3 judges decide fate of Kenyatta’s ICC case

The Hague, Monday. Three International Criminal Court judges are expected to decide whether President Kenyatta’s trial continues or is terminated.

The three judges, representing three continents, vary in their experience at the ICC and international criminal law. Presiding Judge Kuniko Ozaki, a Japanese national appointed to the court in January 2010, is the senior member of the trio. A holder of an international relations degree from Oxford University and a former senior official in the Japanese Foreign and Justice ministries, Judge Ozaki has “extensive practical and academic experience in the field of international criminal law and human rights,” according to her ICC biography.

The 58-year-old judge has also expressed a strong personal commitment to promoting the rule of law, enhancing peace and justice, and “putting an end to the culture of impunity.” When applying to be a judge at ICC in 2009, Ms Ozaki responded in a questionnaire that she considers those efforts “to be my life’s work.” More recently, she issued a partly dissenting opinion on the ICC panel’s September 30 majority ruling that President Kenyatta must be present in The Hague courtroom for Wednesday’s status conference. (NMG)