Following his inauguration as chief prosecutor on 16 June 2003, the Argentinean Luis Moreno Ocampo, 50, has announced his list of priority cases. First up is the «urgent» situation in Ituri, a region in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) which has been ravaged by «inter-ethnic» conflict over the last four years. The prosecutor\'s office says it has received six complaints for the case, two of which were filed by non-governmental organisations. According to Moreno Ocampo, at least 5,000 civilians have been killed in atrocities committed by armed groups, including murder, rape, torture, looting, cannibalism and mutilation since 1 July 2002, the date when the ICC statute came into force. Moreover, the United Nations estimates that over 500,000 persons - 10 per cent of the population of Ituri - have been displaced. The total number of deaths since the start of the fighting is somewhere «between 2.5 and 3.3 million,» in DRC, says Moreno Ocampo, who considers the Congolese war to be «the biggest since World War Two». The investigation also appears to be an opportunity for the ICC to prove its credibility in its very first case, without embarrassing its opponents, in particular the United States. Fearing that the court might use its power for political ends, the US has been frantically brokering bilateral non-extradition deals for American citizens (last count: 70 according to the US government).

Belgian prosecutor heads up investigation

Although Philip Kirsch, the Canadian president of the ICC, has said that he hopes to see the first trials open in spring 2004, prosecutor L. Moreno Ocampo appears to be a long way from achieving this objective. Indeed, the chief prosecutor now has to ask the pre-trial chamber for authorisation to launch his first investigation, one that will probably last several months. Most of the groundwork for this will be carried out by the ICC deputy prosecutor, the 41-year-old Belgian Serge Brammertz, who took up his post on 3 November. Brammertz was appointed in September by the Assembly of States Parties to the Statute of Rome for a six-year term, after fourteen years working as King\'s prosecutor. Most notably, he held the post of federal prosecutor to the Kingdom of Belgium, in charge of coordinating domestic and international investigations into organised crime, terrorism and violations of international humanitarian law. The chief prosecutor has given Brammertz the task of analysing the situation in Ituri, and preparing a programme of investigation. For its part, the DRC has responded favourably to the proposal. Its representative at the Assembly of States Parties has promised to swiftly incorporate the Rome Statute into its domestic legislation. It has also requested the setting up of an international court working alongside the ICC to judge crimes committed before 1 July 2002.

Profits from the «blood diamonds»

The chief prosecutor has already stated that investigations in DRC will not be limited to human rights violations, and will include the financial aspect of the conflict. Moreno Campo\'s is targeting profit made from the «blood diamonds». Foreign businessmen who supplied cash or weapons in exchange for diamonds to people they knew were guilty of war crimes could one day be brought before the ICC for «complicity in war crimes.» «Follow the trail of money and you\'ll find the criminals. If you stop the money, then you stop the crime,» argues the chief prosecutor.

The quantity of illegal exportation of ore from DRC is estimated at 800 million euro per annum. The success of Moreno Campo\'s investigation will rely on the cooperation of prosecutors from different countries thought to be involved in the trafficking, including the United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom, Finland and Zimbabwe. He also hopes to make use of the conclusions drawn by a UN group of experts charged with analysing the implications of a situation in which, in the prosecutor\'s view, there is a link between the prolongation of the conflict and the mining of natural resources. If he manages to prove this, extending criminal proceedings for mass crimes to «war profiteers» would not only be a first, but also a precedent that could be used in a number of future cases. After the DRC, Colombia and the Central African Republic come second on the list of the prosecutor\'s priorities.
Laying foundations for the ICC

The International Criminal Court president Philip Kirsch hopes that the courtroom currently being built will be ready by summer 2004. Like the Office of the prosecutor (see opposite), the remaining organs of the court are following suit. 18 judges were elected in February 2003, who then appointed registrar Bruno Cathala, who was sworn in on 4 July. When the second assembly of member states met in early September 2003, it allocated the ICC a budget of 53 million euro for 2004 (a leap of 58% compared to the current year). The assembly appointed a committee of five directors to manage the Damages Fund, aimed at compensating victims. It also created an autonomous secretariat for the ICC, and ordered that responsibility be transferred from the UN to the secretariat by the end of the year.

Debating the crime of aggression

While the judges are putting the finishing touches to the rules of procedure, which should be ready mid-2004, another major legal hurdle remains. Member states are reflecting on a definition of the crime of aggression, which falls within its jurisdiction in addition to the crimes of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Two points still need clarification: a definition of the crime itself and the conditions for exercising its jurisdiction. Some states argue that the Security Council alone should have the authority to define the crime of aggression, before the ICC is allowed to intervene. Others say that this should be left to the UN general assembly or the International Court of Justice. The debate continues in a focus group made up of member states.