Journal of International Criminal Justice Advance Access originally published online on April 13, 2007
Journal of International Criminal Justice 2007 5(2):402-418; doi:10.1093/jicj/mqm020
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The Creation of Investigating Chambers at the International Criminal Court
An Option Worth Pursuing?
* Legal Officer at a Trial Chamber of the ICTY. The views expressed herein are those of the author alone and do not necessarily represent the views of the ICTY or the United Nations. [ jdehemptinne{at}hotmail.com]
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Abstract |
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At a time when the position of investigating judge has been abolished in a number of civil law countries, and is being questioned in those in which it remains, it might seem curious to call for such a position to be created at the International Criminal Court (ICC). However, experience at the ad hoc international criminal tribunals (‘ad hoc tribunals’), and especially at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia shows that the essentially adversarial procedure used in international criminal proceedings is not wholly suitable for trying complex and highly political international cases. Having investigating judges participate in the investigations of such cases could decisively enhance the effectiveness, legitimacy and fairness of international proceedings. This would be particularly appropriate in the ICC's complex legal system, which allows victims to participate in the proceedings and claim reparations. However, this new procedure must clearly come with a number of safeguards in order to avoid the failures attendant on the use of the investigating judge in domestic systems, which could be fatal to an embryonic and fragile international court.