Offences against the Administration of Justice at the International Criminal Court

Although the International Criminal Court (ICC) was established to prosecute the most serious crimes of concern to the international community, around a quarter of all indictments it has issued have instead been for offences against the administration of justice. Covered under Article 70 of the ICC Statute, most of these offences have related to witness interference, typically involving bribery. While rules addressing offences against the administration of justice or contempt of court are also a feature of other international criminal tribunals, and have given rise to a number of high profile cases, the situation at the ICC can be distinguished, both in terms of the scale and gravity of offences and because the ICC's relevant provisions are considerably more difficult to amend in response to challenges. This article critically examines some of these key challenges posed by Article 70 proceedings, and considers their impact on the Court's functioning.