Internet access here at the conference venue has been extremely patchy.  Unfortunately, bandwidth limitations seem to have increased today, and this has greatly impacted our ability to post to this blog.  Here’s hoping that the technical challenges will improve.  In the meantime, bear with us.

Canada has a better claim to “authoring” the International Criminal Court than any other state. I’ll offer some support for that bold (un-Canadian?) assertion below. But it’s safe to say that the Canadian delegation at the Review Conference has a cachet that few other delegations enjoy. So, one might wonder, what will Canada try to achieve in Kampala? And how will it go about doing that? Over the next two weeks I’m going to keep an eye on the public statements by the Canadian delegation, to see if I can shed some light on those questions.

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In addition to the longer blog posts, we will endeavour to provide some real-time coverage of happenings at the Rev Con via Twitter.  A sidebar on the left-hand side of the blog will contain scrolling updates, but you can follow a wide array of commentators through the #ICC and #RevCon tags.

We will also be tweeting our own short impressions at www.twitter.com/asbower and www.twitter.com/cjtenove.

And away we go…

Today is Day 1 of the Review Conference.  The morning session will consist of the official opening of the conference, so there will be much pomp and circumstance as national delegates are welcomed with speeches from the current President of the ICC Assembly of States Parties, ICC Chief Prosecutor, UN Secretary General, the past UN Sec. Gen. Kofi Annan, and President of Uganda.  The afternoon session will see the first round of statements from national delegations; this will continue tomorrow in both the morning and afternoon sessions.  There will also be a number of side-events hosted by non-governmental organizations which will run concurrently with the official plenary sessions.  So, much to digest.

As I write this, the stars of the morning session are taking their seats at the dais, so it looks as if we’re about to get underway.  More from us today and each day as the conference develops.

How should we understand the purpose of the International Criminal Court? The Rome Statute is a dense and intricate document, as it incorporates an extensive set of principles and procedural rules drawn from international humanitarian, criminal, and human rights law. As such, identifying the ICC’s core functions and contributions can be difficult.

Notwithstanding this complexity, it is possible to identify a set of features that form the basis of the ICC legal regime. Understanding the “meaning” of the International Criminal Court requires attention to both its underlying norms, and the particular configuration of rules designed to achieve these ends. Here I present a brief schema of the primary features of the ICC regime. This is an imperfect exercise, as norms and rules are ideal types which are often difficult to distinguish in practice – so suggestions on other ways to conceptualise the ICC are most welcome!

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By Asad Kiyani

The ICC is only prosecuting situations in Africa.  Given this, and the fact that in 2009 the African Union passed a resolution of “non-cooperation” with the Court, it would be useful to trace how the relationship between the Court and its most important constituency has developed over the past year.  The major theme has been that Africa is being marginalized even while the Courts energies seem largely devoted to African situations.

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Between May 31 and June 11, the International Criminal Court will host its first Review Conference in Kampala, Uganda. This is the first opportunity for States Parties to amend the Rome Statute since its creation in 1998. The current diplomatic efforts take on added significance as the present Review Conference is the only one mandated by the Rome Statute.

In recognition of its legislative and symbolic importance, the Kampala Review Conference will bring together the largest collection of senior political figures and non-governmental organizations since the drafting of the Rome Statute. This will include delegations from prominent non-parties – the United States, for example, is expected to be well represented at the conference, with the Obama administration expressing a greater willingness to cooperate with the Court.

The outcomes of the Kampala Review Conference will have a major impact on the shape of the Court for years to come. Here we offer a brief summary of the key topics under discussion.

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The International Criminal Court is many things to many people: It is the apotheosis of cosmopolitan justice-seeking. It is a threat to sovereignty and to peacekeeping. It is the only major international institution to be created since the Cold War ended, or an expensive bandage to apply after atrocities have been committed. It is a remedy for realpolitick. It is a tool of empire.

Despite the many possible interpretations one thing is certain—the International Criminal Court is an important topic in global politics. This blog will serve as one site for dialogue about the ICC, and related issues of transitional justice, international law and politics, post-conflict reconstruction, and transnational civil society.

To facilitate this dialogue, three doctoral students from the University of British Columbia – Adam Bower, Asad Kiyani, and Chris Tenove — will be soliciting contributions from other academics and practitioners, and posting their own analysis and reportage. They will also be adding posts from readers. That means you! If you have a substantive addition to make to the debate, please add a comment to an existing post or email a post to Chris, Adam and Asad.

There is no better time for dialogue on the ICC than now. Between 31 May and 11 June 2010, the ICC Review Conference will be held in Kampala Uganda. Adam and Chris will be there, along with diplomats and legal advisers from over 110 states, and over 1000 civil society representatives. The Review Conference constitutes an important milestone in the development of the ICC, as it provides the first opportunity for States Parties to amend the Rome Statute since its creation in 1998. To that end, delegates will be considering a number of substantive proposals—including, most controversially, whether to include the crime of aggression within the jurisdiction of the Court—as well as engaging in a broader “stock-taking” of the Court’s progress in its first eight years in existence. The decisions reached at Kampala will thus have a profound effect on the trajectory of the Court going forward.

We look forward to hearing from you!