ICC: We reveal individual criminals not countries
Tweet 
Share
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is not tasked to solve a dispute between countries but reveal concrete individuals who committed a crime.
These words were spoken by The Hague prosecutor Fatou Bensouda in an interview with Georgia’s Public Broadcaster.
Bensouda was authorised to investigate possible war crimes committed during a conflict between Russia and Georgia in 2008.
In the interview, she said her aim was to find specific individuals from either side who had committed crimes and to ask for their punishment.
"The Court is not to solve a dispute between the two countries. Our mandate is not even to solve the territorial dispute. This is not what we are busy with,” the prosecutor said.
"Our goal is to find an individual person responsible for each crime committed during the conflict. For this, we need strong proof. Then we will want to punish those people who had actually committed crimes.”
Once criminals are revealed, prosecutor Bensouda will ask the court to issue an arrest warrant in their name.
"This might be one person or more,” she said.
At this stage, the prosecutor was busy selecting members of her team who will later be in charge of the investigation. The team members will be authorised to travel to Georgia, Georgia’s breakaway Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region and Russia to gather any information needed for the investigation.
All materials gathered during the investigation will be confidential until Bensouda publishes her assessment of the situation and asks judges to arrest those who were found to have committed crimes.
When assessing how much time this will take, Bensouda said it could be a year, three years or "as much time as the investigation needs”.
The prosecutor said her office would send a request of cooperation to Georgia, its breakaway Tskhinvali and Russia. She believed all of the sides would cooperate with the investigation but she also said if any side refused to cooperate the investigation would continue anyway.
She added if a crime was committed in any country and no one attempted to investigate it, then it was ICC who took action.
Georgia's Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili is welcoming the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s decision to authorise an investigation into possible war crimes committed during a conflict between Russia and Georgia in 2008.
The International Criminal Court made this decision after examining the prosecutor’s request and supporting material, including representations by or on behalf of 6,335 victims of the conflict. It will be the ICC's first investigation into a conflict outside Africa.
Georgia’s Justice Minister made a special statement today, and welcomed the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s decision to authorise an investigation into possible war crimes committed during a conflict between Russia and Georgia in 2008.
Crime that was allegedly committed on the territory of Georgia will be under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), no matter if one side of the conflict is a member of the Rome Statute or not,” top ICC prosecutor said.
One of the top prosecutors working at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, is in Georgia, hoping to investigate allegations of war crimes committed during the Russia-Georgia war in August 2008.
In a statement today the Court said Bensouda concluded there was a "reasonable basis to believe" crimes had been committed during the short war over the Russian-backed breakaway Georgian province of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).
Tbilisi: Refusal won’t hamper investigation
Russia is refusing to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) as it investigates possible war crimes committed during a conflict between Russia and Georgia in 2008.
Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has confirmed Georgia is ready to collaborate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) as it investigates possible war crimes committed during a conflict between Russia and Georgia in 2008.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili met with the International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda at the 54th Munich Security Conference in Germany today. Kvirikashvili and Bensouda discussed an ongoing investigation into Russian war crimes during the 2008 Russia-Georgia war.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is holding its regional conference in Tbilisi and marking the 20th anniversary of signing the Rome Statute.
Prosecutor of the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) Fatou Bensouda says that she may complete the investigation of the Russia-Georgia 2008 war by the end of 2020, before her term in office expires, the Georgian Justice Ministry reports. The investigation has been running since early 2015.