Click here for Judgment (approximately 27 pages); click here for press release (approximately 3 pages)

On October 25, 2013, in the Prosecutor v. William Samoei Ruto and Joshua Arap Sang case, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court ruled that, according to the press release, “the absence of an accused person from trial is permissible under exceptional circumstances if the accused has explicitly waived his right to be present at trial.”  The Trial Chamber thus unanimously reversed the decision of Trial Chamber V(a), conditionally granting William Samoei Ruto’s request to be excused from being physically present continuously throughout the trial, with the exception of a number of sessions including the opening and closing statements as well as the victims’ presentation of their views and concerns.  The Appeals Chamber held that the Trial Chamber had interpreted its discretion too broadly and thus may make a new decision on the matter in light of the Appeals Chamber’s criteria.  Ruto is currently serving as Deputy President of Kenya and is accused of being criminally responsible for crimes against humanity.