Plea Bargaining Before the International Criminal Court: Suggestions Taken from the Experience of the Ad Hoc Tribunals

Abstract

The UN-established ad hoc Tribunals (ICTY and ICTR) have been the first international criminal courts to dispose of cases through plea agreements. The consensual disposal of grave international crimes such as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity has given rise to serious controversy and heated debates, especially in light of the broad and multifaceted goals that international criminal justice is meant to pursue. It is no coincidence, therefore, that plea bargaining provisions were not included in the Statutes nor in the Rules of Procedure and Evidence (RPE) of these courts and that the ICTY/ICTR judges initially rejected negotiated outcomes as incompatible with the broad and unique mandate of the Tribunals.