Mathias Holvoet

International Criminal Law as Global Law: An Assessment of the Hybrid Tribunals

This contribution will focus on the facet of International Criminal Justice where the influence of global law is the most apparent, namely the hybrid or internationalized criminal tribunals. Since many of these tribunals have closed their doors or are in the advanced stage of the proceedings, the time is ripe for a preliminary evaluation. Furthermore, the future necessity and viability of hybrid tribunals will be assessed, both for crimes that fall within and without the jurisdictional regime established by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Seeking Asylum before the International Criminal Court. Another Challenge for a Court in Need of Credibility

In 2012 the International Criminal Court (ICC) celebrates its ten-year anniversary since its establishment. It is fair to say that the current age of the Court reflects its present maturity. At the time of writing, the Court has finally rendered its first verdict, by condemning the Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga for the conscription of child soldiers after a rather wobbly trial that took 6 years. In May 2011, the Court faced another unprecedented challenge. Four witnesses transferred from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to testify in the Lubanga and Katanga & Ngudjolo Chui (hereinafter: Katanga) trials, applied for asylum in the Netherlands. This matter, which was not anticipated in the Statute or secondary sources of ICC law, raises issues concerning the cooperation between the ICC, the Netherlands as host state and the DRC, and raises intriguing questions about the interaction of international criminal law and international refugee law.