For a brief overview of the relevant provisions and legal precedents in national jurisdictions, see paras 11-12.

9. The Appeals Chamber notes that neither the Statute nor the Rules indicate whether the termination of the appellate proceedings has any impact on the finality of the trial judgement following the death of an appellant and prior to the issuance of an appeal judgement. The Appeals Chamber is further mindful of the fact that pursuant to Rule 102(A) of the Rules, the enforcement of the trial judgement shall be stayed as soon as notice of appeal is given and “until the decision on the appeal has been delivered”.[1] However, the Appeals Chamber has found that the death of the appellant results in the termination of the appeal proceedings; consequently, this provision is not applicable to the situation at hand.

13. […] [T]here is no general principle that is consistently followed in the majority of jurisdictions as to the finality of the trial judgement in the event that the proceedings are terminated following the death of an appellant. For this reason, as well as bearing in mind the specific realities of, and the particular procedures before, this Tribunal, the Appeals Chamber cannot discern any prevalent approach, let alone identify any rules of customary international law, that would be directly applicable to the situation at hand.

14. The Appeals Chamber considers that the approach followed in certain national jurisdictions, where convictions entered by a court of first instance are vacated following the death of an appellant, is not compatible with the essence of the appellate proceedings before this Tribunal. […]

15. Having found that the death of an appellant results in the termination of proceedings and given that no appeal judgement can be rendered in this case, nothing can undermine the finality of the Trial Judgement. As a consequence, the Trial Judgement shall be considered final.