International Criminal Court judges called on Libya's new leaders Tuesday to inform them “as a matter of urgency” on developments in the case of Saif Al-Islam Gadaffi.

Contrary to prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo’s statement in Tripoli in November that Libya had priority in the case, pre-trial chamber I of the ICC said it “remains seized of the case and the Libyan obligation to fully cooperate with the court remains in force."

The arrest warrants for two charges of crimes against humanity, consisting of murder and persecution, "remain outstanding and procedures as provided for in the Rome Statute need to be followed," said a court statement. "Should the Libyan authorities wish to conduct national prosecutions against the suspect, they shall submit a challenge to the admissibility of the case," it added.

Request
On 6 December, Judges said they were urgently seeking information from Libyan authorities on several issues: whether Saif Al-Islam was arrested on account of the Court’s warrant; whether Saif Al-Islam Gadaffi is indeed being held incommunicado; and how and where a court-appointed medical expert could possibly examine the suspect.

The court stressed that "any decision on the admissibility of a case is under the sole competence of the judges of the ICC."

Although Saif Al-Islam has not yet designated a legal representative, pre-trial Judges have allowed the Office of Public Counsel for the Defense (OPCD) to represent the rights of the accused until he does so; the OPCD has the power to submit observations and file responses to any submissions by Libya.

OPCD to represent Saif Al-Gaddafi for now
The OPCD was established on paper in May 2004 and became fully operational following the appointment of its Principal Counsel in January 2007 (although it has been operating since April 2006 under an Associate Counsel).

The role of the OPCD is to help defense teams navigate the complex ICC system and advocate for defense rights. Once Saif appoints his own counsel, the OPCD will assist his newly created team.
Saif, who was arrested on November 19--almost a month to the day after his father was captured and killed--is being held in the southern Libyan town of Zintan, officials from the National Transitional Council have said.

The ICC issued a warrant for his arrest in June on charges of crimes against humanity relating to the Libyan uprising, but after his capture, Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) said it wanted to try him on Libyan soil.

ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo had said earlier that Saif's trial could be held in Libya under the auspices of the court.

He also proposed two other options: Libya asking the ICC to decide whether a Libyan court could prosecute Saif, or Libyan courts trying Saif for other crimes for which he is wanted in Libya, with the ICC prosecuting him in The Hague on separate charges of crimes against humanity.

The ICC is a court of last resort, only able to prosecute a case if national courts are unwilling or unable to hold trials themselves. The UN Security Council asked the ICC prosecutor to investigate possible war crimes in Libya last February during the height of the conflict.

Saif and Gadaffi’s spymaster Abdullah al-Senussi are wanted by the court on charges of crimes against humanity, including murder and persecution, while quashing the anti-Gadaffi uprising.