LANDMARK CASES

IN INTERNATIONAL
CRIMINAL LAW
Prosecutor v. Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo
The Accused

● Mr Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo is a national of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (“DRC”)
● Undisputedly, Mr Bemba was President of the Mouvement de libération du Congo (“MLC”), a political party founded by him,
and Commander- in-Chief of its military branch, the Armée de libération du Congo (“ALC”).

The Charges

● He was charged by the International Criminal Court in The Hague with two counts of crimes against humanity: murder and
rape; and three counts of war crimes: murder, rape, and pillaging.
● Mr Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo was found GUILTY, under Article 28(a) of the Rome Statute, as a person effectively acting as a
military commander, of the crimes of:

(a) Murder as a war crime under Article 8(2)(c)(i) of the Statute;

(b) Rape as a war crime under Article 8(2)(e)(vi) of the Statute; and
(e) Pillaging as a war crime under Article 8(2)(e)(v) of the Statute.

● These crimes were allegedly committed during an armed conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR) between October 26,
2002 and March 15, 2003.
 Background
● On 25 October 2002, President Patassé requested from Mr Bemba the assistance of the MLC, in particular, the ALC, its
military wing, in defending his government against General Bozizé’s rebels.
● In response, Mr Bemba, the MLC President and Commander-in-Chief of the ALC, deployed ALC troops from the DRC to the
CAR to intervene in support of President Patassé.
● Over the course of approximately four and a half months, beginning on 26 October 2002, the MLC troops advanced through
Bangui and along the Damara-Sibut and Bossembélé-Bossangoa axes, attacked Mongoumba, and, on 15 March 2003, withdrew
back to the DRC (“2002-2003 CAR Operation”).
● Throughout the 2002-2003 CAR Operation, the MLC troops allegedly committed crimes of murder, rape, and pillaging
against the civilian population.
● Later, in January 2005, the CAR government under Bozizé referred the situation to the ICC.
● Throughout the trial, Bemba denied all charges against him claiming that in fact it was former CAR president Patassé who had
actual command and control over MLC troops.
What was the major Legal Issue?
To find Mr. Bemba guilty the prosecution must prove that

i. victims of the alleged crimes were civilians or other protected person

ii. that the crimes can be attributed to him as the commander of the forces that directly committed the alleged crimes in the CAR

“DOCTRINE OF COMMAND RESPONSIBILITY is the legal liability of a commander or civilian superior for crimes committed
by subordinate members of armed forces or other persons under their control. A commander can be held criminally responsible
even if he or she did not order crimes to be committed. It is enough for the commander to fail to prevent, repress, or punish
crimes committed by subordinates. An essential element is that the commander knew or should have known that the crimes
were being committed.”

How was Individual Criminal Responsibility established?

In the Confirmation Decision, the Pre-Trial Chamber found that there was sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe
that, from on or about 26 October 2002 to 15 March 2003

(i) MLC forces committed crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court
(ii) Mr Bemba effectively acted as a military commander and had effective authority and control over the MLC troops in the CAR
(iii) Mr Bemba knew that MLC troops were committing or about to commit the crimes against humanity of murder and rape and the war
crimes of murder, rape, and pillaging in the CAR
(iv) Mr Bemba failed to take all necessary and reasonable measures within his power to prevent or repress the commission of the
crimes by MLC troops in the CAR
(v) Mr Bemba’s failure to fulfil his duties to prevent crimes increased the risk of their commission by the MLC troops in the CAR
 Defense Arguments
Mr. Bemba did not have effective
command and control over MLC forces
President Patassé had command and
control over MLC forces, not Mr.
Bemba.
Mr. Bemba was in the DRC during the
military campaign
Mr. Bemba took all the necessary and
reasonable steps within his power to
prevent or repress crimes by MLC
troops.
Verdict
On 21 March 2016, Trial Chamber III
convicted Bemba of crimes against
humanity and war crimes.
Judges determined that the evidence
demonstrated beyond a reasonable
doubt that murder, rape, and pillaging
had occurred as defined under the Rome
Statute
Bemba had effective authority and
control over the direct MLC
perpetrators.
Sentence
On 21 June 2016, Bemba was sentenced
to 18 years in prison.
His sentencing per crime was as follows:
16 years for each murder conviction, 18
years for each rape conviction; and 16
years for pillaging as a war crime.
During sentencing, the judges noted that
the acts of rape were perpetrated
under aggravating circumstances, as
they were enacted with particular cruelty
and against especially vulnerable
victims.

They claimed that MLC troops received
comprehensive military training,pointed
to a published code of conduct for the
MLC.
Submitted that any of the numerous
armed groups that were active in the
conflict could have committed the
crimes for which Bemba was on trial.
Judges further determined that Bemba
showed disregard for international
humanitarian law (IHL) during his
operational command and failed to
respond appropriately to reports of IHL
violations.
The trial resulted in the ICC’s first
command responsibility conviction
and first conviction for sexual and
gender-based crimes.
 On 11 November 2014, Pre-Trial Chamber II partially confirmed the
charges of offences against the administration of justice for Jean-Pierre
Bemba Gombo, Aimé Kilolo Musamba, Jean-Jacques Mangenda Kabongo,
Fidèle Babala Wandu and Narcisse Arido and committed the five suspects to
trial.
Bamba et. al.(Witness
The offences include corruptly influencing witnesses by giving them
Tampering) money and instructions to provide false testimony, presenting false
evidence and giving false testimony in the courtroom.

On 17 September 2018, Trial Chamber VII sentenced M. Bemba to one

year imprisonment and fined him EUR 300,000 for offences against
the administration of justice.
CHALLENGES IN THE
CASE
The Appeals Chamber concluded, by majority, that Trial Chamber III
had erroneously convicted Mr Bemba for specific criminal acts that
were outside the scope of the case and that the proceedings in
Appeals Chamber relation to these acts must be discontinued.
overturned the
Decision of TCIII Mr Bemba cannot be held criminally liable under article 28 of the
ICC Rome Statute

Trial Chamber had made serious errors in its finding that Mr

Bemba had failed to take all necessary and reasonable measures
to prevent or repress the crimes of the MLC troops.

Appeals Chamber, by majority, considered it was appropriate to

reverse his conviction and enter an acquittal.
 WHY WAS THIS CASE IMPORTANT FOR THE
DISCOURSE ON INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW?

➔ It only the fourth case to reach the judgment phase at the ICC.
➔ The highest ranked individual convicted by the ICC
➔ Sets an important precedent for prosecuting crimes of sexual violence at the ICC
➔ The case against Bemba was the first time in the history of modern international criminal justice that acts of sexual violence far
outnumbered alleged killings.
➔ ICC expanded the legal expectations for all military commanders in preventing and eliminating sexual violence in conflict
➔ The first time the ICC considered the individual criminal responsibility of the accused under Article 28 of the Rome Statute
➔ The initial verdict strengthened the ICC’s credibility throughout the African continent, where it has been accused often of bias
and politicization.
➔ At least 5,229 civilian victims—five of whom testified as witnesses—were authorized to participate in the Bemba proceedings, the
highest number in the history of the ICC to that point.