and examination of the various rights and obligations of the Defence. Hence, the purpose of this thesis is to assimilate the juridical position of the Defence in the different stages of the proceedings and to reveal any limitations to this position, both in the ICC legal instruments and in practice.