ICC Decision on the Request of the Kenyan Government to Submit Amicus Curiae Observations

Yesterday, 8 October 2013 the Trial Chamber V(a) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a decision on the case The Prosecutor v. William Samoei Ruto and Joshua Arap Sang.

Decision on the Request of the Government of Kenya to Submit Amicus Curiae Observations

The Chamber authorises the Government of Kenya to Submit Amicus Curiae Observations in response to the “concern raised by the Court regarding the possible impact of the resolutions made by Kenya's National Assembly and Senate [...] regarding Kenya's withdrawal from the Rome Statute”.
 The Government of Kenya should file its written submissions no later than 16 October 2013 at 16:00. Parties and participants are invited to file their responses to such submissions no later than 18 October 2013 at 16:00.

Context: According to Rule 103(1) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the ICC, at any stage of the proceedings, a Chamber may, if it considers it desirable for the proper determination of the case, invite or grant leave to a State, organization or person to submit, in writing or orally, any observation on any issue that the Chamber deems appropriate.

The Chamber is currently considering the issue of the impact of the debate and resolutions of the Kenyan Parliament regarding Kenya's status as a State Party to the Rome Statute on the safety, physical and psychological well-being of witnesses testifying in the Ruto and Sang case.

Judges have considered that “submissions from the Government of Kenya on these resolutions may be of assistance to the Chamber [… and] desirable for the proper determination of the issues under consideration by the Chamber.” 

 Download Decision on the Request of the Government of Kenya to Submit Amicus Curiae Observations

For more information on this case visit the ICC website

D-Day: Deputy President William Ruto and Journalist Joshua Sang at the International Criminal Court

Khan, Sang and DP William Ruto. Photo Courtesy of DPPS

Ruto and Sang Case
Press Conference September 9, 2013 at The Hague


Pre Trial Reads

1. Reporting Kenya. - ICC Prosecutor, Defence Gear Up for Kenya Trial by Simon Jennings. 
2. Daily Maverick. - Analysis: Ruto and Kenyatta are still one step ahead of the ICC by Simon Alison
3. Daily Nation. FULL COVERAGE: Ruto, Sang stand trial at The Hague
4. Financial Times. - ICC under scrutiny as Kenya’s deputy president faces trial by Katrina Manson
5. Washington Post. - International Criminal Court tries Kenya deputy president Ruto for post-election violence by AP
6. RFI. - Phil Clark: "The ICC has a certain political naivete" by Olivier Rogez
7. New York Times. - Justice for Kenyan by Kofi Annan

'One concrete outcome was the Waki commission, a national inquiry into the postelection violence. It concluded that the violence was not just spontaneous, but, in at least some areas, a result of planning and organization, often with the involvement of politicians and businessmen. This was not surprising — politicians hungry for power have long exploited Kenya’s ethnic divisions with impunity.' – Kofi Annan 

Trial Watchers Kenya
The Open Society Foundation funded ICC Kenya Monitor is a good resource to track the Ruto and Sang Case.

The other site to check one's in a while is the africog site

Download OSF briefing paper of the trial here