Five ICC Judges Sworn In for Nine-Year Terms at a Ceremony in The Hague

By Anjie Zheng

Five new judges were sworn in today at the International Criminal Court by Estonian Ambassador Tiina Intelmann, President of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP). They join the Court's bench of 18 judges. Each swore to exercise powers "honorably, faithfully, impartially and conscientiously" and to "respect the confidentiality of investigations and prosecutions and the secrecy of deliberations" during their individual nine-year terms.

In her opening statements, Ambassador Intelmann reiterated the necessity of the Court's judges to "deliver justice with all the guarantees of a fair trial" in order to uphold the Court's institutional reputation in the international realm.

The judges, elected among 19 candidates at the Tenth Session of the Assembly of States Parties on December 12-21, 2012, were chosen on the basis of their "high moral character, impartiality and integrity." All judges must be nationals of States Parties to the ICC:

- Anthony Thomas Aquinas CARMONA
Group of Latin American and Caribbean States (Trinidad and Tobago)

- Chile EBOE-OSUJI
Group of African States (Nigeria)

- Robert FREMR
Group of Eastern European States (Czech Republic)

- Olga Venecia HERRERA CARBUCCIA
Group of Latin American and Caribbean States (Dominican Republic)

- Howard MORRISON
Group of Western European and Other States (United Kingdom)

Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Group of Asia-Pacific States (Philippines), was also elected but could not attend due to personal issues. Her swearing in will take place at a later date.

All of the candidates elected were declared qualified by the Independent Panel on ICC Judicial Elections, an expert initiative dedicating to assessing judical candidates. The Panel was established by the international NGO Coalition for the ICC (CICC) at AMICC's urging and to which AMICC’s Deputy Convener, as a consultant to CICC, provided extensive assistance.

The judges' terms are effective immediately upon their solemn undertaking. However, it is unclear when each new judge will be called up for service given the number of current judges staying on to complete ongoing trials.

The first task of the new judges will be to meet on March 11, 2012 in plenary with their colleagues to elect from among the 18 judges one president and two vice-presidents of the Court.

Photo credit: International Criminal Court See more photos of the ceremony here.