The First Decision of the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber: International Criminal Procedure Under Construction

By its decision of 17 February 2005 to convene a status conferenceon the situation in Democratic Republic of Congo, the ICC Pre-TrialChamber I broadened its role by referring to and interpretingthe general provision contained in Article 57(3)(c) of the ICCStatute. It resorted to the status conference in order to exercisegeneral control over the work of the Prosecutor that is notrelated to a specific occasion, with a view to obtaining informationabout the investigations seven months after their initiation.During this time, the Prosecutor had not let the Chamber knowanything about his progress and results. Arguably, the mainreason behind the Chamber's decision was its intention to bothspeed up the investigations and to take care of the rights ofthe ‘prospective suspects’ — a special aspectof the ‘interest of justice’ — to whom thedelay could, obviously, be prejudicial. Thus, the Chamber somewhatshifted the ‘equilibrium’ between legal traditionsreached in Rome, arguably taking on a role more closely resemblingan investigating judge than provided for in the Statute andICC Rules of Procedure and Evidence.