Nedilko B. Development of the international criminal procedural law in the case-law of the International Criminal Court

The thesis deals with the procedural rules of the International Criminal Court and its case-law, as well as the procedural rules of the other international criminal tribunals. It is emphasized that international criminal procedural law can be considered as a separate branch of law, the rules of which derive from traditional sources of public international law and are combined with jus cogens principle of the right to a fair trial. This principle constitutes the core element and standard that combines all the procedural rules of international criminal tribunals. The analysis of the procedural rules of the International Criminal Court shows three stages of the procedure: pre-trial stage, confirmation of charges by the Pre-Trial Chamber, and hearing of the case by the Trial and Appeal Chambers. During the pre-trial stage, the main role is played by Office of the Prosecutor. This stage is intended to find out the factual circumstances of the case. The confirmation of charges is the task of Pre-Trial Chamber, which decides whether there are sufficient grounds to initiate a full trial against the accused. The third stage is a trial itself, which establishes the issue of guilt or innocence of the accused by the Trial Chamber with the possibility to appeal its decision in the Appeals Chamber. During the legal analysis, it was established that the most problematic stage is the stage of confirmation of charges, where the Pre-Trial Chamber is entitled to postpone the hearing as many times as desired without giving exhaustive grounds for such transfer. Accordingly, it may constitute a violation of the right of accused to a fair trial without undue delay. This causes reputational damage to the International Criminal Court. Within the framework of this thesis, special attention is paid to the confirmation of cumulative charges. It is proposed to adopt recommendations and principles regarding the practice of approving cumulative charges, taking as an example the practice of previous international criminal tribunals. It has been established that the re-characterization of charges under Regulation 55 of the Regulations of the Court significantly delays the procedure of hearing of the case and that it entails a risk of a significant change in the substance of the case against the accused, which also violates his right to a fair trial.