Ethical standards of conduct of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

Nureeva Liaisan Rustamovna Postgraduate Student, Department of Constitutional and International Law, TISBI University of Management 420012, Russia, respublika Tatarstan, g. Kazan', ul. Mushtari, 13 laisan4ik@yandex.ru

The proposal to create an independent prosecutor with the right to initiate and investigate cases if there is sufficient evidence of serious violations received broad support during the negotiations at the Rome Conference. Although the Prosecutor has the right to initiate such investigations, the Rome Statute contains detailed provisions designed to ensure that this right is properly monitored.

Firstly, the prosecutor cannot conduct investigations if States are able and willing to conduct their own investigations. Before starting the investigation, the prosecutor must submit all the collected materials and obtain the permission of the Pre-Trial Chamber, which consists of three judges. Suspects and interested States have the right to appeal against the actions of the prosecutor at the investigation stage. States and defendants may also challenge the jurisdiction of the Court or the admissibility of the case at the trial stage. These measures provide an opportunity to ensure a sufficient evidence base for investigation and prosecution.

The Prosecutor is elected by the participating States by secret ballot and must meet strict requirements: he must have high moral qualities, high qualifications and have the necessary practical experience in prosecution or criminal proceedings. The Prosecutor may not participate in any case in respect of which there may be doubts about his impartiality. Any issue concerning the recusal of the Prosecutor is decided by the Appeals Chamber of the Court. The Assembly of States Parties may remove the Prosecutor from office if it is found that he is guilty of serious misconduct or has committed a serious violation of his duties.

In July 1998, world civil society held a meeting in Rome, successfully persuading Governments to hold a diplomatic conference on the establishment of an international criminal court.

The Rome Statute was adopted by an overwhelming majority of 120 countries. The powers of the Assembly of States Parties are to guarantee the independence of the court and its prosecutor, to protect the rights of victims.

The Assembly of States Parties is credited with some of the most important aspects of the Statute, such as its key provisions on victim participation, reparations, gender-based crimes and ensuring the independence of the prosecutor. The Steering Committee of the Community adopts the eleven principles of its work at the Rome Conference.

There are several provisions in the Rome Statute of the ICC, which, in the opinion of many, appeared thanks to significant efforts and support of civil society. Some of them include: independence from the prosecutor; automatic jurisdiction (the State must agree to become a party to the Statute by ratifying or acceding to it. By becoming a member of the Court, it accepts its jurisdiction); explicit references to gender aspects in international law; inclusion of war crimes committed in the context of internal armed conflict (the law of non-international armed conflicts); and respect for the rights and protection of victims and witnesses.

Each State in the Assembly of States Parties has one vote, and decisions are taken by a 2/3 majority.

International prosecutors play an important role in maintaining the rule of law and the effectiveness of the international criminal justice system (Advisory Council of European Prosecutors "Rome Charter", 2014 Explanatory Note, paragraphs 9-10). When making decisions on initiating or continuing proceedings on determining individual responsibility for international crimes (individual criminal responsibility), they must act in the public interest of the world community as a whole (public interest) and perform their functions impartially, objectively and fairly, taking into account fundamental human rights and due process of law.

From this point of view, it is especially important that international prosecutors observe the highest standards of ethics and professionalism enshrined in codes of conduct, respect the principles of justice and courtesy.

Consider the standards of professional conduct of prosecutors (prosecutors) acting in the International Criminal Tribunal of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The task of the prosecutor in the international judicial system is to present the facts of the case under investigation, and not to do everything possible to convict, independence and impartiality may be required from prosecutors ^{[7, p. 271]}. Code of Conduct of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

As for the structure of the ICC, unlike the formal code of ethics for judges and defense lawyers, as of 2013, no basic code of ethics has been promulgated for the Office of the Prosecutor. The absence of a certain set of basic standards of professionalism that have been applicable to prosecutors for a long time represents a serious deviation from the practice of other international criminal tribunals ^{[5, p. 17]}, which, as noted, have long had codes of conduct for defense lawyers, judges and lawyers representing the prosecutor's office.

In addition, as some scholars have noted, the role of the ICC prosecutor differs from that of the ICTY and ICTR prosecutors, who are required to disclose exculpatory information, but are not required to actively investigate a case that may acquit the accused. The ICC Prosecutor must perform the functions of an impartial body, a guarantor of justice. In this respect, the role of the ICC prosecutor can be compared with the role of an investigating judge or prosecutor in most civil law systems, and not with a typical prosecutor under common law ^{[4, p. 214]}.

Despite the absence of a Code of Conduct for the Office of the Prosecutor, the ICC Prosecutor's Office stated that it has always been considered that the Prosecutor's Office is not completely exempt from ethical obligations and that the relevant provisions of the Rome Statute, the Statute of the Prosecutor's Office, the Code of Conduct for Investigators and the Core Values set out in section 1.2 of the Staff Regulations provide a sufficient regulatory framework for the ethical conduct of prosecutors (Prosecutor v. Gbagbo, 2013, p. 17).

The adoption in 2013 of the Prosecutor's Code of Conduct (ICC CPT) was a clear response to the growing need to clarify existing ethical standards ^{[8, p. 301]}.

With regard to the scope of the Code, three elements must be observed: firstly, as a document on the rules of internal rules of staff conduct, it indicates the necessary level of self-control; secondly, it standardizes the legal framework governing the ethical behavior of all lawyers; and, finally, it is an attempt to fill in the explicit and alleged judicial restrictions for behavior of the prosecutor.

Despite the many regulations regarding the professionalism of ICC prosecutors, the ICC Prosecutor's Code of Conduct encourages uniformity and consistency of prosecutorial ethics. It improves the existing regulatory framework and clarifies some ethical issues that are not directly addressed in other legal documents, key changes affecting lawyers working in the ICC ^{[5, p. 17]}. In particular, the provisions of the 2013 Code partially reproduce (and directly refer to) existing ethical standards (for example, on independence, impartiality, objective pursuit of truth and unsatisfactory behavior) and partially resolve unresolved issues.

As for the content of the Code, there are five basic rules. The introduction recommends that prosecutors take into account, respect and comply with the provisions of the ICC Statute and the Rules of Procedure and Evidence; behave in accordance with the status of international civil servants and demonstrate the highest standards of honesty, independence, impartiality, professionalism and confidentiality; be aware of the purpose of the ICC and the fundamental role of the Prosecutor's Office in the investigation or prosecution of international crimes; respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, equality. As for the general provisions, the Prosecutor's Office and all its members are primarily guided by the principles of independence, professional ethics and integrity; fair, impartial, effective, and prompt investigation and prosecution; preservation of confidentiality of investigations and proceedings; respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms recognized by international law in accordance with the Statute; non-discrimination of any person or groups of persons (article 8 of the ICC CAT).

However, it should be emphasized that before starting work, members of the Prosecutor's Office solemnly swear to act honestly, impartially and in good faith, respecting the confidentiality of investigations and proceedings (article 6 of the ICC Prosecutor's Code of Conduct).

With regard to the autonomy of prosecutors working in the ICC, the Code defines that the Office of the Prosecutor should act independently, as a separate body from the court and, consequently, its members should exercise their functions without any external influence, inducement, pressure, threat or interference, directly or indirectly empowering the prosecutor to ensure the full independence of employees (article 21 of the ICC CAT). In addition, given that the Office of the Prosecutor is authorized to act objectively, investigating both accusatory and exculpatory circumstances, it is expected that the ICC Prosecutor will conduct investigations in order to establish the truth and in the interests of justice (Article 49 of the ICC CAT) and will behave impartially. It should also be noted that impartiality is a fundamental principle of the Prosecutor's Code of Conduct, which includes, among other things, respect for the presumption of innocence, refraining from expressing an opinion that could undermine the required impartiality, and full compliance with the rules of disclosure of evidence.

In the performance of their duties, ICC prosecutors must also comply with confidentiality requirements (which do not end with termination of service); in particular, they must not disclose confidential information or disclose the content of material that the ICC considers less confidential, unless authorized by the ICC.

Some provisions of the ICC Prosecutor's Code of Conduct also cover conflicts of interest, in particular requiring ICC prosecutors to refrain from any conduct that may directly or indirectly conflict with the performance of their official duties during their term of service or may jeopardize the independence and credibility of the Office of Prosecutors (article 42 of the ICC CAT).

With regard to disciplinary rules, the ICC CAT does not contain applicable rules on procedures and penalties for violations committed by the prosecutor and for misconduct against the administration of justice or generally unsatisfactory behavior. In this regard, it is interesting to note that in several cases where allegations of misconduct by ICC prosecutors and violations by ICC CPT members were made, ICC judges preferred to investigate the disqualification of members of the Prosecutor's Office by examining other ethical standards, explaining that the judiciary plays an important role in monitoring and supervising the prosecution. ^{[8, p. 317]}.

International prosecutors and judges should be considered as an international judicial system as a whole, sharing a common goal of ensuring fair, impartial and effective justice. The Prosecutor is a party, but it is recognized that he represents the interests of the international community and must act objectively and fairly. In fact, when conducting investigations and supervising the first stage of criminal proceedings, prosecutors are the main defenders of human rights, and this important role should be carried out throughout the process, limiting the risk of undue political interference in the way they exercise their powers.

From this point of view, the independence of the Prosecutor's Office is a consequence of an independent judiciary (Rome Charter, 2014, paragraph IV), which should be strengthened and encouraged.

At the same time, compliance with the rule of law requires compliance with high ethical and professional standards in the conduct of prosecutors and judges at work and outside it in order to strengthen public confidence in the justice system.

These standards of conduct and ethical restrictions for international prosecutors are increasingly defined by law and take the form of ethical codes.

As it has already been established, there is no single code regulating the ethical conduct of international prosecutors, and the existing codes were developed not by one body, but by each Court separately and, therefore, without coordination among themselves.

A set of fundamental ethical values common to all international prosecutors can be defined as a tool that contributes to the proper functioning of the international justice system. These core ethical values include, for example, impartiality, objectivity, fairness and, above all, independence.

International case law, for example, supports the judicial trend, including from the point of view of ethical issues, emphasizing the role of judges as the main defenders of a fair and speedy trial, as well as giving them the inherent powers of ethical supervision and guidance of international prosecutors, ensuring that their central role in criminal justice meets the highest ethical standards and acts in the interests of justice ^{[8, p. 322]}.