ICC Prosecutor Starts Preliminary Examination After Receiving Referral from Mali

On July 18, 2012, the International Criminal Court Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, announced she instructed her office to immediately start a preliminary examination after receiving a delegation from the Government of Mali led by the Minister of Justice, H.E. Malick Coulibaly, who brought a letter.  The letter observed that as a State Party to the ICC, Mali referred “the situation in Mali since Janaury 2012” to the ICC Prosecutor’s Office and requested an investigation to determine whether one or more persons should be charged with alleged atrocities.  The letter said that the Malian courts are unable to prosecute or try the perpetrators and was accompanied by documentation in support of the referral.[1]