On 5 December 2022, the 21st session of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened in The Hague, The Netherlands. The ASP is set to tackle an ambitious agenda, including topics such as the ongoing review process of the Court, the election of ASP and ICC officials, and the adoption of the 2023 budget.

Opening Session 

The session was opened by the President of the Assembly of States Parties, Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi, who reported on the activities of the Assembly in the past year. The President called for renewed support to the Court, an essential element of realizing the Court´s mandate.

President Fernández also emphasized the importance of strengthening the selection and election processes of ICC and ASP officials, and the vetting of candidates. She reported that the Bureau recommended a due diligence process for judges, starting with those that are to be elected in December 2023.  On behalf of the Bureau, she recommended that the ASP considers supporting the Independent Oversight Mechanism with more resources to carry out this work. The Bureau will soon begin to work on establishing a permanent vetting process for all elections.

Report on the activities of the Court 

During the first plenary, the Assembly received briefings on the reports of activities submitted by the Court and other organs to the Assembly. ICC President Piotr Hofmanski underscored that the ICC is drawing to a close on an exceptional year and noted that the workload reached unprecedented heights, as demands and expectations toward the Court remain high.

The ICC President also called for States Parties to provide the Court with a sufficient and balanced regular budget, so it has the capacity to support all simultaneous trials and is better prepared for the future, stressing the need for enhanced cooperation between States and the Court.

Report of the ICC Prosecutor

Prosecutor Karim Khan underlined the importance the ICC, nearly 25 years after the adoption of the Rome Statute.

He  stressed the need to strengthen collaboration with key stakeholders, including  non-states parties and civil society, among others, and to work collectively towards making justice more effective.

Finally, the ICC Prosecutor called on States Parties to make sure that budget promises are realized, adding that if the Court is not supported now, many questions will need to be answered later.

Report of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims (TFV)

Minou Tavarez Mirabal, Chair of the Board of Directors of the TFV addressed the General Debate in her first ASP as the Chair. She provided updates on the activities of the Trust Fund and its Board of Directors in 2022 with the priority set on fundraising and implementing activities, an in this regard she highlighted the ongoing reparations by the Trust Fund in several situation countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Uganda. Tavarez Mirabal also reiterated the centrality of visibility and communications efforts by the Trust Fund regarding its assistance programs and with the aim to increase fundraising efforts.

She concluded by recalling the centrality of victims in the Rome Statue system, so statements by States Parties in this regard should be accompanied by sufficient funds.

Review of the ICC and Rome Statute System

Ambassador Paul van den Ijssel (Netherlands) and Ambassador Michael Imran Kanu (Sierra Leone), co-chairs and States Parties representatives of the ICC Review Mechanism, provided an update on the work of the Mechanism's activities throughout 2022, highlighting the invaluable participation of civil society, which has been engaged in discussions on the assessment of recommendations by and providing valuable suggestions and perspectives, including from situation countries.

In their statements, the co-chairs reported that the assessment of the majority of the recommendations issued by the Independent Expert Review have been completed, and the focus next will be the implementation of positively assessed recommendations.

States in Arrears

The Assembly also considered the agenda item of states in arrears. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela requested an exemption to the loss of their voting rights, which was granted by the Assembly. States in arrears lose the right to vote in ASP elections.

CBF Elections

States have also been engaging in consultations to elect six members of the Committee on Budget. However, the Bureau did not reach an agreement on the composition of the Bureau and appointed Canada as a facilitator to reach agreement on this issue.  

General Debate Day One

The General Debate, kicked off in the afternoon with Ministers of 27 states parties taking the floor: the Czech Republic on behalf of the European Union, Slovenia, State of Palestine, Liechtenstein, Botswana, Nigeria, Colombia, Guinea, Norway, Chile, Luxembourg, Finland, Austria, New Zealand, Poland, Estonia, Perú, Slovakia, Malta, Portugal, Belgium, Sweden, Lithuania, France, Cyprus, Argentina and the United Kingdom . 

Statements delivered at the Assembly will be made accessible here.

Key topics during the General Debate included the importance of the implementation of recommendations by the Independent Expert Review; the continued need of political support to the Court and for effective cooperation; the ongoing need to elect the most highly qualified officials in merit-based elections, including the upcoming elections of the Registrar; and the ICC’s resource needs. States Parties also acknowledged the role that civil society and human right defenders play in the pursuit of the Court's mandate, and the need to protect them.

Many States also referenced the continued goal of reaching universal ratification of the Rome Statute and invited all non-State Parties to accede to it.

Finally, several States referred to the need to place victims at the center of the Court’s work, to ensure they see justice done.

The General Debate will continue in the morning of Tuesday 6 December. Following the conclusion of statements by States Parties, observer states, international organizations and non-governmental organizations will take the floor, including statements from the Coalition and its members.

Other meetings and side-events

Check the list of all ASP21 side events here.

On Day One of the Assembly, the following side-events were held:

• “Investigating and Prosecuting Cyberwarfare at the ICC,” (co-hosted by Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Portugal, Switzerland and the Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression)
• The MLA Initiative: Towards a new Convention on International Cooperation in the Investigation and Prosecution of the Crime of Genocide, Crimes against Humanity, War Crimes and other International Crimes (co-hosted by Argentina, Belgium, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Senegal and Slovenia)
• “Realising Reparative Justice for Victims of International Crime: impact results, reflections, and what States Parties can do,” (co-hosted by Finland, Sweden and the Trust Fund for Victims)
• The launch of the Annual Report of the Office of the Prosecutor.

• The Trials at the ICC – How long is Too Long (co-hosted by Germany and the Nuremberg Academy)
• Pursuit of Intersectional Justice at the International Criminal Court and Beyond: A closer look at the intersectional dimensions of slavery crimes (co-hosted by Argentina, Australia, Colombia, Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA), Emergent Justice Collective, Global Justice Center (GJC) and Justice Rapid Response (JRR))
• Possibilities and Limitations of the Bangladesh/Myanmar Precedent: Jurisdiction Over Transboundary Crimes Against Belarusian, Chinese and Syrian Victims (co-hosted by the Netherlands and Legal Action Worldwide)
• Shocking the Conscience of Humanity: From Gravity Theory to Practice. Book Launch for Judge Professor Margaret deGuzman (co-hosted by the Gambia and the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG))

Outside the Assembly

Defense and Victims’ representative teams protested outside of the World Forum in The Hague, the venue for the ASP21. This protest follows the strike of legal representatives' teams taking place in protest of the failed seven-year negotiations to ensure adequate and equitable remuneration and social protections for legal representative teams. A communiqué on the strike, protest and demands by legal representatives is available here.