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The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is the officer of the International Criminal Court whose duties include the investigation and prosecution of the crimes under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes as well as the crime of aggression once that crime comes under the Court's jurisdiction which will not be the case before 2017.
The current Prosecutor is Fatou Bensouda, who was elected by the 10th session of the Assembly of States Parties and took office on 15 June 2012. Her predecessor was Luis Moreno Ocampo who served since 16 June 2003.
Elections of the Prosecutor
The first election of the Prosecutor took place on 21 April 2003, during the second resumption of the first session of the Assembly of States Parties in New York. The only official candidate was Luis Moreno Ocampo. Moreno Ocampo was elected with 78 votes with no votes against and no abstentions. Nine states parties did not vote.
The second election of the Prosecutor took place during the tenth session of the Assembly of States Parties in New York on 12 December 2011. A Search Committee was established which received 52 communications regarding a new Prosecutor. In the end, the states parties achieved consensus to elect the then-Deputy Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda from Gambia, as the new Prosecutor. She was elected by acclamation.