Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday authorized the tribunal’s landmark in absentia hearing, paving the way for trial proceedings against the fugitive Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony to move forward despite his continued evasion of arrest.

Judicial proceedings at the ICC are comprised of two phases at the first instance trial level, which are the confirmation and trial proceedings, enshrined under Article 61 and Article 62 of the Rome Statute , respectively.

Article 61(2)(b) of the Rome Statute provides that ‘in absentia’ hearings can be held in the event that the suspect’s location is untraceable and “reasonable steps had been taken to secure his or her appearance before the Court.” After determining that Kony fell under the prerequisite of an individ

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