Quality Control in the Preliminary Examination of Civil Society Submissions

Pre-investigations within criminal justice systems have garnered much significance and attention in the last years with regard to core international crimes. Careful scrutiny is warranted as this is one of the most sensitive stages of such proceedings, often characterized by a complex mixture of factors such as broad prosecutorial discretion, limited public communication, delays, high public expectations, and political pressure.  Civil society organizations (CSOs) involved in such proceedings as triggers of (pre-)investigations into egregious crimes and mass human rights violations have a unique vantage point on these proceedings. Those civil society organizations, who will generally be in close contact with victims of such violations,areparticularly well-placed to observe the pre-investigation stage of the criminal proceedings, including experiencinghow in cases of grave crimes, deficiencies in preliminary examinations can be fatal to the prosecutory process triggered by a criminal complaint or submission. This article aims to provide some observations and critical remarks drawn from the practical experience of the authors in their work as part of a civil society organization as well as from an academic standpoint, both (I) at the domestic level, specifically in Germany (II),and at the International Criminal Court (ICC).