CASIN Delegate Mary J. Gennuso Revuews the 10th Session of the ASP to the Rome Statute of the ICC
Being a CASIN delegate at this occasion afforded me many new educational opportunities, including first-hand observance of democratic process at a unique level, that of the assembly for international criminal court. The elections were definitely one of the highlights of this assembly, during which a new ASP president and ICC prosecutor were elected, as well as 6 new judges. It was watching history in the making as several women were elected to these high positions. Certainly, however, it was the election of the judges that provided the most intense and suspenseful experience. While the first 3 judges were elected relatively quickly, the last three were dragged out over several more rounds of ballots. With each ballot, however, there was opportunity to observe more of the election rules as well as diplomatic negotiations in action as the delegates huddled for strategic planning in between rounds.
The elections were not the only opportunity for observing diplomacy in action, however, as the regional and special meetings provided ample evidence of the CICC in action as they worked towards raising awareness of different issues in order to facilitate improvement of the process. For instance, there were several meetings on complementarity and the need for cooperation as they probed the delicate balance between the roles of the individual states and that of the ICC as well as the UN’s Security Council role and the many permutations of relationships between them, all for the cause of the administration of justice in the crucial area of human rights. The Hague Report especially brought out the legal gap between states for mutual assistance, and it also began to consider different strategies for bridging that gap on matters pertaining to arrest warrants and extradition.
The various speeches by different state representatives also provided the opportunity to observe different positions and tensions between states on issues such as the budget. While on the one-hand the court has seen an increase in cases over the year and requests more financial support to effectively handle this case-load, on the other hand there is the economic crunch that is squeezing everyone, including this important court. Again, the issue of where to strike the balance between them was poignant. Most the other speeches were more congratulatory in nature, applauding the newly elected as well as thankful recaps of the work accomplished by the assembly and court under the auspices of the former president.
In addition to the formal sessions and meetings, there were many informal opportunities to meet other NGOs such as AMICC, Amnesty International, Redress, as well as members of the CICC itself. From AMICC I learned of the various hurdles facing any possible future ratification of the Rome Statute by the US, who is currently not a member. Of course there was also time to get to know other CASIN delegates and discuss issues. Everyone I encountered was more than willing to answer questions and help better understand important points of the Rome Statute, election rules, and the various recommendations made by the CICC, such as the emphasis on the need for merit-based elections, which while obvious enough, bore repeating due to the political nature of the elections. Yet, all in all, at the end of the day it seemed that indeed democratic process was followed and a fair representation of regions and genders, as well as qualifications, were eventually met in the selection of the new judges.
Last but not least was the opportunity to attend a reception hosted by the CICC which honored both the past president of the ASP and the newly elected woman president, as well as recognizing the hard work of many others who helped launch and improve the work of the court and assembly. It was an exciting time to be there and mingle and observe under more relaxed circumstances than those of the high paced meetings that took place during the day.
From the beginning of this event, which began with the information and planning session hosted by the CICC, right through to the end of the elections and the assembly, it was a highly educational and informative time period which was well worth the effort. In the end I not only learned a lot, took home a lot of information including written reports to review for further study, but I also met many new people and got more involved with the work of CASIN, and hope this will lead to further opportunities for growth.