Abdullah al-Senussi

Libya challenges admissibility of ICC case 

The government of Libya challenged the admissibility of the ICC case against al-Senussi based on the principle of complementarity, which holds that the ICC will only investigate and prosecute individuals if the state concerned cannot or will not do so genuinely. ICC proceedings against al-Senussi came to an end when the Appeals Chamber confirmed a decision declaring the case inadmissible before the ICC as it was currently the subject of domestic proceedings conducted by the competent Libyan authorities. This is the first time that judges have found in favor of a government challenge to ICC jurisdiction over a case. Some civil society groups criticized the Appeals Chamber ruling and voiced concern over the Libyan government’s ability to conduct fair legal proceedings against Al-Senussi.  

The ICC prosecutor informed the UN Security Council in May 2016 that her office had conducted a preliminary review of al-Senussi’s Libyan court judgment and had not uncovered any facts that would negate Pre-Trial Chamber I’s finding that al-Senussi’s case is inadmissible at the ICC.

Death sentence prompts outcry 

On 28 July 2015, a Libyan court in Tripoli convicted al-Senussi, fellow ICC suspect Saif Gaddafi and seven other former government officials. They were then sentenced to death. The trial and verdicts generated an international outcry over allegations of serious due process violations. Coalition member the International Federation for Human Rights urged the Libyan Supreme Court to review the verdicts and sentences and the ICC to reconsider its inadmissibility decision in the Abdullah al-Senussi case.