Write a written submission of an amicus curiae to the International Criminal Court (ICC) supported with appropriate references and authorities (i.e literature etc) exploring whether the treatment by China of the Uyghurs falls: (1) within the scope of crimes against humanity under International Law; Or (2) within the scope of genocide under International Law Amicus Curiae brief This is a practice-oriented assessment. It will specifically focus on themes and debates examined in the second part of the module. What is an amicus curiae? You are invited to take on the perspective of an amicus curiae. Traditionally an “amicus curiae”, or “friend of the court”, refers to a person or organisation that is not a party to the proceedings before the court and who assists the court by providing information, legal or factual expertise, or a unique point of view or insight that is relevant to the determination of issues before the court. The submission of amicus curiae briefs is a well-developed practice in many common law jurisdictions, as well as before international human rights tribunals (such as the European Court of Human Rights and Inter-American Court of Human Rights) and international criminal tribunals (including the ICTY, ICTR, SCSL, STL, ECCC). The assessment will be focused on a situation before the International Criminal Court (ICC). Your task will be to write what is called “an amicus curiae brief”. The ICC permits the use of amicus curiae where a Chamber considers it desirable for the proper determination of the case. Applications are granted at the discretion of a Chamber if the Chamber finds that the proposed observations would be “desirable for the proper determination of the case”. A Chamber may invite or give leave for a state, organisation or person to submit written or oral observations on any issue that the Chamber deems appropriate at any stage of the proceedings. (Rule 103 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence). The ICC Statute (Article 68 of the Rome Statute) and Rules include provisions permitting the participation of victims in proceedings. In particular (Rule 93 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence), a Chamber may seek the views of victims not represented in proceedings. During the Reparations phase of proceedings, Article 75(3) of the Rome Statute additionally provides that, prior to making any order for reparations, “the Court 3 may invite and shall take account of representations from or on behalf of the convicted person, victims, other interested persons or interested states”. Moreover, the Prosecutor, when considering whether to initiate an investigation is empowered to seek additional information from States, organs of the United Nations, intergovernmental or non-governmental organizations or any other source considered appropriate (Article 15(2) of the Rome Statute; Article 54(3) once an investigation has commenced). The assessment You will be asked to write a moot amicus curiae. This will be based on the assumption that you have been granted authorization to submit your observations to the Court. It will be moot because it will not be based on an actual situation under investigation or trial at the ICC. However, it will be based on a real situation of conflict and/or human rights abuses. Your task will be to submit observations to the Court detailing why you, as a person, state or organization, believe that a given situation should, or not, fall under the jurisdiction of the Court. This will require you to obtain a good knowledge of the geopolitical dimensions of the situation and of the mandate of the Court. The assessment will include both a formative and a summative component. Formative component of the assessment – A pre-recorded session will be available on Week 9 to explain what this assessment is about. – The lecturer will arrange a live online large group session after week 9 to take questions on this assessment. Summative component of the component You will write a brief based on your readings . You will have to decide and justify whether you are a State, an organization or a physical person. Generally, submissions are limited to questions of law. However, you may have to take into account the geopolitical dimensions of the situation. Formally, your application will need to include the following information: (a) Your name, address and interest in the case as an amicus curiae; (b) Your reasons for believing your observations will aid in the proper determination of the case or issue; (c) Your qualifications and why you, because of your position or expertise, are well positioned to assist the Court; (d) The issue or issues you seek to address. Your arguments will need to be substantiated, from a legal and geopolitical point of view. This means that you will need to build a credible case in favour or against the jurisdiction of the Court in relation to your assigned situation from the point of view of a State, an organization or a physical person. You will also be required to include a bibliography, adequately formatted, listing the sources you have used to build your argument. The bibliography will not be included in the word count. 4 Assessment criteria Beyond the general assessment criteria applied to essays, you will be assessed on your capacity to build a substantiated argument (both legally, and based on geopolitical facts), in a concise and specific manner. Bibliographical resources (posted on Learning Central) – Sarah Williams and Hannah Woolaver, “The role of the amicus curiae before international criminal tribunals”, 6 International Criminal Law Review, 151 (2006) – Linda E. Carter, Mark Steven Ellis and Charles C. Jalloh, The International Criminal Court in an effective global justice system, Elgar, 2016. Chapter 6: NGO Intervention in Court Proceedings through Amicus Curiae Briefs Online resources Website of the ICC Rome Statute of the ICC Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the ICC Justice in conflict blog ICC Chambers have invited or authorised amicus curiae to submit observations on a variety of subjects, such as: the legal definitions of “conscription” and “enlistment” of children; the superior responsibility mode of criminal liability; the modalities of collective victim participation before the Court; gender as an element to be taken into account in drafting reparations orders; the status and capacity of the Libyan judiciary in 2011 and 2012; proposals for projects assisting former child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the context of reparations; the issue of immunities for heads of state or government and the obligation of States Parties to execute ICC arrest warrants. You will find a catalogue of Rule 103 and Article 75(3) applications and observations submitted before the ICC here: https://w
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