International Criminal Court chooses next chief prosecutor

The International Criminal Court has chosen the successor to Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, whose term expires in June. Fatou Bensouda, a Gambian lawyer and Moreno-Ocampo’s current deputy, will take the reins.

The ICC has faced criticism that all of the cases brought before it are from Africa. Some hope that having an African in the chief prosecutor position will help to ease those tensions.

The chief prosecutor’s term of office is nine years. Bensouda’s will begin June 16, 2012.

For more information, including Bensouda’s background and a list of current cases in the ICC, see articles in the New York Times, Reuters, the BBC, and Kenya’s The Standard.