Polity

International Criminal Court appeals judges have cut by two years the sentence of an Islamic radical who pleaded guilty to overseeing the destruction of historic mausoleums in the Malian desert city of Timbuktu, the court announced Thursday.

·         Timbuktu, French Tombouctou, town within the western African country of Mali its placed on the southern edge of the Sahara, regarding eight miles (13 km) north of the Niger River.

·         The city is that the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one among the eight body regions of Mali.

·         It is located on the southern tip of the Sahara desert where there is nothing but thousands of miles of barren desert to its north.

·         Al-Qaida-linked rebels occupied the fabled Saharan city of Timbuktu in 2012 and enforced a strict interpretation of Islamic law under which they destroyed the historic mudbrick tombs they considered idolatrous.

·         Al Mahdi was leader of 1 of the “morality brigades” established by Timbuktu’s new rulers.

·         International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC), located in The Hague, is the court of last resort for prosecution of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

·         It is that the 1st permanent, treaty based, international criminal court established to assist finish impunity for the perpetrators of the foremost serious crimes of concern to the international community.

·         Its origination treaty, the Rome Statute, entered into force on July 1, 2002.

·         Funding: though the Court’s expenses are funded primarily by States Parties, it conjointly receives voluntary contributions from governments, international organisations, individuals, corporations and alternative entities.

·         Composition and voting power: The Court’s management oversight and legislative body, the Assembly of States Parties, consists of one representative from each state party.

·         Each state party has one vote and “every effort” has to be made to reach decisions by consensus.

·         If consensus cant be reached, selections are created by vote.

·         The Assembly is presided over by a president and 2 vice-presidents, who are elective  by the members to three-year terms.

·         Criticisms: It doesnt have the capability to arrest suspects and depends on member states for their cooperation.

·         Critics of the Court argue that there are insufficient  checks and balances on the authority of the ICC prosecutor and judges and insufficient  protection against politicized prosecutions or different abuses.

·         The ICC has been defendant of bias and as being a tool of Western imperialism, only laborious leaders from tiny, weak states whereas ignoring crimes committed by richer and a lot of powerful states.

·         ICC cannot mount successful cases without state cooperation is problematic for several reasons.

·         It means that the ICC acts inconsistently in its selection of cases, is prevented from taking over hard cases and loses legitimacy.