The year 2015 has been a memorable year in both a positive and negative way. The acquittal of Mr. Ngudjolo Chui was confirmed by the Appeals Court, which is the first acquittal in appeal by the ICC. The official termination of the case against the sitting president of Kenya Mr. Kenyatta has had an impact on the credibility of the prosecutor and the International Criminal Court itself. Yet, the prosecution displays an increasingly active role as shown by three other cases. The start of the trial against Mr. Ntaganda, the refusal of the prosecutor to investigate the use of force by Israeli Forces during the 2010 naval blockade and the request of the prosecutor to start an investigation in Georgia has shown that. The Georgia request illustrates that the prosecutor is not immune to the criticism it has received for its selection of prosecuting African leaders.
Professor of Politics of International Law at the University of Amsterdam and visiting Professor of International Criminal Law at Shandong University ( Jinan, China). He practices as a lawyer at Knoops advocaten in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Member of the Editorial Board.
