On 5 September 2011, the president of the Assembly of States Parties, Ambassador Christian Wenaweser, extended the deadline for member states to nominate candidates for the six pending vacant judicial positions on the ICC bench. These six judges will be elected by the Assembly at its meeting in December.
This extension, until 16 September, allowed states parties to fulfill all the necessary requirements for the elections to proceed. As of the extended deadline, nominees which met these requirements had been submitted for consideration.
Minimum Requirements Met
Expertise List requirement
The minimum voting requirements (MVR) for candidates with a background in criminal law and procedure (List A) were 3, the minimum nomination requirements (MNR) were 3, and a total of 16 candidates had been nominated as of 16 September 2011. There were no MVRs or MNRs for candidates with expertise in international law (List B), but 3 candidates had been nominated by the extended deadline.
Regional criteria
In my previous post, I highlighted that candidates from Latin America and the Caribbean was the only MNR still unfulfilled. Three 3 candidates had been nominated, 1 short of the required four. During the extended nomination period, two additional nominations were put forward, thereby fulfilling and surpassing the MNR. There are now 5 candidates nominated from that region.
Gender criteria
There was no MVR for female candidates as eight of the remaining judges will be women. The necessary nominations for male nominees was four, with at least two needing to be elected in December. With 17 male nominees, the gender related MVRs were easily met.
Final Slate
With the fulfillment of each of the required minimum nomination requirements and the close of nominations on 16 September, the list of nominees for the six ICC judgeships is as follows:
| Nominee | Region | List | Gender |
| Rosolu John BANKOLE THOMPSON | Africa (Sierra Leone) | A | male. |
| Ajmi BEL HAJ HAMOUDA | Africa (Tunisia) | A | male. |
| Vinod BOOLELL | Africa (Mauritius) | A | male. |
| Modeste-Martineau BRIA | Africa (CAR) | A | male. |
| Anthony Thomas Aquinas CARMONA | GRULAC (Trinidad and Tobago) | A | male |
| Bruno CATHALA | WEOG (France) | A | male |
| Eduardo CIFUENTES MUÑOZ | GRULAC (Colombia) | A | male |
| Władysław CZAPLIŃSKI | Eastern Europe (Poland) | B | male |
| Miriam DEFENSOR-SANTIAGO | Asia (Philippines) | B | female |
| Robert FREMR | Eastern Europe (Czech Republic) | A | male |
| Olga Venecia HERRERA CARBUCCIA | GRULAC (Dominican Republic) | A | female |
| Gberdao Gustave KAM | Africa (Burkina Faso) | A | male. |
| Javier LAYNEZ POTISEK | GRULAC (Mexico) | A | male |
| Antoine Kesia-Mbe MINDUA | Africa (DRC) | A | male. |
| Howard MORRISON | WEOG (United Kingdom) | A | male |
| Hamani Mounkaila NOUHOU | Africa (Niger) | A | male. |
| Chile OBOE-OSUJI | Africa (Nigeria) | A | male. |
| George A. SERGHIDES | Asia (Cyprus) | A | male |
| Jorge Antonio URBINA ORTEGA | GRULAC (Costa Rica) | B | male |
or sortable table
of the candidates.
May the most qualified candidates win!
Why is the picture of the colombian nominee featured when there are 18 candidates ,various criteria and 2 lists, whats the agenda ? There are other candidates with similar experiences but received awards for judicial, academic, and other professional achievements. This article is far therefore from being a “global” announcement with one pic.
Dear Rs_Europe,
Thank you for your comment.
I posted the picture of the Colombian candidate, since Colombia has been a situation under analysis at the ICC for more than 5 years now.
All of the candidates hold extensive and impressive credentials- I will consider your comment for the upcoming posts.
With best regards,
Mariana Rodriguez-Pareja
Dear Rs_Europe, Thank you for your comment. I posted the picture of the Colombian candidate, since Colombia has been a situation under analysis at the ICC for more than 5 years now. All of the candidates hold extensive and impressive credentials- I will consider your comment for the upcoming posts. With best regards, Mariana Rodriguez-Pareja
Thank you Mariana for writing on this important topic. This election will be very important and even sentimental. A candidate is a former ICC Registrar. Two other candidates have been nominated by states that only recently completed the long-awaited process of ratification from under-represented regions (Asia and Middle East) (Philippines and Tunisia). Situation and potential situation countries have also nominated candidates (Colombia, Nigeria, DRC, CAR) Other states have nominated candidates for the first time, (Cyprus and Dom. Rep among others).
As many of your readers know the NGOs members of the Coalition for the ICC consider the election of extremely qualified judges a key factor for the effectiveness of the ICC. The candidates thus have responded to a questionnaire prepared by the NGOs. The answers of the candidates can be find here http://coalitionfortheicc.org/?mod=electionjudgessixth2011.
We hope that states understand that the ICC need real judges. And for candidates under list A, this should be the prioritary criteria. The Rome Statute is complex and unique, but can be learned through intensive study process, whereas being a judge, a real judge can only be learned through a life-time of experience. Quasi-judge and Court-related experience, or “exposure” to court can not substitute the knowledge of a true judicial career. We hope that indeed the States will vote for the best! –Parliamentarians for Global Action
Thank you, Deborah and PGA for your comment.