International Criminal Tribunals
Expected Council Action
At the time of writing drafting had begun on a resolution to extend Carla Del Ponte’s term as prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) until 31 December. Del Ponte’s term ends on 15 September 2007 and the Secretary-General has informally indicated that he will be asking the Council to extend Del Ponte’s term to the end of the year. Del Ponte was appointed through resolution 1504 as the prosecutor of the ICTY for a second four-year term from 15 September 2003. The Council is also expected to ask the Secretary-General to nominate Del Ponte’s successor by the end of the year.
The Council is also expected to renew Hassan Jallow’s term as prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Resolution 1505 appointed Hassan Jallow as Chief Prosecutor of the ICTR for four years from 15 September 2003. The Secretary-General is expected to submit a request for a renewal of his term for another four years.
Background
Both the prosecutor of the ICTY and ICTR are appointed by the Security Council on nomination by the Secretary-General for a four-year term. The position is eligible for reappointment.
In August 1999 Carla Del Ponte was appointed prosecutor for the ICTY and ICTR. In 2003, at the same time that the Council came up with the Completion Strategies (that all investigations be completed by 2004, investigations by 2008 and all work by 2010), the Council in resolution 1503 created a separate position for the ICTR prosecutor in order to speed up the work of the International Tribunals.
Key Issues
The key issue for the Council is finding a suitable replacement for Del Ponte by the end of the year. Given the pressure to keep to the ICTY Completion Strategy the new prosecutor will need to quickly be brought up to speed with the activities of the ICTY.
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