International Democracy Watch

In December 2019, the Coalition for the ICC (CICC), a program of the World Federalist Movement, successfully facilitated once again the participation of hundreds of civil society representatives in the 18th Session of the Assembly of States Parties.

The Assembly is the legislative arm of the International Criminal Court, where citizens joined state representatives, Court staff and others in discussing key issues related to the functioning of the Rome Statute system of justice as a whole in the coming year.

One such issue was the establishment of a transparent and independent review of the Court and its organs, known as the Independent Expert Review. The Coalition has engaged with this process in a number of ways, including by: actively participating in a meeting between the Experts and civil society in late February, regularly updating members on the review process, and encouraging written submissions to the experts. The CICC has also followed closely the elections scheduled to take place this year. On the election of the Prosecutor, several CICC members met with the Committee on the Election of the Prosecutor in order to exchange views on the process. On the election of six new judges, the Coalition Secretariat updates its members regularly on the nomination process, and plans to engage with the candidates following the close of the nomination period.