The Libyan government has appealed an order by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to hand over Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, son of late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, for trial. Libya insists it can provide a fair trial for Gaddafi, who was indicted by the ICC.

The problem is, the United Nations already referred the situation in Libya to the ICC last spring. The Court then issued arrest warrants for Saif, his father, and Gaddafi's former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senoussi for crimes against humanity stemming from their involvement in the violent crackdown on civilians which took place in Libya for several months last year. Because the UN Security Council referred the situation in Libya to the ICC, the Court has jurisdiction over the case, even though Libya is not an ICC state party. Several months ago, ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo had said Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) agreed to work with the ICC and hand over the indictees. 

I came across an interesting piece by Carter Eskew this week in the Washington Post. The post, "Compromises for Romney?" speculated about concessions Mitt Romney might have to make to please conservatives in his party if he wins the Republican nomination and is elected President this fall. Some of the speculation: John Bolton as Secretary of State; Newt Gingrich as U.N. ambassador; and Rick Santorum as attorney general.

Abdullah el-Senussi, former Libyan intelligence chief and brother-in-law of Muammar Gaddafi, was arrested this weekend in Mauritania.  The big question now is, where and by whom will he be tried for his crimes?

Senussi was indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of crimes against humanity stemming from the government's attacks on civilians last year prior to Gaddafi's fall from power.  However, the ICC is not the only body that wants to bring Senussi to justice-France has also sentenced him in absentia to life in prison for his involvement in the 1989 bombing of a plane over Niger in which 170 passengers, many of them French, were killed.  And Libya wants to punish him for a crackdown on a prison riot in Tripoli in 1996 that left 1200 dead. 

March 14, 2012 marks an extraordinary moment in world history. This morning, the International Criminal Court (ICC) completed its very first trial, convicting Thomas Lubanga Dyilo of forcing children to serve as soldiers in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. More than 74 million viewers have watched Invisible Children's Kony 2012 video, calling for the arrest and ICC trial of Joseph Kony. But few are aware that Lubanga, a man as despicable as Kony, has laid the groundwork for the kind of trial that Joseph Kony surely deserves.