Judge Song Sang-Hyun, President of the ICC from 2009 to 2015
The eighteen judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) are elected for nine-year terms by the member-countries of the court.[1] Candidates must be nationals of those countries and they must "possess the qualifications required in their respective States for appointment to the highest judicial offices".[1]
A judge may be disqualified from "any case in which his or her impartiality might reasonably be doubted on any ground",[2] and a judge may be removed from office if found "to have committed serious misconduct or a serious breach of his or her duties" or is unable to exercise his or her functions.[3]
The judges are organized into three divisions: the Pre-Trial Division, Trial Division, and Appeals Division.[4]
Judges are elected to the ICC by the Assembly of States Parties, the court's governing body.[4] They serve nine-year terms[4] and are not generally eligible for re-election.[5]
By the time of their election, all judges must be nationals of states parties to the Rome Statute, and no two judges may be nationals of the same state.[1] They must be "persons of high moral character, impartiality and integrity who possess the qualifications required in their respective States for appointment to the highest judicial offices",[1] and they must "have an excellent knowledge of and be fluent in at least one of the working languages of the Court" (English and French).[1]
Judges are elected from two lists of candidates. List A comprises candidates who have "established competence in criminal law and procedure, and the necessary relevant experience, whether as judge, prosecutor, advocate or in other similar capacity, in criminal proceedings".[1] List B comprises candidates who have "established competence in relevant areas of international law such as international humanitarian law and the law of human rights, and extensive experience in a professional legal capacity which is of relevance to the judicial work of the Court".[1] Elections are organised so as to maintain at least nine judges from List A and at least five from List B on the court.[1][6]
The Assembly of States Parties is required to "take into account the need for the representation of the principal legal systems of the world, equitable geographical representation and a fair representation of female and male judges. They shall take into account the need to include judges with legal expertise on specific issues, including, but not limited to, violence against women and children."[6] For this purpose, voting requirements have been established that aim to maintain at least six female judges and at least six male judges on the court, and at least two from each regional group of the United Nations. If a regional group has more than sixteen states parties, the minimum voting requirement for this regional group increases by one. Therefore, since the Statute's entry into force for the Maldives on 1 December 2011, all regional groups can claim a third judge.
In February 2003, the Assembly of States Parties elected the first bench of eighteen judges from a total of 43 candidates.[9] After this first election, the President of the Assembly of States Parties drew lots to assign the eighteen judges to terms of three, six or nine years;[1][10] those who served for three years were eligible for re-election in 2006.[5] The first bench of judges was sworn in at the inaugural session of the court on 11 March 2003.[11]
The second election was held on 26 January 2006.[12] Five of the six outgoing judges were re-elected, but Judge Tuiloma Neroni Slade was defeated.[13] He was succeeded by Ekaterina Trendafilova.[12]
The first special election took place on 3 December 2007, to replace three judges who had resigned.[14][15] The three new judges were assigned to serve the remaining portions of their predecessors' terms.[14] Pursuant to a drawing of lots, Fumiko Saiga served the remainder of Claude Jorda's term, which expired on 10 March 2009.[16][17] The other two new judges' terms ended on 10 March 2012.[16][17]
The third ordinary election took place on 19–20 January 2009.[18][19] Twenty-one individuals were nominated to fill the six vacancies.[20] Only one incumbent judge, Fumiko Saiga, was eligible for re-election;[5] she ran and was elected.[18]
The fourth ordinary election took place during the 10th Session of the Assembly of States Parties from 12 to 21 December 2011. None of the six judges to be replaced were eligible for re-election.
The third special election took place in November 2013 to replace a judge who had resigned.
The fifth ordinary election took place in December 2014 to replace the judges elected in 2006.
The sixth ordinary election took place in December 2017 to replace the judges elected in 2009.
The seventh ordinary election took place in December 2020 to replace the judges whose terms ended in 2021. Four of those judges had been elected in 2011 for full nine-year terms; the other two had been elected in the special elections in 2013 and 2015 to replace two judges elected in 2011 who had resigned.
The prosecutor or any person being investigated or prosecuted may request the disqualification of a judge from "any case in which his or her impartiality might reasonably be doubted on any ground".[2] Any request for the disqualification of a judge from a particular case is decided by an absolute majority of the other judges.[2]
A judge may be removed from office if "found to have committed serious misconduct or a serious breach of his or her duties" or is unable to exercise his or her functions.[3] The removal of a judge requires both a two-thirds majority of the other judges and a two-thirds majority of the states parties.[3]
The Presidency is the organ responsible for the proper administration of the court, except for the Office of the Prosecutor.[22] The Presidency oversees the activities of the Registry and organises the work of the judicial divisions. It also has some responsibilities in the area of external relations, such as negotiating agreements on behalf of the court and the promoting public awareness and understanding of the institution.[23]
The Presidency comprises the President and the First and Second Vice-Presidents – three judges of the court who are elected to the Presidency by their fellow judges for a maximum of two three-year terms.[24] The Presidents of the ICC were Philippe Kirsch, who served from 2003 to 2009, Sang-hyun Song from 2009 to 2015, Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi from 2015 to 2018, Chile Eboe-Osuji from 2018 to 2021 and Piotr Hofmański from 2021 to 2024. As of March 2024, the President is Tomoko Akane from Japan; Rosario Salvatore Aitala of Italy is First Vice-President and Reine Alapini-Gansou of Benin is Second Vice-President. All three were elected on 11 March 2024.[25]
Judicial divisions
The eighteen judges are organized into three divisions: the Pre-Trial Division, Trial Division and Appeals Division.[4] The Pre-Trial Division (which comprises the Second Vice President and five other judges)[4] confirms indictments and issues international arrest warrants. The Trial Division (the First Vice President and six other judges) presides over trials. Decisions of the Pre-Trial and Trial Divisions may be appealed to the Appeals Division (the President and four other judges). Judges are assigned to divisions according to their qualifications and experience.
As of July 2024,[update] 11 of the 18 judges are female. The geographical representation is as follows:[26]
Regional group
Number of judges
Western European and other states
4
African states
4
Latin American and Caribbean states
4
Eastern European states
3
Asian states
3
Chambers
The Judicial Chambers[27] are organized into three main divisions. The Appeals Chamber consists of the whole Appeals Division whereas the Pre-Trial Chambers cover whole situations, authorizing as well the opening of investigation or cases. The Trial Chambers single cases (which can consist of one or more accused). As of 2024[update], the judges are assigned as follows.
Mohamed Shahabuddeen of Guyana was elected to the court in January 2009 but he resigned for personal reasons before taking office.[35]
Classes of judges
In 2003, the first judges were divided into three different classes of terms: those with term ending in 2006 (and re-eligible), those with term ending in 2009 and those with term ending in 2012. This list shows to which class the different judges belong.
Classes of judges' terms
Period
Class of judges with initial term ending in 2006
Class of judges with initial term ending in 2009
Class of judges with initial term ending in 2012
Period
2003–2006
Kaul, Kourula, Kuenyehia, Slade, Song, Ušacka
Blattmann, Jorda, Kirsch, Pikis, Pillay, Politi Jorda resigned in 2007 Saiga elected in 2007 Pillay resigned in 2008
Clark, Diarra, Fulford, Hudson-Phillips, Odio Benito, Steiner Clark resigned in 2006 Hudson-Phillips resigned in 2007 Cotte, Nsereko elected in 2007
2003–2006
2006–2009
Kaul,[5] Kourula,[5] Kuenyehia,[5] Song,[5] Trendafilova, Ušacka[5] Kaul resigned in 2014
2006–2009
2009–2012
Aluoch, Monageng, Saiga,[5](Shahabuddeen), Tarfusser, Van den Wyngaert Shahabuddeen did not take office in 2009 Saiga died in 2009 Fernandez de Gurmendi, Ozaki elected in 2009
2009–2012
2012–2015
Carmona, Defensor-Santiago, Eboe-Osuji, Fremr, Herrera Carbuccia, Morrison Carmona resigned in 2013 Henderson elected in 2013 Defensor-Santiago resigned in 2014 Pangalangan elected in 2015
2012–2015
2015–2018
Chung, Hofmański, Kovács, Mindua, Perrin de Brichambaut, Schmitt
2015–2018
2018–2021
Ibáñez, Akane, Alapini-Gansou, Bossa, Prost, Aitala elected in 2017[36]
2018–2021
2021–2024
Korner, Lordkipanidze, Samba, Flores Liera, Ugalde, Alexis-Windsor elected in 2020[37]
2021–2024
2024-2027
Damdin, Motoc, Guillou, Hohler, Ben Mahfoudh, Paek elected in 2023[38]
^ abcdeInternational Criminal Court. Chambers. Retrieved 21 July 2007.
^ abcdefghijkArticle 36, paragraph 9Archived 15 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine, of the Rome Statute provides for two circumstances under which judges may be re-elected. Firstly, the six judges who were elected to three-year terms in 2003 were eligible for re-election in 2006. Secondly, any judge elected to fill a vacancy serves the remainder of their predecessor's term; if the remainder of the term is less than three years, the judge can subsequently be re-elected to a second term. (For example, Fumiko Saiga was elected in December 2007 to serve the remainder of Claude Jorda's term. Since Jorda's term expired in March 2009, Saiga was eligible for re-election. See International Criminal Court (28 November 2007). "Election of judges of the International Criminal Court: Frequently asked questions"(PDF).[dead link](38.6 KiB). Retrieved 18 January 2008.)
