Aggravating Factors of Punishment in the Rulings of the International Criminal Court

On December 7, 2019, equal to 16 Azar 1398, the International Criminal Court issued the heaviest sentence of imprisonment for 30 years for Ntaganda. In this verdict, the aggravating factors of punishment are discussed in detail. The aggravating circumstances of crime are also discussed in detail in the previous judgments of the Supreme Court. The International Criminal Court (ICC) after sentencing, holds an independent hearing only to determine the aggravating circumstances and mitigating circumstances. In this court hearing, the parties merely argue for aggravation and mitigation, and the Court responds to every single case cited by the parties. In domestic and municipal law, it is appropriate to separate the stage of conviction for the crime and the stage of sentencing. From the study and comparison of the conviction sentences of the court in this descriptive-analytical research, we have come to the conclusion that there has been no case in the court regarding the repetition of the crime so that it can be considered as an aggravating factor. Regarding the plurality of crime, even of different types, the procedure of the branches of the Court so far has been that the maximum final punishment applied for various crimes is only the severe punishment that the Court had considered for one of the crimes and in other words, the plurality of crime has not intensified the punishment in the court’s rulings, which can reduce the deterrent effect of the court’s role.