Peruvian designated Vice-President of International Criminal Court

Peru-born Luz del Carmen Ibañez was chosen First Vice-President and Congolese Judge Antoine Kesia-Mbe Mindua Second Vice-President.

Given the COVID-19 restrictions, the election took place virtually.

"I am deeply honored to serve as the new President of the ICC together with the two Vice-Presidents. I am particularly pleased to do so as the first ICC President coming from the Eastern European group of states," newly-elected ICC President Hofmanski expressed.

According to Hofmanski, the Court is currently facing many challenges and the best way to meet those challenges is to refocus on doing all that we can do to deliver justice.

"I intend to continue the efforts undertaken by the judiciary to increase the efficiency of its work and to harmonize practices. The judges of the Court, acting together, should seize the opportunity to strengthen the Court in performing its important mandate under the Rome Statute, as a court of law," he added.

The Presidency —consisting of the President and the two Vice-Presidents— plays a key role in providing strategic leadership to the ICC as a whole.

It coordinates with the other organs and seeks the concurrence of the Prosecutor on matters of mutual concern.

In accordance with the Rome Statute, the ICC's governing treaty, the Presidency is responsible for the proper administration of the Court, with the exception of the Office of the Prosecutor.

It oversees the activities of the Registry and provides input into a broad range of administrative policies affecting the Court's overall functioning.

Furthermore, it conducts judicial review of certain decisions of the Registrar and concludes Court-wide cooperation agreements with States and international organizations.

Prior to joining the ICC, Judge Ibañez served as a Senior National Prosecutor in Peru's specialized system for the prosecution of crimes such as terrorism, grave violations of human rights, and crimes against humanity.

Likewise, she acted as the Coordinator of the 17 prosecutorial agencies of the aforementioned system. 

In her capacity as a Public Prosecutor, Judge Ibañez implemented a number of measures towards victims' reparations. These measures supported, for example, searching for missing persons; recovering and identifying human remains in mass graves; organizing public ceremonies for the declaration of public apologies from the Peruvian State to the victims and the restitution of the human remains to the relatives of the victims; rescuing children abducted by armed groups, etc.

During her career, she was appointed several times as a Peruvian delegate before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE), and other international bodies.

Judge Ibañez holds a Master's degree in Criminal Law and a Doctorate in Law degree from Universidad Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, in Peru; she obtained her degree in law and in political science from Universidad Nacional de Trujillo.