Ahead of the so-called ‘Bossembélé’ trial.
By Nathalie CLOONEY | LAMINE MÉDIA
(Bangui, 10 June 2026 – LNC) Ahead of 16 June, the date of the so-called “Bossembélé” trial, a preliminary hearing was held this morning to discuss issues relating to the principle of legality raised by the defence. Indeed, the defence for the four accused raised several objections, such as the absence of criminalisation under domestic law, confusion regarding the applicable legal framework, the lack of concrete foreseeability of the offences, the interpretation of Article 3(4) of the Organic Law of the Special Criminal Court, as well as the issue of the applicability of Article 7 of the Rome Statute and the law in time. Regarding criminalisation under domestic law, the defence maintained that at the time of certain acts being prosecuted, prior to 2015, no national legislation precisely defined international crimes or the conditions for their application to individuals. For the lawyers, applying these classifications today to past acts would amount to establishing a form of criminal retroactivity, which would be contrary to the fundamental principles of law. Regarding the second point, the defence believes that there is confusion between the existence of a criminal provision and its applicability to an individual under domestic law. In its view, the provisions cited by the prosecution cannot be applied automatically before the CPS. On the issue of concrete foreseeability, the defence argues that this cannot be based on a mere legal abstraction. In particular, it referred to limited access to sources of law, which allegedly prevented the accused from clearly identifying the criminal charges against them. In response to all this, the prosecution stated that the accused were aware of the existence of these crimes and their criminal nature. Finally, on the fifth point concerning the applicability of Article 7 of the Rome Statute and the law in time, the defence stated that this provision requires that the acts being prosecuted form part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population. It argued that such an interpretation would amount to the direct application of international law, which, in its view, would pose a problem in criminal matters. In short, the defence contends that no legal basis, no specific charge and no real foreseeability have been established. It concludes that the prosecution’s reasoning relies more on legal constructs. However, the prosecution refutes all these arguments; regarding the public policy grounds, the Court considers that it is free to assess their relevance. As regards the principle of legality, the Court clarified that it does not object, adding that the ICC is a court established to try international crimes, where appropriate. But the prosecution rejected these arguments. Regarding the public policy grounds raised by the defence, it reiterated that it is for the Court to assess their relevance. The prosecution also added that the Organic Law of the CPS, as a special statute, takes precedence over the general provisions of the Criminal Code when it comes to determining the Court’s jurisdiction. In the deputy prosecutor’s view, the defence is merely seeking to prevent prosecution even though the CPS has jurisdiction. He considers these arguments to be unnecessary and premature at this stage of the proceedings and points out that the issue of retroactivity has already been the subject of legal discussions previously. The civil party, very pleased with the prosecution’s submissions, asked the Court to dismiss the defence’s objections, describing the arguments as flimsy. After hearing the various parties, the Court adjourned the hearing. The decision on these objections will be reserved until 15 June at 12 noon. It should be noted that the Bossembelé case concerns the defendants François BOZIZÉ YANGOUVONDA, Eugène Barret NGAÏKOSSET, Vianney SEMNDIRO and Firmin Junior DANBOY, who are being prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed between 2009 and 2013 in Bangui, Bouar and Bossembelé
LNC
Date: 10 June 2026
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