Background Release

STATES PARTIES TO INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT TO MEET

AT HEADQUARTERS, 3 - 7 FEBRUARY

Election of Court’s 18 Judges to Begin on 4 February

The first-ever election of the 18 judges of the International Criminal Court will begin on 4 February at United Nations Headquarters, as part of the resumed first session of the Assembly of the States Parties of the Court, convening from  3 to 7 February.

The election, in Conference Room 4, will begin on Tuesday, 4 February, at  10 a.m.  After the first round of voting, the ballots will be counted in a separate room, and the results will be announced in the afternoon.  The Wednesday ballot will follow the same format, with the results announced at 1 p.m.  A further ballot, if necessary, will take place that afternoon, with the result announced at close of business.

Forty-three candidates have been nominated by as many States parties, and  85 States parties will have the right to vote, having ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in time to participate in the election.

Nominations for judges were received from Argentina, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gambia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Mali, Mongolia, Niger, Nigeria, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Samoa, Senegal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda and Venezuela.  The nominations received from Benin and Paraguay were subsequently withdrawn.

In addition to professional qualifications under the Rome Statute, nominations for judges must fulfil gender criteria, with no fewer than 10 male and 10 female candidates, as well as regional criteria.  States parties have submitted the names of 33 male candidates and 10 female candidates.  The female candidates are from Brazil, Costa Rica, Ghana, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Mali, Poland, South Africa and Switzerland.

As for regional criteria, 10 nominations were submitted by the Group of African States, six by the Group of Asian States, seven by the Group of Eastern

European States, eight by the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States, and  12 by the Group of Western European and Other States.

Some of the judges must have a background in criminal law, and the others in international law.  In addition, a special requirement is expertise on legal protection of women and children.

The nomination period was opened on 9 September, in accordance with article 36 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the resolutions on the procedure for the nomination and election of judges, the prosecutor and deputy prosecutors and on the procedure for the election of the judges, adopted on9 September by the Assembly of States Parties.  The nomination period closed on

30 November 2002.

One third of the judges will serve for a three-year renewable term, one third for a six-year non-renewable term and one third for a nine-year non-renewable term.  This is in order to renew the judges regularly every three years.  Lots will be drawn following the election of the judges to determine the three categories of judges.

The Court will be inaugurated on 11 March in The Hague, Netherlands.  At the inaugural ceremony, the judges will be sworn in.  This ceremony will be followed by the first organizational meeting of the judges to elect the presidency, which will establish a list of candidates for the Registrar.  Based on this list, the Assembly of States Parties will make its recommendation at its resumed first session, to be held at the United Nations from 21 to 23 April.  The judges will then elect the Registrar, and all the principal officers of the Court will be in place.  The Court is expected to be operational by the end of 2003.

The Court has a mandate to try individuals rather than States, and to hold them accountable for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community -- genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, and, eventually, the crime of aggression.  The Court will have jurisdiction only over crimes committed after 1 July 2002, when the Statute entered into force.

As of 31 January, 87 States had ratified or acceded to the Rome Statute of the Court and 139 were signatories.

For information, see the United Nations Web site,www.un.org/law/icc, and the Court's Web site, www.icc.int, or contact Arnold Pronto at the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, tel. 1-212-963-5360; e-mail: pronto@un.org; or Edoardo Bellando at the Department of Public Information, tel. 1-212-963-8275;

e-mail: bellando@un.org

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