International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals

The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, also referred to as the IRMCT or the Mechanism, is an international court established by the United Nations Security Council in 2010 to perform the remaining functions of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) following the completion of those tribunals' respective mandates.

Background

In the early 1990s, the United Nations Security Council established two criminal courts whose purpose was to investigate and prosecute individuals responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. The first of these courts was the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which was established in 1993 to investigate crimes committed during the Yugoslav Wars. The second court, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), was established the following year to address crimes committed during the Rwandan genocide. Both the ICTY and the ICTR were meant to be temporary institutions that would conclude after their mandate to investigate crimes and prosecute individuals was completed. Although both tribunals have completed substantially all of their mandates, there are residual functions that will not be accomplished for many more years. For example, future trials may be held once remaining ICTR fugitives are captured, convicted persons may still petition for early release, protective orders for witnesses may need to be modified, and the archives that contain confidential documents need to be safeguarded. In order to oversee the residual functions of the ICTY and ICTR in an efficient manner, the Security Council passed Resolution 1966 on 22 December 2010, which created the Mechanism.

Mandate

In Resolution 1966, the Security Council decided that "the Mechanism shall continue the jurisdiction, rights and obligations and essential functions of the ICTY and the ICTR." The Security Council further envisioned that the Mechanism would be "a small, temporary and efficient structure, whose functions and size will diminish over time, with a small number of staff commensurate with its reduced functions." The Mechanism will continue to operate until the Security Council decides otherwise, however it will be subject to a two-year review beginning in 2016.

The Mechanism comprises two branches. One branch covers functions inherited from the ICTR and is located in Arusha, Tanzania. It commenced functioning on 1 July 2012. The other branch is located in The Hague, Netherlands and began operating on 1 July 2013. During the initial period of the Mechanism's work, there was a temporal overlap with the ICTR and the ICTY as these institutions complete outstanding work on any trial or appeal proceedings which are pending as of the commencement dates of the respective branches of the Mechanism.

Fugitives

The tracking, arrest and prosecution of the two remaining fugitives still wanted for trial by the ICTR is a top priority for the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals. As of November 2023, two accused indicted by the ICTR for their participation in the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 remain at large.

Under Article 6(3) of its Statute, the Mechanism shall only retain jurisdiction over those individuals considered to be the most responsible for committing the gravest crimes. In accordance with this Article, the ICTR Prosecutor requested referrals to Rwanda in the cases of two fugitives: Charles Sikubwabo and Charles Ryandikayo.

With the arrest and transfer in 2011 of the last two fugitives for the ICTY, Ratko Mladić and Goran Hadžić, what was originally envisaged as a function of the Mechanism – trial of the ICTY’s remaining fugitives - was completed by the ICTY.

Principals

The Principals of the Mechanism are the three persons who head the three separate organs of the Mechanism.^[1] All principals are appointed to renewable four-year terms.^[1]

President

The President is head and the most senior judge of the Chambers, the judicial division of the Mechanism. The President is appointed by the Secretary-General following consultations with the President of the Security Council and the judges of the Mechanism.^[1]

Name	State	Term began	Term ended	Ref.
Theodor Meron	United States	1 March 2012	18 January 2019	[2]
Carmel Agius	Malta	19 January 2019	30 June 2022	[3]
Graciela S. Gatti Santana	Uruguay	1 July 2022	In office	[4]

Prosecutor

The Prosecutor leads the investigation and prosecution of cases before the Mechanism and is nominated by the Secretary-General and appointed by the Security Council.^[1]

Name	State	Term began	Term ended	Ref.
Hassan Jallow	Gambia, The	1 March 2012	29 February 2016	[2]
Serge Brammertz	Belgium	1 March 2016	In office	[5]

Registrar

The Registrar, appointed by the Secretary-General, leads the Registry, which provides administrative, legal, policy and diplomatic support to Mechanism operations.^[1]

Name	State	Term began	Term ended	Ref.
John Hocking	Australia	18 January 2012	31 December 2016	[2]
Olufemi Elias	Nigeria	1 January 2017	30 June 2020	[6]
Abubacarr Marie Tambadou	Gambia, The	1 July 2020	In office	[7]

Judges

The judges of the Mechanism are elected by the General Assembly from a roster prepared by the Security Council following nominations from member states of the United Nations.^[8] Judges serve for a term of four years and can be reappointed by the Secretary-General with the consultation of the Presidents of the Security Council and of the General Assembly. The Judges are present at the Mechanism only when necessary and at the request of the President. As much as possible, the Judges carry out their functions remotely.^[8]

Name	State	Term began	Term ended	Ref(s).
Carmel Agius	Malta	1 July 2012	In office	[8]
Aydin Sefa Akay	Turkey	1 July 2012	30 June 2018	[8][9]
Yusuf Aksar	Turkey	21 December 2018	In office	[8][10]
René José Andriatianarivelo	Madagascar	20 February 2024	In office	[8][11]
Jean-Claude Antonetti	France	1 July 2012	In office	[8]
Florence Rita Arrey	Cameroon	1 July 2012	In office	[8]
Mustapha El Baaj	Morocco	15 January 2019	In office	[8][12]
Iain Bonomy	United Kingdom	6 February 2020	In office	[8][13]
Solomy Balungi Bossa	Uganda	1 July 2012	11 March 2018	[8][14]
Margaret M. deGuzman	United States	22 December 2021	In office	[8][15]
José R. de Prada Solaesa	Spain	1 July 2012	In office	[8]
Ben Emmerson	United Kingdom	1 July 2012	19 July 2019	[8][13]
Christoph Flügge	Germany	1 July 2012	7 January 2019	[8][16]
Graciela Gatti Santana	Uruguay	1 July 2012	In office	[8]
Burton Hall	Bahamas, The	1 July 2012	In office	[8]
Claudia Hoefer	Germany	21 February 2019	In office	[8][16]
Elizabeth Ibanda-Nahamya	Uganda	19 March 2018	5 January 2023	[14][17]
Vagn Joensen	Denmark	1 July 2012	In office	[8]
Gberdao Gustave Kam	Burkina Faso	1 July 2012	17 February 2021	[8][18]
Liu Daqun	China	1 July 2012	In office	[8]
Joseph Masanche	Tanzania	1 July 2012	In office	[8]
Theodor Meron	United States	1 July 2012	17 November 2021	[8][19]
Bakone Justice Moloto	South Africa	1 July 2012	30 June 2018	[8]
Lydia N. Mugambe Ssali	Uganda	30 May 2023	In office	[20]
Lee G. Muthoga	Kenya	1 July 2012	In office	[8]
Aminatta Lois Runeni N'gum	Gambia, The	1 July 2012	In office	[8]
Prisca Matimba Nyambe	Zambia	1 July 2012	In office	[8]
Alphons M.M. Orie	Netherlands	1 July 2012	In office	[8]
Seymour Panton	Jamaica	28 April 2016	In office	[8][21]
Seon Ki Park	Korea, South	1 July 2012	In office	[8]
Mparany Mamy Richard Rajohnson	Madagascar	1 July 2012	2 October 2018	[8][22]
Mahandrisoa Edmond Randrianirina	Madagascar	29 January 2019	4 October 2023	[8][23][11]
Patrick Lipton Robinson	Jamaica	1 July 2012	17 November 2015	[8][24]
Ivo Nelson de Caires Batista Rosa	Portugal	1 July 2012	In office	[8]
Fatimata Sanou Touré	Burkina Faso	12 August 2021	In office	[8][25]
William H. Sekule	Tanzania	1 July 2012	In office	[8]

See also

• International Criminal Court

References

External links

• United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals