First state to accept ICC jurisdiction as a non-member
Côte d’Ivoire signed the Rome Statute in 1998 but did not formally ratify the Court’s founding treaty until 2013. In 2003, Côte d’Ivoire became the first state to accept the Court’s jurisdiction through a special mechanism for non-ICC member states under Article 12 (3) of the Rome Statute. Côte d'Ivoire reaffirmed its acceptance of the Court’s jurisdiction through two separate communications to the ICC in 2010 and 2011. Full ratification, and implementation, of the Rome Statute came in 2013 after years of civil society advocacy.
ICC prosecutor investigates Côte d’Ivoire 2010-11 post-election violence
After conducting a preliminary examination of the situation in Côte d'Ivoire from 2003 onward, the ICC prosecutor independently requested a formal investigation (proprio motu request). In 2004, ICC pre-trial judges authorized the prosecutor to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed following the country's disputed presidential election of 28 November 2010. It was the second time that the prosecutor had opened an investigation on a proprio motu basis.
ICC arrest warrants for Gbagbo camp
In the first cases opened by the ICC, the prosecutor alleges that Laurent Gbagbo and his inner circle, including former first lady Simone Gbagbo and youth leader Charles Blé Goudé, created and executed a common plan to hold on to power after losing the 2010 presidential election by encouraging attacks on the supporters of president-elect Alassane Ouattara. The Gbagbo-Blé Goudé ICC trial began in 2016. Simone Gbagbo was convicted by an Ivorian court but remains wanted by the ICC. In 2019, Gbagbo and Blé Goudé were released after an acquittal by Trial Chamber I. According to the judges, the Prosecutor failed to satisfy the burden of proof. Simone Gbagbo, the former first lady of Côte d'Ivoire was convicted by an Ivorian court but remains wanted by the ICC.
Investigative timeframe extended back to 2002
In February 2012, at the request of ICC judges, the ICC prosecutor provided additional information on potential crimes committed in the context of Côte d’Ivoire’s civil war during the years 2002-2010. Based on their assessment of this information, the judges expanded authorization for the investigation to cover the period from 19 September 2002 to 28 November 2010. They considered that the violent events in Côte d’Ivoire during this period (including relevant events since 28 November 2010) formed a single situation, in which an ongoing political crisis and power-struggle culminated in the events that the Pre-Trial Chamber had earlier authorized the prosecutor to investigate.
