Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory, Justice Ishaq Bello has failed to meet up with the requirements of being a member of the Jury at the International Criminal Court.
Justice Bello who is the only Nigerian nominated for election to the International Criminal Court (ICC) jury in 2020 allegedly presented a poor performance in the assessment exercise according to a report by the ICC.
“…based on his answers to questions particularly regarding participation by victims and the functions of the Pre-Trial Chamber (but also other areas), the candidate appeared notably to have a very limited knowledge of the Rome Statute, the practices and procedures of the Court and its jurisprudence.
“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 judge of the International Criminal Court…” The report read.
President Muhammadu Buhari had in June nominated Mr Bello, 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.
The assembly will be held at the United Nations, New York, from December 7 – 17.
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.
For candidates to be elected, they must garner two-thirds of the votes from the state parties.
The ICC, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, prosecutes international crimes, crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide, and aggression by nationals of the 123-member countries.