ICC May Sit in Country for Ocampo Six Cases

Nairobi Star (Nairobi)

Charles Kerich

4 June 2011

THE International Criminal Court may sit in Kenya to hear the confirmation of charges against the Ocampo Six. Judges at the Pre-trial chamber yesterday asked the parties concerned to give their views on whether they thought this was possible. “Today, 3 June 2011, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a decision requesting observations from the Prosecutor, the Defence and the victims on the desirability of conducting the confirmation of charges hearings in the Republic of Kenya in the cases of The Prosecutor v. William Samoei Ruto, Henry Kiprono Kosgey and Joshua Arap Sang and The Prosecutor v. Francis Kirimi Muthaura, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta and Mohammed Hussein Ali,” read a statement from the court released yesterday.

The Chamber also requested that the parties and participants submit their observations no later than Monday, 13 June 2011. “The Chamber stated that in order to properly assess the desirability and feasibility of conducting the confirmation of charges hearings in the Republic of Kenya, it was deemed valuable to receive observations from the parties and participants to the proceedings in both cases,” the judges said.

A confirmation of charges hearing is held to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that each suspect committed each of the crimes charged. If the charges are confirmed, the Pre-Trial Chamber commits the person for trial before a Trial Chamber, which will conduct the subsequent phase of the proceedings, the trial. The courts official seat is in The Hague, Netherlands, but its proceedings may take place anywhere.

If the court sits in Kenya for the confirmation of the charges, it will be the first time hearings have been held outside the court’s seat. The ICC prides itself for being the first fully digital international court, where proceedings are streamed live and rulings sent via email. Hearing the matter in Kenya will therefore mean trans-location of several pieces of equipment to Kenya to enable the live coverage. If the concerned parties agree that the sittings be moved, the ICC will also be expected to request Kenya to provide a suitable location that the court can temporarily sit in.

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