The ICC is composed of four organs: the Presidency, the Judicial Divisions, the Office of Prosecutor and the Registry. First of all, it is interesting to point out the functions of the Assembly of States Parties, the only non-judicial organ where States Parties can express themselves, as their will is the base of the powers transferred to the Court. As of July 21st 2009, 110 countries were Party to the Rome Statute and ratified it, meaning that they conceded that the Court had jurisdiction on their territories or upon some of their individuals in case serious crimes are committed. The Assembly gathered all the States Parties which signed and ratified the Statute, observer states (which must declare their intention to observe before the session begins) and invited states. The invited and observer states are often states who signed the Statute but did not ratify it or which plan to sign soon. The gathering of the Assembly is managed in annual sessions. The Eighth Session will take place in The Hague from November 18th to 26th 2009.
[...] The Registry is headed by a Registrar who is the principal administrative officer of the Court and under the President's authority. He's elected by secret ballot by judges, taking into consideration any recommendation by the Assembly. Like the Prosecutor, some requirements exist about the person who could be capable to exercise the function. The Registrar holds office for a term of five years, is eligible for re-election once, and must provide appropriate assistance and measures to victims and witness by a unit within the Registry (Art The current Registrar is Ms Silvana Arbia, from Italy. [...]
[...] Assignment of judges to those Divisions is based on the qualification and the experience of each judge to the nature and the proceedings of each Division (Art.39). Judges assigned to the Pre-Trial and the Trial Divisions may serve in those divisions for three years or until the completion of any case commenced by their division. Assignments in the Appeals Division correspond to the judges' entire term of office. The judges are independent and the ICC might cover them against any influence (Art.40). [...]
[...] The Assembly elects judges (Art.36) and main officers within the Court. During the Eighth Session, two new judges will be elected. In this event the States will also vote for the annual budget of the Court (Art .d) and casual amendments to the Statute by resolution. For example, during the Seventh Session (2008), two resolutions were adopted by the Assembly: resolutions ICC-ASP/7/Res.6 as Amendment to the Rules of Procedure for the Assembly of States Parties (extending translation of the rules to every official language of the States Parties), and ICC-ASP/7/Res.5 as Amendment to the Financial Regulations Rules (under Art.113). [...]
[...] The absence of those major states could be a problem in the long term, as real liability and trusteeship in the Court could be hurt. One of the most important points which States must work on within the Assembly is to define the crime of aggression, which is still undefined. Under Article 5.2 of the ICC Statute, the conditions for the exercise of the Court's jurisdiction must be consistent with the relevant provisions of the UN Charter. The Security Council has the competence under Chapter VII of the 1945 Charter to determine whether an act of aggression has taken place. [...]
[...] The Office must examine them and conduct investigation and prosecution before the Court. The Prosecutor is elected by secret ballot by an absolute majority of members of the Assembly of the States Parties: it also has special agreements by the Statute for requests about disqualifications and excuses. Under Article 42, the Prosecutor must be a highly-qualified and experienced personality, fulfilling some other conditions besides these. The Prosecutor is assisted by Deputy Prosecutors, who must be “high moral character”. The current Prosecutor is Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo from Argentina. [...]
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