ROME STATUTE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
PART 8. APPEAL AND REVISION
Article 81
Appeal against decision of acquittal or conviction
or against sentence
1. A decision
under article 74 may be appealed in accordance with the Rules of Procedure
and Evidence as follows:
(a) The Prosecutor may make an
appeal on any of the following grounds:
(i) Procedural error,
(ii) Error of fact, or
(iii) Error of law;
(b) The convicted person, or the
Prosecutor on that person's behalf, may make an appeal on any of the following
grounds:
(i) Procedural error,
(ii) Error of fact,
(iii) Error of law, or
(iv) Any other ground that affects
the fairness or reliability of the proceedings or decision.
2. (a)
A sentence may be appealed, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and
Evidence, by the Prosecutor or the convicted person on the ground of disproportion
between the crime and the sentence;
(b) If on an appeal against sentence the
Court considers that there are grounds on which the conviction might be
set aside, wholly or in part, it may invite the Prosecutor and the convicted
person to submit grounds under article 81, paragraph 1 (a) or (b), and
may render a decision on conviction in accordance with article 83;
(c) The same procedure applies when the Court,
on an appeal against conviction only, considers that there are grounds
to reduce the sentence under paragraph 2 (a).
3. (a)
Unless the Trial Chamber orders otherwise, a convicted person shall remain
in custody pending an appeal;
(b) When a convicted person's time in custody
exceeds the sentence of imprisonment imposed, that person shall be released,
except that if the Prosecutor is also appealing, the release may be subject
to the conditions under subparagraph (c) below;
(c) In case of an acquittal, the accused
shall be released immediately, subject to the following:
(i) Under exceptional circumstances,
and having regard, inter alia, to the concrete risk of flight, the
seriousness of the offence charged and the probability of success on appeal,
the Trial Chamber, at the request of the Prosecutor, may maintain the detention
of the person pending appeal;
(ii) A decision by the Trial Chamber
under subparagraph (c) (i) may be appealed in accordance with the Rules
of Procedure and Evidence.
4. Subject
to the provisions of paragraph 3 (a) and (b), execution of the decision
or sentence shall be suspended during the period allowed for appeal and
for the duration of the appeal proceedings.
Article 82
Appeal against other decisions
1. Either
party may appeal any of the following decisions in accordance with the
Rules of Procedure and Evidence:
(a) A decision with respect to
jurisdiction or admissibility;
(b) A decision granting or denying
release of the person being investigated or prosecuted;
(c) A decision of the Pre-Trial
Chamber to act on its own initiative under article 56, paragraph 3;
(d) A decision that involves an
issue that would significantly affect the fair and expeditious conduct
of the proceedings or the outcome of the trial, and for which, in the opinion
of the Pre-Trial or Trial Chamber, an immediate resolution by the Appeals
Chamber may materially advance the proceedings.
2. A decision
of the Pre-Trial Chamber under article 57, paragraph 3 (d), may be appealed
against by the State concerned or by the Prosecutor, with the leave of
the Pre-Trial Chamber. The appeal shall be heard on an expedited basis.
3. An appeal shall not of itself
have suspensive effect unless the Appeals Chamber so orders, upon request,
in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and Evidence.
4. A legal representative of the
victims, the convicted person or a bona fide owner of property adversely
affected by an order under article 75 may appeal against the order for
reparations, as provided in the Rules of Procedure and Evidence.
Article 83
Proceedings on appeal
1. For
the purposes of proceedings under article 81 and this article, the Appeals
Chamber shall have all the powers of the Trial Chamber.
2. If
the Appeals Chamber finds that the proceedings appealed from were unfair
in a way that affected the reliability of the decision or sentence, or
that the decision or sentence appealed from was materially affected by
error of fact or law or procedural error, it may:
(a) Reverse or amend the decision
or sentence; or
(b) Order a new trial before a
different Trial Chamber.
For these purposes, the Appeals Chamber may remand a factual issue to the
original Trial Chamber for it to determine the issue and to report back
accordingly, or may itself call evidence to determine the issue. When the
decision or sentence has been appealed only by the person convicted, or
the Prosecutor on that person's behalf, it cannot be amended to his or
her detriment.
3. If
in an appeal against sentence the Appeals Chamber finds that the sentence
is disproportionate to the crime, it may vary the sentence in accordance
with Part 7.
4. The
judgement of the Appeals Chamber shall be taken by a majority of the judges
and shall be delivered in open court. The judgement shall state the reasons
on which it is based. When there is no unanimity, the judgement of the
Appeals Chamber shall contain the views of the majority and the minority,
but a judge may deliver a separate or dissenting opinion on a question
of law.
5. The
Appeals Chamber may deliver its judgement in the absence of the person
acquitted or convicted.
Article 84
Revision of conviction or sentence
1. The
convicted person or, after death, spouses, children, parents or one person
alive at the time of the accused's death who has been given express written
instructions from the accused to bring such a claim, or the Prosecutor
on the person's behalf, may apply to the Appeals Chamber to revise the
final judgement of conviction or sentence on the grounds that:
(a) New evidence has been discovered
that:
(i) Was not available at the
time of trial, and such unavailability was not wholly or partially attributable
to the party making application; and
(ii) Is sufficiently important
that had it been proved at trial it would have been likely to have resulted
in a different verdict;
(b) It has been newly discovered
that decisive evidence, taken into account at trial and upon which the
conviction depends, was false, forged or falsified;
(c) One or more of the judges
who participated in conviction or confirmation of the charges has committed,
in that case, an act of serious misconduct or serious breach of duty of
sufficient gravity to justify the removal of that judge or those judges
from office under article 46.
2. The Appeals
Chamber shall reject the application if it considers it to be unfounded.
If it determines that the application is meritorious, it may, as appropriate:
(a) Reconvene the original Trial
Chamber;
(b) Constitute a new Trial Chamber;
or
(c) Retain jurisdiction over the
matter,
with a view to, after hearing the parties in the manner set
forth in the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, arriving at a determination
on whether the judgement should be revised.
Article 85
Compensation to an arrested or convicted person
1. Anyone
who has been the victim of unlawful arrest or detention shall have an enforceable
right to compensation.
2. When
a person has by a final decision been convicted of a criminal offence,
and when subsequently his or her conviction has been reversed on the ground
that a new or newly discovered fact shows conclusively that there has been
a miscarriage of justice, the person who has suffered punishment as a result
of such conviction shall be compensated according to law, unless it is
proved that the non-disclosure of the unknown fact in time is wholly or
partly attributable to him or her.
3. In
exceptional circumstances, where the Court finds conclusive facts showing
that there has been a grave and manifest miscarriage of justice, it may
in its discretion award compensation, according to the criteria provided
in the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, to a person who has been released
from detention following a final decision of acquittal or a termination
of the proceedings for that reason.
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