Timing arrest warrants at the ICC

-

Timing arrest warrants at the ICC

25 June 2026 · By Alberto Fierro Aldudo
ICC permanent premises

Alberto Fierro Aldudo holds an LL.M. from Maastricht University, where he specialised international law and human rights. LinkedIn · X

Introduction

In recent years, the public announcement of the issuance of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court (ICC) has attracted general interest and raised controversy and debate, especially with the arrest warrants in relation to the Situation in the State of Palestine, the Situation in Ukraine, and the Situation in the Republic of the Philippines. Rumours about new applications for arrest warrants have reached the media on several occasions, as well as statements of support and rejection from government officials and the public.

This article will present the current legal framework for the application and issuance of arrest warrants and summonses to appear at the ICC, as well as an overview of how long it has taken for the different Pre-Trial Chambers (PTC) to issue an arrest warrant or summons to appear after receiving the application from the Prosecutor in the 79 times this has been done between 2005 and 2025.

The legal framework

Article 58 of the Rome Statute provides that at any time after the initiation of an investigation the PTC may issue a warrant of arrest for a person after an application made by the Prosecutor if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person has committed a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court and the arrest of the person appears necessary to ensure the person's appearance at trial, to ensure that the person does not obstruct or endanger the investigation or the court proceedings, or to prevent the person from continuing with the commission of that crime or a related crime which is within the jurisdiction of the Court. Alternatively, the PTC may also issue a summons to appear if it is satisfied that it is sufficient to ensure the person's appearance.

In recent years, the Prosecutor has publicly announced the application for arrest warrants regarding the Situation in Georgia, the Situation in the State of Palestine, the Situation in Afghanistan, and the Situation in Bangladesh/Myanmar. However, on 3 November 2025 the ICC amended Regulation 23 ter of the Regulations of the Court, requiring the OTP to file applications for arrest warrants as "under seal" or "secret" and therefore preventing public announcements of the application.

Timing arrest warrants

Since 2005, the ICC has made public the issuance of 79 arrest warrants and summonses to appear, 78 of which followed an application made by the Prosecutor. It is more than likely that other arrest warrants have been issued and remain secret and under seal; therefore, this article will only take into consideration the public ones.

The average time that the different PTCs take from the application to the issuance of the arrest warrant or summons to appear has been 78 days. The longest a PTC has taken to decide on this matter was the request for an arrest warrant or summons to appear against Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain in relation to the Situation in Darfur, Sudan. The application was made by the Prosecutor on 20 November 2008, and PTC I did not issue a summons to appear until 27 August 2009, 280 days later, following several additional requests for information to the OTP and an ex parte hearing. Later in the proceedings, Trial Chamber I issued an arrest warrant against Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain after he refused to appear following the confirmation of charges, although no formal request by the Prosecutor was made in that case.

The shortest time a PTC has taken to issue an arrest warrant was against Ronald Marapon Dela Rosa. The request was made by the Prosecutor on 3 November 2025 and approved by PTC I on 6 November 2025, just 3 days later. The fact that the same PTC had issued another arrest warrant against Rodrigo Duterte 8 months earlier and that both cases are closely connected (both individuals are allegedly co-perpetrators) probably made it easier for the judges to review the evidentiary material.

Regarding other notable cases, it took 185 days for the PTC to issue the arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, and Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri; 23 days in the case of Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova; 25 days for the arrest warrant against Rodrigo Duterte; and 72 days in the case against Muammar Gaddafi. The complete list of the 79 public arrest warrants and summonses to appear issued by the ICC can be found here:

Name Application Arrest Warrant Days
Joseph Kony06 May 200508 Jul 200563
Raska Lukwiya06 May 200508 Jul 200563
Okot Odhiambo06 May 200508 Jul 200563
Dominic Ongwen06 May 200508 Jul 200563
Vincent Otti06 May 200508 Jul 200563
Germain Katanga25 Jun 200702 Jul 20077
Thomas Lubanga Dyilo13 Jan 200610 Feb 200628
Callixte Mbarushimana20 Aug 201028 Sep 201039
Sylvestre Mudacumura (I)15 May 201231 May 201216
Sylvestre Mudacumura (II)13 Jun 201213 Jul 201230
Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui25 Jun 200706 Jul 200711
Bosco Ntaganda (I)13 Jan 200622 Aug 2006221
Bosco Ntaganda (II)14 May 201213 Jul 201260
Bahar Idriss Abu Garda20 Nov 200807 May 2009168
Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir15 Jul 200804 Mar 2009232
Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al Rahman (I)27 Feb 200727 Apr 200759
Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al Rahman (II)03 Nov 201716 Jan 201874
Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain (I)20 Nov 200827 Aug 2009280
Ahmad Muhammad Harun27 Feb 200727 Apr 200759
Abdel Raheem Muhammad Hussein02 Dec 201101 Mar 201290
Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus20 Nov 200827 Aug 2009280
Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo09 May 200823 May 200814
Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo10 Nov 201320 Nov 201310
Aimé Kilolo Musamba10 Nov 201320 Nov 201310
Jean-Jacques Mangenda Kabongo10 Nov 201320 Nov 201310
Fidèle Babala Wandu10 Nov 201320 Nov 201310
Narcisse Arido10 Nov 201320 Nov 201310
Edmond Beina30 Oct 201807 Dec 201838
Maxime Jeoffroy Eli Mokom Gawaka30 Oct 201810 Dec 201841
Alfred Yekatom30 Oct 201811 Nov 201812
Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona30 Oct 201807 Dec 201838
Mahamat Nouradine Adam30 Oct 201807 Jan 201969
Mahamat Said Abdel Kani30 Oct 201807 Jan 201969
Mohamed Hussein Ali15 Dec 201008 Mar 201183
Walter Osapiri Barasa18 Jul 201302 Aug 201315
Philip Kipkoech Bett09 Feb 201510 Mar 201529
Paul Gicheru09 Feb 201510 Mar 201529
Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta15 Dec 201008 Mar 201183
Francis Kirimi Muthaura15 Dec 201008 Mar 201183
Henry Kiprono Kosgey16 Feb 201108 Mar 201120
William Samoei Ruto15 Dec 201008 Mar 201183
Joshua Arap Sang15 Dec 201008 Mar 201183
Muammar Mohammed Abu Minyar Gaddafi16 Apr 201127 Jun 201172
Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi16 Apr 201127 Jun 201172
Abdullah Al-Senussi16 Apr 201127 Jun 201172
Al-Tuhamy Mohamed Khaled27 Mar 201318 Apr 201322
Mahmoud Mustafa Busayf Al-Werfalli (I)01 Aug 201715 Aug 201714
Mahmoud Mustafa Busayf Al-Werfalli (II)01 Apr 201804 Jul 201894
Abdurahem Khalefa Abdurahem Elshgagi08 Nov 202206 Apr 2023149
Makhlouf Makhlouf Arhoumah Doumah08 Nov 202206 Apr 2023149
Nasser Muhammad Muftah Daou08 Nov 202206 Apr 2023149
Mohamed Mohamed Al Salheen Salmi08 Nov 202206 Apr 2023149
Abdelbari Ayyad Ramadan Al Shaqaqi08 Nov 202206 Apr 2023149
Fathi Faraj Mohamed Salim Al Zinkal08 Nov 202206 Apr 2023149
Osama Elmasry Njeem02 Oct 202418 Jan 2025108
Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri03 Apr 202510 Jul 202598
Saif Suleiman Sneidel27 May 202010 Nov 2020167
Laurent Gbagbo25 Oct 201123 Nov 201129
Charles Blé Goudé12 Dec 201121 Dec 20119
Simone Gbagbo07 Feb 201229 Feb 201222
Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi07 Sep 201518 Sep 201511
Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud20 Mar 201827 Mar 20187
Iyad Ag Ghaly26 May 201718 Jul 201753
Gamlet Guchmazov10 Mar 202224 Jun 2022106
Mikhail Mayramovich Mindzaev10 Mar 202224 Jun 2022106
David Georgiyevich Sanakoev10 Mar 202224 Jun 2022106
Rodrigo Roa Duterte10 Feb 202507 Mar 202525
Ronald Marapon Dela Rosa03 Nov 202506 Nov 20253
Benjamin Netanyahu20 May 202421 Nov 2024185
Yoav Gallant20 May 202421 Nov 2024185
Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri20 May 202421 Nov 2024185
Haibatullah Akhundzada23 Jan 202508 Jul 2025166
Abdul Hakim Haqqani23 Jan 202508 Jul 2025166
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin22 Feb 202317 Mar 202323
Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova02 Feb 202405 Mar 202432
Sergei Ivanovich Kobylash02 Feb 202405 Mar 202432
Nikolayevich Sokolov02 Feb 202405 Mar 202432
Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu02 Feb 202424 Jun 2024143
Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov02 Feb 202424 Jun 2024143

Source: ICC public records. 

Conclusion

The number of days that the PTC has taken to examine and decide on requests for the issuance of arrest warrants or summonses to appear has been entirely unpredictable. Although the average stands at 78 days, significant deviations have occurred throughout the history of the Court, with some arrest warrants being issued just a few days after the application and others only after several months. It is not possible to draw conclusions based solely on the timespan, since each case is likely entirely different. The amount of evidentiary material that the judges must review, as well as possible procedural interruptions, are factors that can influence this process, but what goes on behind the scenes is something on which very little public information is available.