Confirmation of charges hearing in the Bosco Ntaganda case to begin soon

The confirmation of charges hearing is not a trial. It is a Pre-Trial hearing held to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that the person committed each of the crimes charged.

If charges are confirmed, the Pre-Trial Chamber commits the case for trial before a Trial Chamber, which conducts the subsequent phase of the proceedings: the trial.

The ICC has issued two warrants of arrest for Bosco Ntaganda. As the former alleged Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Forces Patriotiques pour la Libération du Congo [Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo] (FPLC),

Mr Ntaganda is suspected of seven counts of war crimes and three counts of crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between 1 September 2002 and the end of September 2003. On 22 March 2013, Bosco Ntaganda surrendered himself voluntarily and is now in the ICC’s custody.