Congo war crimes verdict in March

"The decision on the innocence or guilt of Thomas Lubanga will be delivered on March 14 by ICC judges," the Hague-based court said in a statement.

Lubanga, 51, faces two war crimes charges for enlisting child soldiers under the age of 15 to fight for his militia during the five-year war in the Democratic Republic of Congo which ended in 2003.

The alleged founder of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) party and chief commander of its military wing went on trial in January 2009, with closing arguments finishing in August last year.

Lubanga has pleaded not guilty before the ICC, the world's first permanent tribunal dealing with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity and which opened its doors in 2003.