Part 4 Composition and Administration of the Court: Composition et Administration de la Cour, Art.39 Chambers/Les chambres

Subject(s):

Elements of crimes — Pre-Trial Chamber — International criminal law, conduct of proceedings — Evidence

This chapter comments on Article 39 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 39 sets out the organization and functions of Chambers. The Court is required to ‘organize itself’ into the Appeals Division, Trial Division, and Pre-Trial Division, as set out in article 34(b) of the Statute. In each of the three Divisions, the judicial functions of the Court are carried out by Chambers. The Statute gives judges the authority to organize the composition of the Chambers, which has proven difficult because judges are required to agree upon matters in which they may have strong personal interests. The composition of the Appeals Chamber, widely perceived as being the most prestigious, has sometimes sharply divided the judges. The provisions of article 39 are themselves ambiguous enough to allow for conflicting interpretations.