Trial and Tribulations at the International Criminal Court: The Thomas Dyi lo Lubanga Trial

Abstract

 Background: On 26 January 2009 the first trial before the permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) finally began. The road leading to the prosecution of Thomas Dyilo Lubanga, the President of the Union des  Patriotes Congolais (UPC) accused of the war crime of conscripting or enlisting children under the age of fifteen and using them to participate actively during the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2002-2003, has been long and winding. In fact, the trial almost did not start at all. In various ways this landmark case is unprecedented, leading to a number of 'firsts' in international criminal law.