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Witness Protection Measures at the International Criminal Court: Legal Framework and Emerging Practice
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2012
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LawCriminal LawInternational CrimesAdministrative LawEmerging PracticeInternational CourtCriminal Justice ProcessLegal ProcessInternational Criminal LawConflict Of LawCase LawEvidence Split ResponsibilitiesInternational Criminal CourtsInternational LawPublic International LawWitness ProtectionCriminal JusticeComparative LawLegal FrameworkWitness Protection MeasuresTransitional JusticeInter-organ ResponsibilitiesInternational Criminal PracticeJustice
In its early years, the ICC has made witness protection a core issue, yet academic discussion has largely ignored it, illustrating how the Court is still developing a balanced system to translate statutory responsibilities into practice. The article argues that the Rome Statute and Rules of Procedure and Evidence split witness‑protection responsibilities among ICC organs but fail to define clear boundaries, examines early practice problems, presents consensual practices, and recommends ways to resolve shared responsibilities. The authors analyze the Rome Statute and Rules of Procedure and Evidence, noting their division of responsibilities, and review consensually developed witness‑protection practices across ICC organs. The legal framework has created uncertainty and confusion about practical responsibilities for witness protection within the ICC.
In the first years of its existence, the issue of protective measures for witnesses has developed into one of the core issues for the International Criminal Court (ICC). Despite its obvious relevance, academic discussions have so far largely ignored this aspect of the Court’s work. This article will argue that, in contrast to the ad hoc Tribunals, the Rome Statute and the Rules of Procedure and Evidence split responsibilities for protective measures between the different organs of the Court, but they nevertheless fail to adequately define the precise boundaries of these responsibilities. The legal framework has therefore created uncertainty, even confusion as to the practical responsibilities for protective measures within the Court. The article will examine some resulting problems in the early practice of the ICC. At the same time, the article will present established practices in the field of witness protection that have been consensually developed between all organs of the Court. In its conclusion, the article will formulate recommendations as to how the Court can further overcome the issue of inter-organ responsibilities that are shared and divided at the same time. In this context, protective measures for witnesses should be viewed as an example as to how the Court, in its infant years, is in the process of developing a measured and balanced system that transfers statutory responsibilities into practice.