Appeals Judge Recuses Herself from Lubanga Appeal
International Criminal Court Appeals Judge Akua Kuenyehia has removed herself from hearing the appeal of the trial court decision suspending the case against Thomas Lubanga of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Judge Kuenyehia sat on the pre-trial chamber that approved the warrant and initial indictment against Lubanga. Another judge who has not been involved in the pre-trial or trial chamber decisions has been assigned to her seat on the Appeals Chamber. The process is explained in the Open Society blog on the Lubange trial here.
Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is the first person to face trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, The Netherlands for war crimes. He is also the first person ever to have been charged with recruiting and using child soldiers as a war crime. Lubanga was the leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was brought before the ICC in 2007, his trial started in January 2009, the defense began its case in January 2010.
Last month, the trial chamber suspended the trial based on allegations that a prosecution investigator, identified as “Intermediary 143″ bought or otherwise influenced the testimony of defense witnesses. The trial chamber ordered the prosecutor to identify “Intermediary 143″ and when the prosecution did not comply ordered the trial suspended and Lubanga released finding that the refusal to disclose the identity of the intermediary to the defense had denied Lubanga a fair trial on the charges. The court in its order said:
Whilst these circumstances endure, the fair trial of the accused is no longer possible, and
justice cannot be done, not least because the judges will have lost control of a
significant aspect of the trial proceedings as provided under the Rome Statute framework.
The Open Society Institute detailed the court’s decision here.
The prosecution has appealed the order suspending the case and the order directing Lubanga’s release on the grounds that he might flee and not return to the court if released from custody.
