In October 2022, 10 finalists participated in roundtable discussions as candidates for Registrar of the International Criminal Court (ICC). One finalist, Rosette Muzigo-Morrison (MA '93) from Uganda is a graduate of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. If chosen, Muzigo-Morrison would be the first African Registrar for the ICC.
The roundtable discussions took place virtually over two days — Oct. 11 and 12 — with the candidates split into groups of five to give statements of their candidacies and answer a series of pre-posed questions. For the first time in a registrar election, candidates took part in public hearings that were co-moderated by States Parties and civil society.
“In my career, I have had the opportunity to establish three different registries from scratch. All these registries had to perform what may be competing responsibilities,” Muzigo-Morrison stated. “As I have said, the Court is like a body, it’s like a torso. If one part of it is missing, the other cannot function. In my work as a registrar, I am committed to ensuring impartiality, independence, transparence, and cooperation.”
Candidates for Registrar were selected first through a vacancy announcement for the position in February 2022, with individual applications due by May 1. On June 17, the ICC Presidency submitted a shortlist of candidates who satisfied the criteria noted in the Rome Statute to the Assembly of States Parties. Candidates are subject to a “due diligence” process with regard to the criterion of “high moral character,” developed by the Assembly’s Bureau, its leadership body.
“Taking the Court to affected communities, increasing participation of victims, is the very reason the ICC exists,” Muzigo-Morrison stated in her closing remarks. “I would like to invest my experience in this area to ensure that we work as a partnership with civil society, [and] with affected communities, we increase managing expectations of the victims, providing information and encouraging the involvement of all Member States at all levels.”
The Registrar will be elected by the plenary of ICC judges in early 2023.
Muzigo-Morrison was the 2011 recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award at the Kroc Institute for her contributions to peacebuilding and human rights advocacy. Learn more about Muzigo-Morrison’s accomplishments here.