ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo

Biography

Luis Moreno Ocampo, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court since June 2003, began his career as a prosecutor in Argentina. After graduating from the University of Buenos Aires Law School in 1978, he rose to prominence after serving as the assistant prosecutor in the Military Juntas trial, in which military officials and former heads of state were charged with the murder, kidnapping, and torture of as many as 30,000 people known as the desaparecidos, or "the disappeared". These Argentine citizens, made up primarily of trade-unionists, students, and activists, were persecuted by the military dictatorship of Jorge Rafael Videla in an effort to eradicate left-wing opposition. Moreno Ocampo also prosecuted the military leaders accused of malpractice in the Falklands War, as well as the guerilla leaders of two military rebellions in Argentina. He has also litigated in dozens of major corruption cases and served as Prosecutor of the Federal Criminal Court of Buenos Aires.

He established his own private firm, Moreno Ocampo & Wortman Jofre, in 1992, which dealt primarily with corruption as well as criminal and human rights law. In addition, he took several cases concerning political bribery, protection of journalists, and freedom of expression. During this time, Moreno Ocampo was also the president of Transparency International, an anti-corruption NGO, for Latin America and the Carribean. He went on to serve as Associate Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Buenos Aires and as a visiting professor at Stanford University and Harvard Law School. He also served as a consultant for the World Bank and United Nations before being elected, unopposed, into a nine-year term as the ICC's first prosecutor.

The Office of the Prosecutor

Article 42 of the Rome Statute, which established the ICC and was enacted in 2002, defines the terms of the Office of the Prosecutor, which acts as a separate organ of the Court. The Prosecutor has full authority over the management and administration of the office, as well as the power to determine whether or not to investigate a certain case. The Prosecutor may investigate situations that are referred to him by a state party or by the United Nations; or if the Pre-Trial Chamber authorizes investigation based on information received from other sources, such as non-governmental organizations. Once a case is referred to the Office of the Prosecutor, they must conduct a preliminary analysis to determine whether or not there is "a reasonable basis to proceed." In doing so, they evaluate the scale, impact, and nature of the crime to make sure that it is within the jurisdiction of the ICC according to the Rome Statute. The Prosecutor may also investigate crimes without referral that are committed on the territory of an ICC state party or by a national of an ICC state party, as long as he has the authorization of the Pre-Trial Chamber and provided that the courts of that state party are too weak, damaged, or corrupt to address serious violations of international law.

The ICC Under Moreno Ocampo

Since taking office, Moreno Ocampo has investigated and pursued four cases: in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the Central African Republic, and in Darfur. Of these four, all were referred by state parties except Darfur, which was referred by the Security Council. In addition, he and the others in the Office of the Prosecutor (including Deputy Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda; Head of Jurisdiction, Complementarity, and Cooperation Béatrice Le Fraper du Hellen; and Acting Head of Investigations Michel de Smedt) are in the process of conducting preliminary analysis of cases in Chad, Kenya, Afghanistan, Georgia, Colombia, and Palestine, among others.

In total, he and the ICC have issued public arrest warrants against thirteen people -  four of whom are in custody, two of whom have died, and seven of whom remain at large. Among them is Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, who was indicted on seven counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes. Although he has defied the ICC, Moreno Ocampo insists that "...the important thing is for the international community to send a strong message that this cannot happen, a head of State cannot commit crimes against his own citizens, and he has to be stopped. Omar al-Bashir has to face the court."

The number of signatory states who are party to the Rome Statute, and subsequently under the jurisdiction of the ICC, has been slowly increasing. Most recently, in June 2009, Chile ratified the Rome Statute and became the 109th country to recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC. Moreno Ocampo is optimistic about the influence of the ICC, saying that "it will take 20 or 30 years but I believe in the near future all countries will be part of the Court." He adds that "each day is new and different, and there are many challenges. But I think that's why the job is so fascinating. We are conducting trials but we are also learning how to prevent crimes."