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Judge Christine Van den Wyngaert at the Hague. Photo Credit: justiceinconflict.org |
By Catherine Mullin
In a document
dated April 8, 2013, Judge Christine Van den Wyngaert requested to be excused
from the case
being brought against Uhru Kenyatta.
Judge Van den Wyngaert cited her workload as the reason for her request. She is currently serving in Pre-Trial Chamber I (Ivory Coast and Libya), Trial Chamber II (Katanga case), and temporarily on the two Kenya trials in Trial Chamber V. She claimed that the five cases are “by all standards, an unprecedented and unusually high workload for a judge.” The Presidency decided to accept her request, and replaced Judge Van den Wyngaert in Trial Chamber V.
Judge Van den Wyngaert cited her workload as the reason for her request. She is currently serving in Pre-Trial Chamber I (Ivory Coast and Libya), Trial Chamber II (Katanga case), and temporarily on the two Kenya trials in Trial Chamber V. She claimed that the five cases are “by all standards, an unprecedented and unusually high workload for a judge.” The Presidency decided to accept her request, and replaced Judge Van den Wyngaert in Trial Chamber V.
Though the Presidency attributed her removal to her heavy
workload, there have been thoughts that the Prosecutor’s handling of the case
may also have contributed to Judge Van den Wyngaert’s request. In a concurring opinion
dated April 26, 2013 Judge Van den Wyngaert criticized the prosecutor’s preparation
for the case: “[T]here are serious questions as to whether the Prosecution
conducted a full and thorough investigation of the case against the accused
prior to confirmation.” The Presidency
also noted that the document of Judge Van den Wyngaert’s request that was made
public was redacted,
leaving some wondering what else the Judge has mentioned as a reason for her
desire to be moved from Trial Chamber V.
We are sending separately more news and assessment of this difficult
case. Its outcome is likely to affect American perceptions of the performance
and viability of the Court.