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ICC chief prosecutor job advertised as Bensouda’s contract expires
International Criminal Court chief prosecutor, Ms Fatou Bensouda. AFP PHOTO
What you need to know:
- Between 1987 and 2000, she was successively senior state counsel, principal state counsel, deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Solicitor General and legal secretary of the Republic, and Attorney General and Minister of Justice, in which capacity she served as chief legal advisor to the President and Cabinet of the republic of Gambia.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has advertised the position of the chief prosecutor since the contract of the current office bearer, Ms Fatou Bensouda is soon expiring.
Ms Bensouda whose 10-year-term will be expiring on June 15, 2021, is currently prosecuting the former rebel of the Lord Resistance Army (LRA), Dominic Ongwen for alleged atrocities he committed in the two-decade insurgency in Northern Uganda that left hundreds dead and houses burnt.
Ongwen is currently defending himself before The Hague based court in the Netherlands.
“The term of the current Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court will expire on June 15, 2021. The Assembly of States Parties, acting pursuant to its mandate under article 112 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (the Rome Statute), has initiated the process for the selection of the next Prosecutor,” reads in part a press statement posted on ICC website on Wednesday.
Adding; “President of the Assembly of States Parties Mr O-Gon Kwon (Republic of Korea), welcomes the publication of the vacancy announcement for the position of Prosecutor of the ICC.”
According to Article 42, paragraph 3, of the Rome Statute, it sets out the main criteria to be fulfilled by candidates for the position.
Further, in accordance with the Rome Statute, the ICC aims to achieve fair representation of women and men for all positions, representation of the principal legal systems of the world for legal positions, and equitable geographical representation for positions in the professional category.
The Assembly of States Parties is the management oversight and legislative body of the ICC.
It is comprises representatives of States that have ratified and acceded to the Rome Statute. President Kwon was elected President of the Assembly for a three year mandate in December 2017.
Who is Ms Bensouda?
Ms Bensouda, a born of Gambia in Africa, was elected by the 10th session of the Assembly of States Parties and took office on 15 June 2012.
She had prior to her appointment, been the ICC deputy prosecutor (prosecutions), having been elected with an overwhelming majority by the Assembly of States Parties on August 8, 2004 and serving as such until May 2012.
Prior to her work at the International Criminal Court, Ms Bensouda worked as legal adviser and trial attorney at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania, rising to the position of senior legal advisor and head of the legal advisory unit.
Before joining the ICTR, she was general manager of a leading commercial bank in Gambia.
Between 1987 and 2000, she was successively senior state counsel, principal state counsel, deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Solicitor General and legal secretary of the Republic, and Attorney General and Minister of Justice, in which capacity she served as chief legal advisor to the President and Cabinet of the republic of Gambia.
Ms Bensouda also took part in negotiations on the treaty of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the West African Parliament and the ECOWAS Tribunal.
She has served as delegate to United Nations conferences on crime prevention, the Organization of African Unity's Ministerial Meetings on Human Rights, and as delegate of the Gambia to the meetings of the Preparatory Commission for the International Criminal Court.
She holds a Masters’ degree in International maritime law and law of the sea and as such is the first international maritime law expert of Gambia.
