ICC concludes its seventh Seminar of Counsel
The International Criminal Court (ICC) yesterday concluded its annual seventh Seminar of Counsel in The Hague, held on 11 - 12 May 2009. After two days of highly discursive debate, the seminar was hailed a success in terms of the quality of participant discussion. It presented a unique forum for the Court to provide an update on judicial proceedings as well as affording influential members of the international legal profession an important opportunity in which to informally debate and discuss legal issues of shared interest.
The Seminar was attended by some 200 attendees. In her opening remarks the Court’s Registrar, Ms Silvana Arbia, emphasised the annual seminar’s importance as a way of continuing institutional dialogue between the Court and other members of the legal profession, thus creating partnerships. ICC President Song echoed this sentiment stating, “[T]he Seminar of Counsel is an expression of this Court’s dedication to remaining engaged with its List of Counsel and the broader legal community…This interaction serves to ensure that the Court is meeting the highest legal standards, whilst increasing external confidence in our work”.
During the seminar, lawyers from the ICC’s List of Counsel and representatives from international legal associations, non-governmental organisations and ad hoc tribunals were invited to examine the important legal developments and case law related to victim participation at the Court. Presentations were made by representatives of the Registry’s Victims Participation and Reparations Section (VPRS), and the Office of Public Counsel for Victims (OPCV). A Legal Representative of Victims before the Court and an ICC Defence Counsel also introduced a debate on the anonymous participation of victims in proceedings, focusing on the need to secure the safety of victims involved in Court proceedings whilst at the same time meeting the requirements of a fair trial. Topics covering developments in the last year in relation to Defence issues were raised for discussion by members of the ICC Defence Support Section, the Office of Public Counsel for the Defence (OPCD), and the ICTY Office of Legal Aid and Detention Matters. The mandates of the OPCV and the OPCD both as counsel in the proceedings and in supporting external counsel was discussed. The need of the Court to use intermediaries with victims was also discussed within the framework of the consultation process launched by the Registrar in order to clarify ICC policy on this subject. The discussions touched on the effectiveness of victims’ participation in the proceedings through the involvement of intermediaries, protection, financial and other support for intermediaries and further consequences of their interaction with different units of the Court.
Justice Richard Goldstone, former prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunals for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, opened the second day’s proceedings with a keynote speech on the role of counsel in the development of international criminal justice in which he stressed the importance of such a role for the credibility and fairness of trial proceedings. He further opined and pronounced on the notion of ‘equality of arms’ stating that the principle does not necessarily mean an equality of resources between the Office of the Prosecutor and the Defence, rather that the Defence should be provided with all adequate resources to present their case. While praising counsel and the important work of the Defence, he equally urged caution concerning the dangers of allowing certain clients to make the courtroom a political arena. A greater part of the day was then given to the presentation of the 2009 interim reports on the assessment of indigence and the funding of victims’ legal representation by a panel representing the ICC, the Court’s List of Counsel, the Niger Bar Association, the International Criminal Bar and the International Bar Association. The seminar ended with a final discussion on disclosure issues, outlining the practices of the Court in this matter including full transparency, full access of Chambers to disclosed material and the overseeing role of the Chambers over disclosure obligations of the parties.
The Registrar provided the closing remarks praising the quality of the debates and stressing her wish that the annual seminar continues to effectively engage the Court and external members of the legal profession.
A three-day training workshop has been scheduled to follow on from the seminar on 13 - 15 May. The objective of the workshop is to familiarise counsel with practice before the ICC, the administrative, technical and judicial structures of the Court and substantive legal developments thus enabling them to perform effectively once they have been appointed to practice before the Court.
11.05.2009 - Opening Statement of the President, Judge Sang-Hyun Song
11.05.2009 - Discours d’ouverture du Greffier, Mme Silvana Arbia
For further information regarding the training sessions, please contact the Defence Support Section of the Registry at: [email protected]