ICC Prosecutor should establish external review of misconduct

The NHC recommends an independent review of serious allegations against the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Reports in respected media outlets, suggested that Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), passed sensitive information to a possible war crimes suspect in Libya who was secretly paying him for advice.

The reports are detailing highly problematic activities and improper relationships between Moreno-Ocampo and members of the Office of the Prosecutor. A recent policy brief further points to a range of issues of alleged professional and ethical misconduct of the first Prosecutor as well as its consequences on the current functioning of the office.

The NHC raises these concerns in a letter to the prosecutor of the Court, Mrs. Fatou Bensouda:

“A transparent and broad inquiry by external experts is necessary to restore trust in the Office of the Prosecutor (…). We fear that lack of such trust will weaken the ICC in future investigations and prosecutions, undermining its role as a custodian of justice for victims of international crimes.

Read the letter to the ICC.

Translation of French article on the letter in Mediapart.