ANALYSIS-New global court: down but not out over trial halt
By Emma Thomasson
THE HAGUE, June 18 (Reuters) - A decision by judges at the International Criminal Court to suspend its first trial is a blow for the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal as it seeks to build credibility and momentum.
Court backers had eagerly awaited the planned start next week of the trial of Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga but judges halted proceedings on Monday, saying prosecutors' failure to disclose some evidence could prevent a fair trial.
It scheduled a hearing for June 24 to consider releasing Lubanga, who was handed over to the court in The Hague in 2006 and is accused of enlisting and conscripting children under the age of 15 in Congo's eastern Ituri district.
"It has the potential to really set things back," said Lorraine Smith of the International Bar Association, a global group for the legal profession. "But I don't think it will be the sort of setback that will derail the court."
"We laud the decision because it does say something about the impartiality of the court and its desire to uphold fair trial rights but we recognise it is disappointing for victims."
ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he was confident Lubanga would still face trial, but experts said potential appeals could hold up proceedings for months, overshadowing celebrations in July of the 10th anniversary of the court's founding treaty -- the Rome Statute.
The disappointment of the delay of the first trial comes just as the court had been gaining some momentum, last month netting its biggest fish when Belgian authorities arrested Congo's exiled former Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba.
"We all want the court to succeed," said Nick Grono of the International Crisis Group. "But it is critically important for the court to get a conviction ... once it gets convictions its credibility will grow enormously."
GROWING SUPPORT
While heavyweights like the United States, China, Russia and India have not joined the court yet, 106 nations have signed up, most in Europe, Africa and Latin America. Washington has recently signalled that its hostility to the court is waning.
"It has well over half the world's states. Admittedly not some of the more important ones, but it does mean that high-level suspects can no longer travel abroad so freely," said Andre de Hoogh, Groningen University international law expert.
Ahmad Harun, Sudan's minister for humanitarian affairs who the court has indicted for crimes in Darfur, was forced to change his plans for a Muslim pilgrimage last year when he heard about a plan to divert his plane and arrest him.
As well as Sudan's Darfur region and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the court is also investigating war crimes in Uganda and the Central African Republic, but it has only three suspects in custody so far, all from Congo. Belgium is expected to hand over Bemba to the court in coming weeks.
Apart from Sudan's Harun, all its other arrest warrants are for militia leaders rather than government figures: three from Uganda, another from Congo and one from Sudan. But their capture looks unlikely any time soon as the ICC does not have its own police or army and all are still involved in ongoing conflicts.
That is one of the main challenges the ICC faces in comparison to the temporary tribunals it was set up to succeed that have tried war criminals in the former Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone and Rwanda, but only after the fighting ended.
LIVE CONFLICTS
The judges decided to suspend the Lubanga trial because the prosecution could not share documents with the defence that could help their case because they were provided on the condition of confidentiality to protect sources in war zones.
"It demonstrates the real challenge of pursuing prosecutions in the middle of live conflicts where people are still at risk," said Grono of the International Crisis Group.
The court should indict more high-level figures in future and pursue investigations beyond Africa, he said, but it first had to make sure the Lubanga trial is salvaged.
Katy Glassborow of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting noted that ongoing insecurity in Congo has also forced prosecutors to drop some charges in the case of its other two suspects in custody due to fears about the safety of witnesses.
The court has been accused of hampering peace processes by seeking arrests in ongoing conflicts, most notably that of Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony, who has refused to sign a peace deal with the government unless charges are dropped.
But ICC President Philippe Kirsch says the threat of arrest actually helped bring Kony to the negotiating table. He told Reuters the court is already having a deterrent effect.
"This court is not limited to crimes committed in the past. It is able to deal with crimes that will be committed in the future. That will create the effect of prevention," he said.
He admits the court made a slow start but says it is ploughing new ground in international justice, dealing with thorny but critical subjects like balancing the rights of the defence and with the need to protect witnesses.
"I am confident in two years we will be much faster... What we are doing now is to sort out entirely new issues," he said.
Human rights groups said they hope the U.N. and other sources of the contentious Lubanga evidence can be persuaded to lift their demand for confidentiality so the case can proceed.
"Taking into account the hope of the victims to finally see their case heard at the ICC, we really hope that a judicial solution will be found that protects the rights of the defence and the rights of victims," said Souhayr Belhassen, president of the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH).
THE HAGUE, June 18 (Reuters) - A decision by judges at the International Criminal Court to suspend its first trial is a blow for the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal as it seeks to build credibility and momentum.
Court backers had eagerly awaited the planned start next week of the trial of Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga but judges halted proceedings on Monday, saying prosecutors' failure to disclose some evidence could prevent a fair trial.
It scheduled a hearing for June 24 to consider releasing Lubanga, who was handed over to the court in The Hague in 2006 and is accused of enlisting and conscripting children under the age of 15 in Congo's eastern Ituri district.
"It has the potential to really set things back," said Lorraine Smith of the International Bar Association, a global group for the legal profession. "But I don't think it will be the sort of setback that will derail the court."
"We laud the decision because it does say something about the impartiality of the court and its desire to uphold fair trial rights but we recognise it is disappointing for victims."
ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he was confident Lubanga would still face trial, but experts said potential appeals could hold up proceedings for months, overshadowing celebrations in July of the 10th anniversary of the court's founding treaty -- the Rome Statute.
The disappointment of the delay of the first trial comes just as the court had been gaining some momentum, last month netting its biggest fish when Belgian authorities arrested Congo's exiled former Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba.
"We all want the court to succeed," said Nick Grono of the International Crisis Group. "But it is critically important for the court to get a conviction ... once it gets convictions its credibility will grow enormously."
GROWING SUPPORT
While heavyweights like the United States, China, Russia and India have not joined the court yet, 106 nations have signed up, most in Europe, Africa and Latin America. Washington has recently signalled that its hostility to the court is waning.
"It has well over half the world's states. Admittedly not some of the more important ones, but it does mean that high-level suspects can no longer travel abroad so freely," said Andre de Hoogh, Groningen University international law expert.
Ahmad Harun, Sudan's minister for humanitarian affairs who the court has indicted for crimes in Darfur, was forced to change his plans for a Muslim pilgrimage last year when he heard about a plan to divert his plane and arrest him.
As well as Sudan's Darfur region and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the court is also investigating war crimes in Uganda and the Central African Republic, but it has only three suspects in custody so far, all from Congo. Belgium is expected to hand over Bemba to the court in coming weeks.
Apart from Sudan's Harun, all its other arrest warrants are for militia leaders rather than government figures: three from Uganda, another from Congo and one from Sudan. But their capture looks unlikely any time soon as the ICC does not have its own police or army and all are still involved in ongoing conflicts.
That is one of the main challenges the ICC faces in comparison to the temporary tribunals it was set up to succeed that have tried war criminals in the former Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone and Rwanda, but only after the fighting ended.
LIVE CONFLICTS
The judges decided to suspend the Lubanga trial because the prosecution could not share documents with the defence that could help their case because they were provided on the condition of confidentiality to protect sources in war zones.
"It demonstrates the real challenge of pursuing prosecutions in the middle of live conflicts where people are still at risk," said Grono of the International Crisis Group.
The court should indict more high-level figures in future and pursue investigations beyond Africa, he said, but it first had to make sure the Lubanga trial is salvaged.
Katy Glassborow of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting noted that ongoing insecurity in Congo has also forced prosecutors to drop some charges in the case of its other two suspects in custody due to fears about the safety of witnesses.
The court has been accused of hampering peace processes by seeking arrests in ongoing conflicts, most notably that of Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony, who has refused to sign a peace deal with the government unless charges are dropped.
But ICC President Philippe Kirsch says the threat of arrest actually helped bring Kony to the negotiating table. He told Reuters the court is already having a deterrent effect.
"This court is not limited to crimes committed in the past. It is able to deal with crimes that will be committed in the future. That will create the effect of prevention," he said.
He admits the court made a slow start but says it is ploughing new ground in international justice, dealing with thorny but critical subjects like balancing the rights of the defence and with the need to protect witnesses.
"I am confident in two years we will be much faster... What we are doing now is to sort out entirely new issues," he said.
Human rights groups said they hope the U.N. and other sources of the contentious Lubanga evidence can be persuaded to lift their demand for confidentiality so the case can proceed.
"Taking into account the hope of the victims to finally see their case heard at the ICC, we really hope that a judicial solution will be found that protects the rights of the defence and the rights of victims," said Souhayr Belhassen, president of the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH).
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