Cuno Tarfusser
Cuno Tarfusser | |
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Second Vice-President of the International Criminal Court | |
In office 2012–2015 | |
Preceded by | Hans-Peter Kaul |
Succeeded by | Kuniko Ozaki |
Judge of International Criminal Court | |
In office 11 March 2009 – 10 March 2018 | |
Preceded by | Mauro Politi |
Personal details | |
Born | Merano,South Tyrol, Italy | 11 August 1954
Alma mater | |
Profession | Prosecutor |
Cuno Jakob Tarfusser(born 11 August 1954) was an Italianjudgeof theInternational Criminal Court(ICC).[1]
Education and early career
[edit]Tarfusser studied at theUniversity of Innsbruckand theUniversity of Padova.Prior to his appointment to the ICC, he had an extensive legal career in Italy as aprosecutor,including holding the office of Chief Public Prosecutor.
Judge of the International Criminal Court, 2009–2018
[edit]Tarfusser took office at the ICC on 11 March 2009[2]He was assigned to Pre-Trial Chamber II at the International Criminal Court.
Together with judgesHans-Peter KaulandEkaterina Trendafilova,Tarfusser made the landmark decision that sawKenyan PresidentUhuru Kenyatta,his DeputyWilliam Ruto,former Head of Civil ServiceFrancis Muthauraand journalistJoshua Sangcommitted to trial in January 2012.[3]
In October 2013, Tarfusser issued an arrest warrant for Kenyan journalist Walter Barasa on suspicion of attempting to bribe a potential witness in theInternational Criminal Court investigation in Kenyaagainst Ruto; this was the first time the court sought to prosecute someone over interfering with its legal process.[4]
In February 2015, Tarfusser and Trendafilova dissented with their colleagues of the Pre-Trial Chamber II in their decision to uphold the acquittal of militia leaderMathieu Ngudjolo Chuiof commanding fighters who destroyed the village of Bogoro in eastern Congo in 2003, raping and hacking to death some 200 people including children. The original 2012 judgment had been only the second verdict in the court's history and the first time it had cleared a suspect. Both Tarfusser and Trendafilova argued that the appeals chamber should have ordered a retrial because of errors by the trial panel, saying that "vital evidence was disregarded."[5]
In March 2015, Tarfusser unsuccessfully ran for the office ofPresident of the International Criminal Court;he ended up losing toSilvia Fernández de Gurmendiby one vote.[6]
Also in March 2015, the Pre-Trial Chamber designated Tarfusser to replace Trendiflova in proceeding with the trial ofDominic Ongwenas a single judge. As presiding judge of the Pre Trial Chamber II, Tarfusser was also put in charge of the case against LRA leadersJoseph Kony,Vincent OttiandOkot Odhiambo.[7]Soon after, he issued the order to terminate proceedings against Odhiambo following the release of a forensic report confirming that Odhiambo was killed in theCentral African Republic.[8]
In a 2015 majority decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber I, Tarfusser joined his fellow judgeJoyce Aluoch– with JudgePéter Kovácsdissenting – in requestingICC ProsecutorFatou Bensoudato reconsider her decision not to investigate theGaza flotilla raidof 31 May 2010.[9]
After September 2015, Tarfusser served as presiding judge in the case ofAhmad al-Faqi,the first individual to face charges of thewar crimeof damaging mankind's cultural heritage at the court.[10]
References
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- ^"Judge Cuno Jakob TARFUSSER (Italy)".International Criminal Court. Archived fromthe originalon 13 September 2013.Retrieved18 August2013.
- ^"Cuno Tarfusser".Archived fromthe originalon June 16, 2011.RetrievedFebruary 26,2011.
- ^Judie Kaberia (March 16, 2015),ICC Judge Trendafilova set to retire98.4 Capital FM.
- ^The Hague: Warrant Issued for KenyanThe New York Times,October 2, 2013.
- ^International Court Judges Uphold Acquittal of Congolese ManThe New York Times,February 27, 2015.
- ^Internationaler Strafgerichtshof: Tarfusser wird nicht PräsidentArchived2015-03-13 at theWayback MachineSüdtirolNews,March 11, 2015.
- ^ICC drops judge from ex-LRA chief's trialArchived2015-08-08 at theWayback MachineStarAfrica,April 2, 2015.
- ^ICC drops charges against Ugandan rebel leader after his death confirmationArchived2015-09-23 at theWayback MachineStarafrica,September 11, 2015.
- ^ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I requests Prosecutor to reconsider decision not to investigate situation referred by Union of ComorosArchived2015-09-05 at theWayback MachineInternational Criminal Court,press release of July 16, 2015.
- ^Thomas Escritt (September 30, 2015),Suspected Islamist rebel accused of Timbuktu destruction appears at ICCReuters.