The Exercising Of Investigatory Powers Of The International Criminal Court Prosecutors

The International Criminal Court Prosecutors start investigative proceeding marks the beginning of judicial preceding of the International Criminal Court, therefore, the international prosecutors in every case or situation would be particularly concerned by various parties. According to the Statute of the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Court Prosecutors may start an investigative procedure based on three situations (referral of a situation by a state party, referral of a situation by the United Nations Security Council and the Prosecutor's proprio motu power of investigation), but they must be in keeping with the appropriate conditions and principles. Therefore, the investigatory powers of International Criminal Court Prosecutors can't be started randomly. Once the proceeding is started, the prosecutors have an obligation to finish the investigation quickly and fairly. The Prosecutors can adopt general measures such as collecting and preserving evidence, and they can also ask the states to cooperate in criminal justice ,and also can be based on the consent of the state party in one county direct an investigation. As the exercise of the powers of investigation of the International Criminal Court prosecutors leads to the adverse consequences and their influence on the international community, it will conflict with different interest groups of international community. While exercising the investigatory powers, they will conflict with the relevant authorities inevitably, such as the conflict with the national sovereignty, the conflict with the international politics, the conflict with the UN Security Council and the conflict with the power to review of the judges. These conflicts can't be ignored when we research the investigatory powers of prosecutors, and especially these conflicts will have a great effect on investigative proprio motu of prosecutors. Whether these conflicts can be resolved reasonably will influence whether the prosecutors can exercise the investigatory powers objectively and impartially in order to punish the criminals. When negotiating the ICC Stature, whether to establish prosecutors'power of investigation proprio motu is one of the most controversial issues.Until now, the international society is still arguing about prosecutor's proprio motu power of investigation. On June 15, 1998, at the United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the establishment of an International Criminal Court, the Chinese delegation believes that the prosecutors have too much power in fact in the provisions of the Statute of the International Criminal Court. They can begin the investigation process only according to the information which is provided personally, which affects directly or interferes with the country's judicial sovereignty to some extent, which is one of the reasons why China refuses to join the Statute of the International Criminal Court. While we can worry about the abuse of prosecutors'power of investigation proprio motu, violation of national sovereignty, and damage to the impartiality and independence of the court, we still have to acknowledge the positive impact of the establishment of prosecutor's proprio motu power of investigation on international criminal law. We can't deny that the establishment of this system is a major breakthrough of international criminal justice.According to the relevant provisions of the prosecutor in the International Criminal Court, this article states briefly the position and function in the International Criminal Court, the setting of office, the principles and the measures taken of exercising of power and evaluates the three situations of Prosecutor's power of investigation combined with cases. Comments are made on the three means of surveys by the prosecutor, especially against the background of setting of Prosecutor's proprio motu power of investigation and the constraint and problems in exercising the proprio motu power of investigation. This paper argues for establishing investigative proprio motu of prosecutors by the Statute of the International Criminal Court, thinks that it is a strong institution of international criminal justice, and argues that, by doing so, it is good for international society to punish"the most serious crime"in international community, and also it is consistent with the reality of the international community. At the same time, China should join the Statute of the International Criminal Court, influence the International Criminal Court in various aspects and safeguard the legitimate interests of our country rather than be an opponent outside.