The Raison D’être of the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court

Abstract

This chapter refrains from any attempt to interpret the provisions of the Statute and the Rule of Procedure and Evidence of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and primarily quotes from the provisions of the founding texts without comment. Nevertheless, without venturing into an interpretation that would be inappropriate, the chapter sheds some light on the purpose of the Pre-Trial Chamber so as to indicate the various interests that the States Parties, when drafting the Rome Statute, felt it important to protect during what is a sensitive phase of criminal proceedings: investigation and prosecution prior to the commencement of the trial. All amendments to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) Rules of Procedure and Evidence were adopted by the judges on the basis of their experience of international legal practice with a view to rendering the trial process more efficient. Keywords: constitutive provisions; ICTY rules; International Criminal Court (ICC); Pre-Trial Chamber; Rome Statute