## Facts

- Thomas Lubanga Dyilo led the UPC/RP and served as Commander-in-Chief of the FPLC in the Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- In March 2004, the situation in the DRC was referred to the International Criminal Court; Lubanga was arrested and transferred to ICC custody in March 2006.
- Lubanga was convicted as a co-perpetrator of war crimes committed between September 2002 and August 2003: conscripting and enlisting children under 15, and using them to participate actively in hostilities.
- The armed conflict was non-international and marked by significant violence; children were recruited through forced and purportedly voluntary means and placed in dangerous roles, including combat and support functions.
- Following the conviction judgment, the court conducted a separate sentencing phase under Article 76, considering statutory sentencing limits and sentencing factors under Rule 145.

## Issues

1. What term of imprisonment was appropriate for conscripting, enlisting, and using children under 15 to participate actively in hostilities, considering the crimes’ gravity and Lubanga’s individual circumstances?
2. What aggravating or mitigating circumstances, if any, were established and how should they affect the sentence?
3. Whether to impose separate and/or consecutive sentences for the three crimes or a single overall sentence.

## Decision

- The court imposed a total sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment.
- The court entered a single overall sentence rather than separate consecutive sentences, citing the close factual and legal connection among the offenses.
- The court treated the crimes as very serious, emphasizing the particular vulnerability of children and the enduring physical, psychological, and social harms caused by their recruitment and use.
- The court found Lubanga’s culpability high given his senior leadership role and involvement in a common plan to build and maintain a functioning armed force that included child recruitment and use.
- The court declined to treat alleged sexual violence against girl soldiers as an aggravating circumstance because it was not charged and was not established as part of the conviction findings under the applicable standard.
- The court found no major mitigating factors; it did not credit meaningful cooperation or genuine remorse, and personal circumstances did not materially reduce the sentence.
- The court credited time spent in ICC detention since March 2006 against the sentence.

## Legal Principles

- Sentencing must be proportionate to the gravity of the crimes and the convicted person’s culpability, assessed under the governing sentencing provisions and Rule 145 factors.
- Aggravating circumstances must be proven beyond reasonable doubt; uncharged conduct cannot be used to increase punishment as a formal aggravating factor.
- “Active participation” in hostilities may include roles that place children in real danger as potential targets, including certain support functions near combat.
- Where multiple crimes arise from the same course of conduct and are closely connected, a court may impose a single overall sentence rather than consecutive terms.
- Credit must be given for time spent in detention relating to the case, reducing the remaining term to be served.

## Conclusion

The court imposed a single 14-year sentence for Lubanga’s child-soldier war crimes, grounding punishment in proportionality, the seriousness of recruiting and deploying children, Lubanga’s leadership responsibility, and a due-process limitation that prevented sentence enhancement based on uncharged allegations.


Prosecutor v. Lubanga (Decision on Sentence Pursuant to Article 76 of the Statute), Case No. ICC-01/04-01/06 (Int’l Crim. Ct. Trial Chamber I 2012)