FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Civil Society Expresses Concern About Nomination Process in the
Election of Judges to the International Criminal Court
Nomination Process Not Following Established Criteria, Groups Say

(New York, November 29, 2002) - The NGO Coalition for the
International Criminal Court (Coalition) expressed concern today that
some candidates for judgeships at the newly-formed International
Criminal Court (ICC) have not been nominated in accordance with the
criteria provided in the Rome Statute of the ICC, or with the
nomination procedures adopted by the Assembly of States Parties
(ASP), the ICC's governing body. Unless extended, the nomination
period will close on November 30, 2002; elections are expected to
take place during resumed first session of the ASP from February 3-7,
2003.

"If some governments do not follow the legal requirements for
nominations it could undermine the integrity of the election process,
the Statute and the new Court," stated William R. Pace, Convenor of
the global Coalition for the International Criminal Court.

The Coalition is concerned that not all candidates have been
nominated in accordance with Article 36 of the Rome Statute, which
requires that one of two procedures be followed: that used to
nominate judges for the International Court of Justice, or that which
governments use for nomination to their highest judicial offices. A
primary purpose of this requirement is to ensure that highly
qualified individuals are nominated. Reportedly, some government
leaders have ignored or circumvented these procedures in favor of
nominating persons of their own choice.

Furthermore, the Coalition is aware of complaints from members and
governments that some candidates may have been improperly listed in
terms of their legal backgrounds and expertise. The nomination and
election procedures require candidates to be "listed" in one of two
categories. "List A" candidates must have established competence in
criminal law and procedure, such as through experience as a judge,
prosecutor or advocate. "List B" candidates must have expertise in
international law. Because the Rome Statute requires that the
majority of elected judges have qualifications from "list A", some
governments are reportedly placing their "list B" qualified
candidates on "list A" to improve their chances of election.
"The real concern here is not so much fudged election tactics," said
Pace, "but rather the effect mismatched qualifications will have on
the Court's functioning."

Pam Spees of the Women's Caucus for Gender Justice, a Coalition
Steering Committee member, explained in further detail, saying, "The
Statute provides that the pre-trial and trial chambers be composed
predominantly of judges with criminal trial experience, which are
those from 'list A', so it is imperative that only judges fully
meeting those qualifications are on that list."

The Coalition is also concerned that not all nominees have presented
statements detailing their qualifications, which nomination
procedures require be posted to the UN web site
(http://www.un.org/law/icc/elections/judges/judges_nominations.htm [2]).

Candidates for the eighteen judge positions may be nominated by any
country that is a State Party to the ICC, and a minimum number of
candidates by region, gender and legal expertise must be presented
before the nomination period will close. The earliest possible
deadline is November 30, 2002, at which time the nomination period
may be extended until December 8 in order to provide more time to
secure the broadest possible range of candidates.

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About the NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court
The NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court (Coalition) is
a network of over 1,000 civil society organizations and legal
associations working to support a permanent, fair and independent
International Criminal Court. Established in 1995, the Coalition is
the leading source of information regarding the ICC. For more
information, please visit http://www.iccnow.org [3].

Adele Waugaman, Media Liaison
Coalition for the International Criminal Court

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