Rethinking the powers of truth commissions in light of the ICC statute

Bisset, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5421-3827 (2009) Rethinking the powers of truth commissions in light of the ICC statute. Journal of International Criminal Justice, 7 (5). pp. 963-982. ISSN 1478-1387 doi: 10.1093/jicj/mqp069

Abstract/Summary

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is silent on the issue of national truth commissions. How the ICC might treat these bodies and the information they may hold is uncertain. The overlapping nature of the investigations likely to be carried out by the ICC and future truth-seeking bodies may, however, give rise to areas of tension, particularly where truth commissions hold confidential or self-incriminating information. This article questions whether the traditional truth-seeking powers to grant confidentiality and compel the provision of self-incriminating statements are compatible with the prosecutorial framework of the ICC. It considers how such information is likely to be dealt with by the ICC and analyses whether effective truth seeking can be carried out in the absence of such powers.