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The International Criminal Court’s Chambers Practice Manual

Yvonne McDermott Rees Orcid Logo

Journal of International Criminal Justice, Volume: 15, Issue: 5, Pages: 873 - 904

Swansea University Author: Yvonne McDermott Rees Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1093/jicj/mqx055

Abstract

This article discusses the nature of the International Criminal Court’s Chambers Practice Manual as an interpretative source, in the context of a wider debate on judges as procedural lawmakers in international criminal law. As is clear from the ICC Statute, the Practice Manual should not be seen as...

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Published in: Journal of International Criminal Justice
ISSN: 1478-1387 1478-1395
Published: Oxford University Press (OUP) 2017
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa35478
first_indexed 2017-09-21T19:04:56Z
last_indexed 2023-01-11T14:10:04Z
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spelling 2022-09-28T17:56:00.4188464 v2 35478 2017-09-21 The International Criminal Court’s Chambers Practice Manual e6e1ae537327fc3f38d2af4a9d9834d8 0000-0003-0111-9049 Yvonne McDermott Rees Yvonne McDermott Rees true false 2017-09-21 HRCL This article discusses the nature of the International Criminal Court’s Chambers Practice Manual as an interpretative source, in the context of a wider debate on judges as procedural lawmakers in international criminal law. As is clear from the ICC Statute, the Practice Manual should not be seen as a source of law on a par with the Statute or Rules of Procedure and Evidence, nor even does it represent a secondary source of law. However, this article argues that the Practice Manual oversteps the mark of what could be expected from a guidance document containing merely non-binding recommendations in two important respects. First, as expressly acknowledged by the ICC’s President, the judges have perceived the amendment of the Practice Manual as an alternative to proposing amendments to the Court’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence to the Assembly of States Parties, a practice which has been fraught with difficulty in recent years. Second, the Practice Manual contains explicit instructions to Chambers, including text to be included in Chambers’ decisions, which appears to cross the boundaries of what should be expected from a guidance document. This article further argues that some early decisions of the Court following its adoption give the Practice Manual a normative force that ought not to attach to it. This raises issues of fairness, legal certainty, predictability and coherence, and overall, it is argued that the Practice Manual marks an unforeseen return to judicial law making in international criminal procedure. Journal Article Journal of International Criminal Justice 15 5 873 904 Oxford University Press (OUP) 1478-1387 1478-1395 25 12 2017 2017-12-25 10.1093/jicj/mqx055 COLLEGE NANME Hillary Rodham Clinton Law School COLLEGE CODE HRCL Swansea University 2022-09-28T17:56:00.4188464 2017-09-21T18:26:47.0527575 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Hilary Rodham Clinton School of Law Yvonne McDermott Rees 0000-0003-0111-9049 1 0035478-08022018124328.pdf 35478.pdf 2018-02-08T12:43:28.6100000 Output 334821 application/pdf Accepted Manuscript true 2019-12-25T00:00:00.0000000 true eng
title The International Criminal Court’s Chambers Practice Manual
spellingShingle The International Criminal Court’s Chambers Practice Manual
Yvonne McDermott Rees
title_short The International Criminal Court’s Chambers Practice Manual
title_full The International Criminal Court’s Chambers Practice Manual
title_fullStr The International Criminal Court’s Chambers Practice Manual
title_full_unstemmed The International Criminal Court’s Chambers Practice Manual
title_sort The International Criminal Court’s Chambers Practice Manual
author_id_str_mv e6e1ae537327fc3f38d2af4a9d9834d8
author_id_fullname_str_mv e6e1ae537327fc3f38d2af4a9d9834d8_***_Yvonne McDermott Rees
author Yvonne McDermott Rees
author2 Yvonne McDermott Rees
format Journal article
container_title Journal of International Criminal Justice
container_volume 15
container_issue 5
container_start_page 873
publishDate 2017
institution Swansea University
issn 1478-1387
1478-1395
doi_str_mv 10.1093/jicj/mqx055
publisher Oxford University Press (OUP)
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str Hilary Rodham Clinton School of Law{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}Hilary Rodham Clinton School of Law
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description This article discusses the nature of the International Criminal Court’s Chambers Practice Manual as an interpretative source, in the context of a wider debate on judges as procedural lawmakers in international criminal law. As is clear from the ICC Statute, the Practice Manual should not be seen as a source of law on a par with the Statute or Rules of Procedure and Evidence, nor even does it represent a secondary source of law. However, this article argues that the Practice Manual oversteps the mark of what could be expected from a guidance document containing merely non-binding recommendations in two important respects. First, as expressly acknowledged by the ICC’s President, the judges have perceived the amendment of the Practice Manual as an alternative to proposing amendments to the Court’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence to the Assembly of States Parties, a practice which has been fraught with difficulty in recent years. Second, the Practice Manual contains explicit instructions to Chambers, including text to be included in Chambers’ decisions, which appears to cross the boundaries of what should be expected from a guidance document. This article further argues that some early decisions of the Court following its adoption give the Practice Manual a normative force that ought not to attach to it. This raises issues of fairness, legal certainty, predictability and coherence, and overall, it is argued that the Practice Manual marks an unforeseen return to judicial law making in international criminal procedure.
published_date 2017-12-25T01:26:56Z
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score 11.048042

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