Under Construction Journal Issue 6.1 UNDER CONSTRUCTION JOURNAL 6.1 | Page 91

The Value of Amicus Curiae Submissions: An Observation of the ICC Appeals Chamber Hearing
into the Situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Lloyd Myatt • PhD in Law, Keele University
This piece will analyse two amicus curiae submissions from the former Chief
Prosecutors of the Ad Hoc Tribunals (FCPAHT) and the European Centre for Law and
Justice (ECLJ) in relation to the current International Criminal Court (ICC or ‘the Court’) 1
investigation into the Situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. It will give a brief
summary of both submissions, evaluate the similarities and differences and what these
submissions mean in the wider context.
Keywords: Amicus Curiae, ICC Appeals Chamber, International Law, Afghanistan and Law
Introduction
This piece will analyse two amicus curiae submissions from the former Chief Prosecutors of the Ad Hoc
Tribunals (FCPAHT) and the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) in relation to the current
International Criminal Court (ICC or the Court) 17 examination into the Situation in the Islamic Republic of
Afghanistan. It will give a brief summary of both submissions, evaluate the similarities and differences and
what these submissions mean in a wider context.
Why?
The ICC is something of the ‘middle child’ of international institutions in that it has received limited
admiration and love in comparison to its siblings, which in this case are the former ad-hoc tribunals of the
Yugoslavia and Rwanda respectively 18 . In this relationship, the limited admiration and love come from one
particular State, the United States. The justification for this comes from the fact that the US initially
17
For information on the formation of the ICC, see William Schabas, An Introduction to the International Criminal
Court (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 1-22.
18
The two tribunals were created by the UNSC Res 827 (25 May 1993) UN Doc S/RES/827 (ICTY Statute) and UNSC
Res 955 (8 Nov 1994) UN Doc S/RES/955 (ICTR Statute) respectively.
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