Resources
Friday, May 27, 2022
  • Login
Journalists for Justice
No Result
View All Result

Browse by Topic:

  • Home
  • Communities of Justice
  • Opinion & Analysis
  • Human Rights
  • Elections
  • About US
  • Our Work
  • Careers
No Result
View All Result
Journalists for Justice
  • Home
  • Communities of Justice
  • Opinion & Analysis
  • Human Rights
  • Elections
  • About US
  • Our Work
  • Careers
No Result
View All Result
Journalists for Justice
No Result
View All Result
Home ICC Cases Africa Cases

ICC Appeals Chamber adjourns to consider submissions on the acquittal of Gbagbo and Blé Goudé

Millicent ZighebyMillicent Zighe
June 26, 2020
in Africa Cases, ICC Cases, ICJ, Rulings, Victim Networks
Reading Time: 6 mins read
A A
0
Geert-Jan Knoops and his client, former Ivory Coast Cabinet Minister Charles Blé Goudé, before the start of an appeals hearing at the ICC on Monday, June 22, 2020.

Geert-Jan Knoops and his client, former Ivory Coast Cabinet Minister Charles Blé Goudé, before the start of an appeals hearing at the ICC on Monday, June 22, 2020.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

By Millicent Zighe

The prosecution has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to reverse the acquittal of former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo and his former Cabinet Minister Charles Blé Goudé and declare a mistrial.

Lawyers for Gbagbo and Blé Goudé argued before the Appeals Chamber on Wednesday that they should not grant the prosecution’s proposed remedy of a mistrial because the prosecution’s appeal against their client’s acquittal was not about the facts or evidence presented at trial.

The defence teams of Gbagbo and Blé Goudé argued that the prosecution’s appeal was about procedural and legal errors and declaring a mistrial was not a suitable remedy for such errors.

RelatedStories

Gicheru witness tampering trial starts before the ICC

Trial Chamber VI to hear Said Abdel Kani case

Court turns down bid to introduce elusive witness’s testimony, but allows four other statements

Trial Chamber I acquitted Gbagbo and Blé Goudé in a 2-1 decision on January 15, 2019. Six months later, on July 16, 2019, the trial chamber rendered the written reasons for the majority decision and the dissenting opinion. Judges Cuno Tarfusser, Geoffrey Henderson and Olga Herrara Carbuccia formed Trial Chamber I.

Judges Tarfusser and Henderson are the ones who decided to acquit Gbagbo and Blé Goudé, each of whom had been charged with four counts of crimes against humanity for their alleged roles in the violence that followed the November 2010 presidential election.

Senior appeals lawyer Helen Brady said the prosecution was asking the chamber to, “reverse the (acquittal) decision, declare a mistrial, (and) turn the case over to the prosecution.”

She said if the Appeals Chamber were to grant this remedy then the prosecution would consider whether to seek a retrial.

“To clarify, we are not asking the Appeals Chamber to order a retrial. However, you could do so if you determine that to be the correct remedy,” said Brady.

The prosecution, the defence and lawyer for victims all made submissions on Wednesday on the remedy the prosecution proposed in its appeal. They also made their sum-up arguments at the end of the day’s hearing.

Wednesday was the third day of hearings the Appeals Chamber held to hear arguments on the prosecution’s appeal. The hearings began on Monday when the different lawyers presented their arguments on the prosecution’s first ground of appeal. On Tuesday, they made their submissions on the prosecution’s second ground of appeal and answered questions from the judges.

The prosecution has appealed against the January 15, 2019 acquittal of Gbagbo and Blé Goudé arguing Trial Chamber I used the wrong provision of the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding law, when deciding to acquit the two Ivorian politicians. This is the prosecution’s first ground of appeal.

The prosecution’s second ground of appeal is the trial judges did not set a standard of proof when they received submissions on whether Gbagbo and Blé Goudé had a case to answer at the end of the prosecution’s case. It is on the basis of those submissions, and hearings on the issue of whether Gbagbo and Blé Goudé had a case to answer, that the majority of Trial Chamber I decided to acquit the two men.

On Wednesday, Paolina Massidda, the lawyer for victims in the case of Gbagbo and Blé Goudé, told the court that the victims wanted their acquittal reversed.

“Given the gravity of the identified errors and their impact on the overall fairness of the proceedings, the declaration of a mistrial in our submissions is the most appropriate remedy,” said Massidda.

Lawyers for Gbagbo and Blé Goudé told the Appeals Chamber that courts may declare a mistrial when prosecution witnesses have been threatened or the prosecution’s evidence has been tampered with. They argued that in the trial of Gbagbo and Blé Goudé the prosecution was able to present evidence and witnesses without any hinderance but the prosecution ended up presenting a weak case that could not lead to a conviction.

“The general findings of the (trial) chamber have not been challenged neither has the standard of proof or general conclusions of the (trial) chamber. The fact the prosecutor is formally challenging the acquittal, does not mean to say she is challenging it on merit because she’s not talking about any factual errors,” said Dov Jacobs, a lawyer for Gbagbo.

When he made his summing-up submissions, Geert-Jan Alexander Knoops, Blé Goudé’s lead lawyer, argued that during trial the evidence presented against his client was circumstantial and did not tie him to the crimes he was alleged to have committed.

“This case was totally built on inferences. There was no direct evidence whatsoever. So then of course in a halfway stage a chamber is confronted with the question of whether, based on inferences, there is a case to answer,” said Knoops.

In his summing-up arguments, Emmanuel Altit, Gbagbo’s lead lawyer, said the prosecution’s appeal was “unfocussed”. He said the prosecution had asked for a mistrial so as to blame the acquittal on the majority of Trial Chamber I.

“In other words, the notion of a mistrial seems here to be used by the prosecutor to save face for her, for her to give the impression to the outside world that the acquittal was not her fault. That the acquittal was not because of a botched investigation,” said Altit.

Brady told the Appeals Chamber the prosecution refuted the assertion the defence made that it was seeking a declaration of mistrial so that the chamber could vacate the charges and open the way for the prosecution to bring new charges without having to go through a fresh pre-trial process before going to trial.

“The fact is if you declare a mistrial the charges will be vacated, the fact is we will have to go through that process again (a pre-trial confirmation of charges process before a trial),” said Brady as she made her summing-up submissions.

She said that if the appeal was granted and the prosecution decided to seek a retrial then a decision may be made to narrow the charges.

“I can say today that would be on the basis of the facts and circumstances of the charges found by Judge Carbuccia (in her dissenting opinion),” said Brady.

After hearing the summing-up arguments of all lawyers, the Appeals Chamber adjourned to consider their submissions. The Appeals Chamber has up to 10 months to render its written judgment, according to the fourth edition of the Chambers Practice Manual of the ICC.

Previous Post

Defence lawyers say prosecution’s evidence against Gbagbo and Blé Goudé was weak

Next Post

Two victims’ lawyers in Kenyatta case in line to become next ICC prosecutor

Millicent Zighe

Millicent Zighe

Related Posts

Kenyan lawyer Paul Gicheru at the opening of his trial at the International Criminal Court on February 15, 2022. Photo credit: @ICC-CPI

Gicheru witness tampering trial starts before the ICC

February 16, 2022
Mr Said during the opening of the confirmation of charges hearing at the seat of the Court in The Hague (The Netherlands) on 12 October 2021 ©ICC-CPI

Trial Chamber VI to hear Said Abdel Kani case

December 20, 2021
Paul Gicheru appearing before the ICC via video-link from the ICC Detention Centre on 6 November 2020. Photo credit: ICC-CPI

Court turns down bid to introduce elusive witness’s testimony, but allows four other statements

December 17, 2021
Special Criminal Court Arrests CAR Minister Bouba for War Crimes. Photo: News Central TV

Pressure mounts for CAR minister to face justice

December 2, 2021
ICC Trial Chamber VIII declares Mr Al Mahdi guilty of the war crime of attacking historic and religious buildings in Timbuktu and sentences him to nine years' imprisonment. Photo credit: @ICC-CPI

Al Mahdi to be released early after ICC cuts sentence by two years

December 1, 2021
Dominic Ongwen's appeal hearing coming up in February 2022. Photo credit: @ICC-CPI.

Ongwen’s appeal hearing to start in February 2022

November 26, 2021
Next Post
Charles C. Jalloh (left) and Sabine Nölke (right). Jalloh chaired the panel of experts and Nölke chaired the committee that oversaw the process of shortlisting candidates for the position of ICC Prosecutor.

Two victims’ lawyers in Kenyatta case in line to become next ICC prosecutor

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Login
Notify of
Please login to comment
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
No Result
View All Result

Recent Posts

  • Said Abdel Kani to remain in custody as Appeals Chamber rejects his plea for release
  • Are we ready? CSOs audit Kenya’s election preparedness
  • Parties prepare to wind up Gicheru case
  • Hope at last for Kenyan victims, but is TFV’s planned support enough?
  • Gicheru asks ICC judge to admit new evidence

Recent Comments

  • JFJ - Journalists for Justice on Kenyan lawyer denies bribery charges at the ICC
  • JFJ - Journalists for Justice on You did me wrong, Bemba tells ICC as he demands 70 million euros
  • JFJ - Journalists for Justice on Two victims’ lawyers in Kenyatta case in line to become next ICC prosecutor
  • JFJ - Journalists for Justice on Profiles of the four people shortlisted for the job of ICC Prosecutor
  • Write My Essay on Afghanistan case fails to take off at the ICC — pragmatism’ or surrender to the powerful?

Archives

Categories

JFJ – Journalists for Justice

We call out impunity wherever it occurs; we advocate justice for all victims of atrocity crimes; and we work with people of goodwill everywhere who share our values.

Browse by Topics:

Archives by Month:

Never Again
INTAHE
BarometreVerite
The Victims' Bantaba
No Result
View All Result
  • Confronting Impunity
  • Communities of Justice
  • Opinion
  • About US
  • Our Work
  • Login

Copyright © 2019. Journalists for Justice has asserted its right to be recognized as creators and owners of the content here. Reproduction in part or in whole is permitted on condition that JFJ is acknowledged and notified.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
wpDiscuz