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July 2002
ALERT:
TAKE ACTION
IN THE CAPITALS
ON NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF ICC JUDGES
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Monday, 1 July 2002, marked entry into force of the ICC
with 76
countries having ratified the treaty. Australia and
Honduras marked the 75th and 76th ratifications
respectively.
We would like to congratulate all of you have contributed
to the
efforts of making this court a reality, especially to all
of the women who have tirelessly worked at the UN
PrepComs as Women's Caucus participants.
Bill Pace, convenor of the Coalition for the
International Criminal Court, yesterday also applauded
the work of
all the "founding mothers" who have worked to
make the
court a reality.
To celebrate and continue our work the Women's Caucus
coordinated a roundtable and brainstorming session
with organizations across sectors to discuss how
to include the ICC in their work and continue our
advocacy.
Please see the action alert below as there is still much
work to be
done. Many thanks for all of your support.
In solidarity,
Women's Caucus for Gender Justice
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The Tenth and final session of the Preparatory Commission for the International
Criminal Court begins on Monday and will run until Friday,
12 July. At this session, government delegates will finalize rules
that will govern the nomination and election of judges, prosecutor
and deputy prosecutor.
We must ensure that these rules take full account of the
Statute's
mandates concerning the need for a "fair
representation of women and men on the court"
and geographical representation. It is not only the composition
of the future ICC that is at stake. The rules adopted in this
context will set a standard for future institutions at the international,
regional and national levels. As the first international
organization of 21st century, the ICC must avoid
past practices and policies that have prevented women
from working on an equal footing in the
international arena.
However, there is a great deal of resistance on the part
of many
countries to develop rules that will ensure the statute's
mandates
are carried out in a transparent procedure. The period
for submitting nominations will likely begin at
the first meeting of the Assembly of States
Parties in September with the close of the nomination period sometime
between October and December. Elections will then take place in
January 2003 with the official opening of the Court slated for sometime
in March.
WE ASK THAT YOU PLEASE COMMUNICATE TO YOUR
FOREIGN MINISTERS, MINISTERS OF JUSTICE AND
WOMEN, PARLIAMENTARIANS AND UN MISSIONS and demand
that they support the development of transparent procedures and
practices that will ensure there is a fair representation of women
and men and real geographical representation among the members of
the Court. We suggest you seek meetings, call your officials and representatives
and/or send letters.
The following is a draft letter for you to adopt and/or
adapt and
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(Letter to Ministries, Parliamentarians and Missions)
Re: ICC Election Procedures
Dear Madame/Sir,
We are writing to express our serious concerns regarding
the
negotiations at the 10th Session of the Preparatory
Commission for the International Criminal Court
relating to the elections of judges, prosecutor
and deputy prosecutors.
As you know, on 11 April 2002 the Rome Statute obtained
the required number of ratifications for entry
into force on 1 July 2002 a moment we are very
much hoping will signal an end to impunity for crimes of sexual
and gender violence committed predominately against women which
have long been overlooked by the international justice mechanisms
of the past.
We are very concerned, however, that immediately in the
wake of this historic occasion, there seems to be
less real commitment in the negotiations to carry
forward the gender mainstreaming mandates of the
Rome Statute when it comes to the elections of judges and other posts.
The ICC will be the first international institution of the 21st
century, indeed of the new millennium, established by multi-lateral treaty
and is the first of its kind. It is time, finally, that
women be accorded a presence in such institutions on an equitable
footing.
You have a historic opportunity to ensure that the ICC is
standard-
setting with respect to a presence of women on the Court.
Doing so will only increase its esteem and
prestige in the world. In light of this, we demand
the following:
1. That "fair representation of female and male" in article
36(8)(a)
of the Rome Statute be explicitly recognized as parity of
women and men. In the context of the ICC this
would amount to at least 8 men or women on the
Court. This is not a quota - it is what is fair given that
women make up half the world's population. It amounts to a margin
of 45-55 percent either way. Anything less than this would replicate
the systemic discrimination on the basis of gender in this new
institution;
2. That a mechanism be developed and included in the
rules of
procedures relating to elections that will ensure this
fair
representation in the outcome of the elections;
3. That the election procedures be fully transparent and
provide
ample opportunity for a thorough review of candidate's
qualifications and background;
4. That an advisory committee be established in
accordance with
article 36(4)(c) which would be comprised of experts and
members of civil society so as to avoid on the
possibility or appearance of bias on the part of
delegates representing their countries in the Assembly of
States Parties;
5. That the advisory committee be authorized to extend the nomination
period in the event the pool of candidates does not
reflect the balances required by the Statute and
rules;
6. That the advisory committee also be authorized to
nullify the
nomination round and open a new one in the event that the
balances required by the Statute and rules are not
met and an extension would not facilitate such a
balance;
7. That the election procedures also ensure a presence of
judges on the Court, whether female or male, with
legal expertise on violence against women and
violence against children, pursuant to article 36(8) (b)of
the Rome Statute.
We expect that our delegation to the Preparatory
Commission will
actively participate in the resolution of these matters
toward a
satisfactory and non-discriminatory outcome in
furtherance of the
aims of the Rome Statute.
Signed,
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Please forward a copy of your letters also to
the Women's Caucus for Gender Justice.
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BACKGROUND:
Though the ICC will not be a part of the United Nations,
we know from experience of monitoring elections
for similar posts in the UN system that the need
for fair representation of women and men is not taken seriously
in the elections, which are also often highly suspect in terms
of the vote-trading that accompanies these elections.
As a result, the presence of women in the international
posts has
been appallingly low. Due to the nature of these
processes it has
also often been difficult for NGO's to monitor the
elections and
evaluate the background of candidates. An added problem
is that
qualified women are very rarely informed about the
opportunities of the posts at the international
level or of the process of nomination at the
national level.
Some examples:
Only one woman has ever served as a judge on the
International Court of Justice throughout its more
than 80-year history.
The 34-member International Law Commission had no women
throughout its 55-year history until late last
year at which time two women were elected.
In the ad hoc tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and
Rwanda there have been at most 3 women serving at
any one time among the 14 permanent judges.
Currently,at the ICTY, there is only one woman serving as
a permanent judge.
The ICC will be the first major international institution of the 21st
century - indeed of this millennium - developed via
multilateral
treaty. The shapers of this historic institution must
continue to
take bold strides in ensuring that women, who make up
half the
world's population, are finally guaranteed an equitable
presence in such institutions. It is no longer
acceptable to abide the reluctance of states to
nominate women or to blame the lack of appropriate female
representation on the myth that there is a lack of qualified
women.
In the same way that the ICC, as an independent and
impartial
mechanism, is intended to be a fairer and more democratic
judicial institution as a counter to the abusive
rule of raw power in the world, so it must also
counter the effects of power disparities
between women and men through its procedures and
practices. This, along with appropriate
geographical representation, is
critical to ensuring the Court's legitimacy among the
peoples of the world - which, though it seems
obvious, includes women.
In the ICC context, the Women's Caucus is advocating that
"fair
representation" be understood as parity of women and
men, meaning a margin of 45-55 percent either way.
We are also arguing that there is an obligation to
develop mechanisms in the election process that ensure
parity in the outcome of the elections. While a parity of women
and men on the Court is an overarching principle and a critical part
of a full-fledged commitment to non-discrimination on the basis of
gender, the Statute also mandates the presence of judges, male or female,
with legal expertise on specific issues including violence
against women and children.
This moment presents an opportunity to break from the old
patterns that have prevented women from
participating on an equal footing in our international institutions. Please
take the time to forward these concerns to your
relevant officials and parliamentarians. At the same time,
we urge those of you in countries that have ratified the ICC to contact
your foreign ministries to find out whether and how the nomination
process will proceed and also whether candidates have already
been identified and demand that women candidates be considered
and put forward. It is expected that the first meeting of
the Assembly of States Parties will be held in September
2002 at
which time the nomination process will open. It will then
likely close some time in late October and then the first
elections
of the full panel of 18 judges will be held in January
2003.
CRITERIA FOR JUDGES OF THE ICC:
The Rome Statute sets out a series of criteria that are
to be applied to potential candidates for elected
posts for the ICC.
Article 36(3)(b) requires that judicial nominees have
experience in
criminal law and procedure with experience as a judge,
prosecutor, Or advocate in criminal proceedings OR
competence relevant areas of international law,
such as humanitarian lawa nad the law of human rights.
In addition, article 36(8)(a) of the statute requires
that States
Parties take into account the need for a fair
representation of
female and male judges, equitable geographical
representation and a representation of the
principle legal systems of the world. Article 37 (8)(b)
provides that States Parties must also "take into Account the
need to include judges with legal expertise on specific issues including,
but not limited to, violence against women or children."
According to article 36(4)(b), candidates must be
nationals of a
State Party to the Rome Statute though they need not be
nominated by their own country. Candidates must
have an excellent knowledge of or be fluent in at
least one of the working languages of the Court - English,
French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Arabic.
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For more information about these and other issues or for
a copy of our short guide to the nomination and
election process for Judges to the International
Criminal Court, please contact us.
Women's Caucus for Gender Justice
33-53 Vernon Blvd. Suite 1
Long Island City, NY 11106
Tel: 718-626-2681
Fax: 718-626-3528
caucus@iccwomen.org
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