Editing International Criminal Court (section)

====Office of the Prosecutor====
{{Main|Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court}}
[[File:Fatou Bensouda5.jpg|thumb|ICC prosecutors [[Fatou Bensouda]] and [[Luis Moreno Ocampo]], with [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Estonia)|Estonia's Minister of Foreign Affairs]], [[Urmas Paet]], in 2012]]
The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) is responsible for conducting investigations and prosecutions.<ref name="prosecutor">{{cite web |author=International Criminal Court |url=http://www.icc-cpi.int/organs/otp.html |title=Office of the Prosecutor |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080119102802/http://www.icc-cpi.int/organs/otp.html |archive-date=19 January 2008 |access-date=21 July 2007}}</ref> It is headed by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, who is assisted by one or more Deputy Prosecutors.<ref name="structure" /> The Rome Statute provides that the Office of the Prosecutor shall act independently;<ref name="RomeStatute" />{{rp|article 42}} as such, no member of the Office may seek or act on instructions from any external source, such as states, [[international organisation]]s, non-governmental organisations or individuals.<ref name="prosecutor" />

The Prosecutor may open an investigation under three circumstances:<ref name="prosecutor" />
* when a situation is referred by a state party;
* when a situation is referred by the [[United Nations Security Council]], acting to address a threat to international peace and security; or
* when the Pre-Trial Chamber authorises the prosecutor to open an investigation on the basis of information received from other sources, such as individuals or non-governmental organisations.

Any person being investigated or prosecuted may request the disqualification of a prosecutor from any case "in which their impartiality might reasonably be doubted on any ground".<ref name="RomeStatute" />{{rp|article 42}} Requests for the disqualification of prosecutors are decided by the Appeals Chamber.<ref name="RomeStatute" />{{rp|article 42}} A prosecutor may be removed from office by an absolute majority of the states parties through a finding "to have committed serious misconduct or a serious breach of his or her duties" or is unable to exercise his or her functions.<ref name="RomeStatute" />{{rp|article 46}} One critic said there are "insufficient checks and balances on the authority of the ICC prosecutor and judges" and "insufficient protection against politicized prosecutions or other abuses".<ref name="US DoS faq">{{cite web |author=US Department of State |date=30 July 2003 |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/t/pm/rls/fs/23428.htm |title=Frequently Asked Questions About the U.S. Government's Policy Regarding the International Criminal Court (ICC) |access-date=1 January 2007}}</ref> [[Luis Moreno Ocampo|Luis Moreno-Ocampo]], chief ICC prosecutor, stressed in 2011 the importance of politics in prosecutions: "You cannot say al-Bashir is in London, arrest him. You need a political agreement."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=LeBor |first1=Adam |editor1-last=Brûlé |editor1-first=Tyler |title=Don't Judge |journal=Monocle |date=September 2011 |volume=05 |issue=46 |pages=48–49 |publisher=Winkontent Ltd. |location=Midori House, London |issn=1753-2434 |quote=cases are not the same, says Moreno-Ocampo. Arresting a head of state is more than a police matter. "You cannot say al-Bashir is in London, arrest him. You need a political agreement and a broad set of actors."}}</ref> [[Henry Kissinger]] says the checks and balances are so weak that the prosecutor "has virtually unlimited discretion in practice".<ref name="Kissinger">{{cite news |author=Henry A. Kissinger |title=The Pitfalls of Universal Jurisdiction |magazine=[[Foreign Affairs]] |issue=July/August 2001 |page=95 |doi=10.2307/20050228 |jstor=20050228}}</ref>

Lead prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo of [[Argentina]], in office from 2003 to 2012, was succeeded in the role by [[Fatou Bensouda]] of [[Gambia]], who served from 16 June 2012 to 16 June 2021<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.icc-cpi.int/NR/exeres/0E0A4EE7-6C79-4FA1-85CB-4752DEEC1488.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120803032040/http://www.icc-cpi.int/NR/exeres/0E0A4EE7-6C79-4FA1-85CB-4752DEEC1488.htm |archive-date=2012-08-03 |title=The Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute opens its tenth session |author=International Criminal Court |date=14 December 2011}}</ref> (she was elected to the nine-year term on 12 December 2011).<ref name="prosecutor" />

On 12 February 2021, British barrister [[Karim Ahmad Khan|Karim Khan]] was selected in a secret ballot against three other candidates to serve as lead prosecutor as of 16 June 2021. As British barrister, Khan had headed the United Nations' special investigative team when it looked into [[Islamic State]] crimes in Iraq. At the ICC, he had been lead defense counsel on cases from Kenya, Sudan and Libya.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Nichols|first1=Michelle|last2=van den Berg|first2=Stephanie|date=13 February 2021|title=Britain's Karim Khan elected International Criminal Court prosecutor|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-warcrimes-icc-prosecutor/britains-karim-khan-elected-international-criminal-court-prosecutor-idUSKBN2AC2HO?il=0|access-date=14 February 2021}}</ref>

=====Policy papers=====
The Office of the Prosecutor occasionally publishes policy papers that put forth the considerations given to topics the office focuses on, and often the criteria for case selection.<ref>
{{cite web|title=Office of the Prosecutor|url=https://www.icc-cpi.int/about/otp/Pages/otp-policies.aspx|website=Icc-cpi.int|access-date=11 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011230702/https://www.icc-cpi.int/about/otp/Pages/otp-policies.aspx|archive-date=11 October 2016|url-status=live}}
</ref> While a policy paper does not give the Court jurisdiction over a new category of crimes, it promises what the Office of Prosecutor will consider when selecting cases in the upcoming term of service. OTP's policy papers are subject to revision.<ref>
{{cite web|last1=S|first1=Barrie|title=Is the ICC Reconsidering its Policy on the 'Interests of Justice'?|url=https://justiceinconflict.org/2016/09/29/is-the-icc-reconsidering-its-policy-on-the-interests-of-justice/|website=Justice in Conflict|access-date=11 October 2016|date=29 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011223856/https://justiceinconflict.org/2016/09/29/is-the-icc-reconsidering-its-policy-on-the-interests-of-justice/|archive-date=11 October 2016|url-status=live}}
</ref>

The following papers have been published since the start of the ICC:
* 1 September 2007: Policy Paper on the Interest of Justice<ref>
{{cite web|url=https://www.icc-cpi.int//Pages/item.aspx?name=otp-policy-int-just|title=Policy Paper on the Interest of Justice|website=Icc-cpi.int|access-date=11 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011230533/https://www.icc-cpi.int//Pages/item.aspx?name=otp-policy-int-just|archive-date=11 October 2016|url-status=live}}
</ref>
* 12 April 2010: Policy Paper on Victims' Participation<ref>
{{cite web|title=Policy Paper on Victims' Participation|url=https://www.icc-cpi.int//Pages/item.aspx?name=otp-policy-vic-part|website=Icc-cpi.int|access-date=11 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011225556/https://www.icc-cpi.int//Pages/item.aspx?name=otp-policy-vic-part|archive-date=11 October 2016|url-status=live}}
</ref>
* 1 November 2013: Policy Paper on Preliminary Examinations<ref>
{{cite web|title=Policy Paper on Preliminary Examinations|url=https://www.icc-cpi.int//Pages/item.aspx?name=otp-policy-pe-11_2013|website=Icc-cpi.int|access-date=11 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011225207/https://www.icc-cpi.int//Pages/item.aspx?name=otp-policy-pe-11_2013|archive-date=11 October 2016|url-status=live}}
</ref>
* 20 June 2014: Policy Paper on Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes<ref>
{{cite web|title=Policy Paper on Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes|url=https://www.icc-cpi.int//Pages/item.aspx?name=policy-paper-on-sexual-and-gender-based-crimes-05-06-2014|website=Icc-cpi.int|access-date=11 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011230852/https://www.icc-cpi.int//Pages/item.aspx?name=policy-paper-on-sexual-and-gender-based-crimes-05-06-2014|archive-date=11 October 2016|url-status=live}}
</ref>
* 15 September 2016: Policy paper on case selection and prioritisation<ref>
{{cite web|title=Policy paper on case selection and prioritisation|url=https://www.icc-cpi.int//Pages/item.aspx?name=policy-paper-on-case-selection-and-prioritisation|website=Icc-cpi.int|access-date=11 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011225902/https://www.icc-cpi.int//Pages/item.aspx?name=policy-paper-on-case-selection-and-prioritisation|archive-date=11 October 2016|url-status=live}}
</ref>
* 15 November 2016: Policy on Children<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.icc-cpi.int/Pages/item.aspx?name=161115-otp-policy-children|title=Policy on Children|website=icc-cpi.int|access-date=19 February 2020}}</ref>

The paper published in September 2016 announced that the ICC will focus on environmental crimes when selecting cases.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Vidal|first1=John |last2=Bowcott|first2=Owen|title=ICC widens remit to include environmental destruction cases |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global/2016/sep/15/hague-court-widens-remit-to-include-environmental-destruction-cases|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=20 September 2016|date=15 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920220935/https://www.theguardian.com/global/2016/sep/15/hague-court-widens-remit-to-include-environmental-destruction-cases|archive-date=20 September 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The Office will give particular consideration to prosecuting Rome Statute crimes that are committed by means of, or that result in, "inter alia, the destruction of the environment, the illegal exploitation of natural resources or the illegal dispossession of land".<ref>{{cite web|title=Policy Paper on Case Selection and Prioritisation|url=https://www.icc-cpi.int/itemsDocuments/20160915_OTP-Policy_Case-Selection_Eng.pdf |website=Icc-cpi.int|access-date=20 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923015147/https://www.icc-cpi.int/itemsDocuments/20160915_OTP-Policy_Case-Selection_Eng.pdf|archive-date=23 September 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> This has been interpreted as a major shift in environmental law<ref>{{cite web|title=International court to prosecute environmental crimes in major shift|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-landrights-icc-idUSKCN11L2F9|website=Reuters.com|access-date=12 October 2016 |date=15 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012232041/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-landrights-icc-idUSKCN11L2F9|archive-date=12 October 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Vidal|first1=John |last2=Bowcott|first2=Owen|title=ICC widens remit to include environmental destruction cases |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global/2016/sep/15/hague-court-widens-remit-to-include-environmental-destruction-cases|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=12 October 2016|date=15 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012073943/https://www.theguardian.com/global/2016/sep/15/hague-court-widens-remit-to-include-environmental-destruction-cases|archive-date=12 October 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> and a move with significant effects.<ref>{{cite news|title=Is environmental destruction a crime against humanity? The ICC may be about to find out. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/09/16/is-environmental-destruction-a-crime-against-humanity-the-icc-may-be-about-to-find-out/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=12 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012230743/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/09/16/is-environmental-destruction-a-crime-against-humanity-the-icc-may-be-about-to-find-out/|archive-date=12 October 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=CEOs can now be tried in The Hague like war criminals |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/ceos-hague-international-law-tried-environmental-crimes-icc-a7315866.html |newspaper=[[The Independent]]|access-date=12 October 2016 |date=19 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012232913/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/ceos-hague-international-law-tried-environmental-crimes-icc-a7315866.html|archive-date=12 October 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>