Mark Pack

A good justice system both dispenses justice and is seen to do so. That makes the appointment of Gambian Fatou Bensouda as the International Criminal Court’s new Chief Prosecutor particularly welcome.

Bensouda is the first African to hold the post of Chief Prosecutor, an important step in helping the ICC maintain the confidence of African countries given how often Africans are up before the ICC.

The ICC’s remit is not limited to Africa and nor are the atrocities it can investigate confined to one part of our globe, but in practice a very high proportion of the International Criminal Court’s high profile cases recently have been African. Some have therefore accused the ICC of bias, with Bensouda’s predecessor Luis Moreno-Ocampo coming under particular criticism. Myself, I think the apparent concentration on Africa in some ways reflects well on the continent, showing how it is leaving some of the horrors of its past behind in a way that allows the ICC remit to be deployed even when other parts of the globe are in effect off-limits.

But regardless of views on that controversy, having an African as the Chief Prosecutor – and no token African given her impressive career, including time as the deputy chief prosecutor – is a welcome move.