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INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURTS AND TRIBUNALS
* Joris van Wijk works as an Assistant Professor of Criminology at VU University Amsterdam. He directs the master's course in International Crimes and Criminology and focuses his research on the effects of amnesties and the consequences of Art. 1(f) of the Refugee Convention [
]. The author would kindly like to thank Chizu Matsushita and Barbora Holá for reviewing the draft and for their valuable suggestions. Nonetheless, the views expressed in this article are his own and the responsibility for any errors or serious omissions rests with him alone.
This contribution starts with the story of three men, two countries, one international court, and a simple plan that did not work out. It describes how three detained Congolese witnesses who testified on behalf of the defence before the International Criminal Court (ICC) requested the Dutch government to grant them asylum briefly after their testimony. Everything suggests that the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Netherlands, and the ICC had not anticipated this asylum request. I will briefly describe how this situation occurred, give an update of the latest state of affairs, and discuss the possible practical and political consequences and implications of the witnesses' asylum applications.
Next, I will argue that the ICC and national governments will in the near future be confronted with more dilemmas stemming from a lack of harmonization between (the execution of) international criminal law and (upholding) principles of international protection. I will in this regard describe why and how also non-detained ICC defence witnesses might apply for asylum in the Netherlands and discuss the consequences this may have. It will be highlighted that the international community still has no answer to the question as to what to do with acquitted ICC defendants who cannot be refouled. As long as no concrete steps are taken to share the burden in this respect, the collective responsibility of the international community to protect these persons could de facto turn into an exclusively Dutch responsibility. Finally, it will be underscored that no solution yet exists on how to deal with individuals who are sentenced by international tribunals, but upon release cannot be refouled. Each and every sovereign country...