Advisory committee ranks Justice Ishaq Bello low for ICC job

The advisory committee of the International Criminal Court (ICC) ranked the performance of Justice Ishaq Bello low in the assessment exercise for election to the Court’s jury in 2020.

The ICC, with headquarter in The Hague, Netherlands, prosecutes international crimes, crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide, and aggression by nationals of the 123-member countries.

President Muhammadu Buhari had in June nominated Justice Bello, who is the Chief Judge of the FCT High Court, for the contest. He was among the 20 nominated for the election scheduled for the 19th session of the Assembly of States parties, which will be held at the United Nations, New York, from December 7 – 17, 2020.

According to the Rome Statutes, every three years, the Assembly replaces one-third of its 18 judges by electing six new judges for non-renewable terms of nine years and candidates to be elected must garner two-thirds of the votes from the state parties.

According to the statement of nomination submitted to ICC, Bello has served as a magistrate, legal adviser, deputy Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, judge and acting chief judge.

More so, he had served on several bar and bench committees before his appointment as a member of the National Judicial Council (NJC).

“He has also held high-level positions, including chairing election petition tribunals and Presidential Committee on Prison Reforms and Decongestion (PCRD), among others and very familiar with the workings of the court, having led numerous Nigerian delegations to various international fora.

Candidates, after assessment, are graded under three levels: ‘Highly qualified’ – the candidate excels in terms of the experience and knowledge about the Court and its jurisprudence; ‘Qualified’ – the candidate has some relevant experience and knowledge about the court and ‘Only formally qualified’ – the candidate that meets the requirements set out in the Rome Statute for election as a judge but uncertain if the candidate could make a noteworthy contribution to the work of the Court.

However, according to its report, only nine candidates are “Highly Qualified” while three falls under the “Qualified” category and seven are ranked “Only Formally Qualified”, and Bello belongs in the third category, the lowest before disqualification.

The committee noted that Bello, although articulate and knowledgeable regarding criminal law and procedure at the national level, lacks the knowledge of the workings of the ICC.

“Based on both his professional experience as well as his answers during the interview. and bearing in mind particularly his lack of detailed knowledge of the workings of the Court, the Committee concluded that the candidate was only formally qualified for appointment as a judge of the International Criminal Court,” the committee’s report read.

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