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ICTY 2017

The revival of Nuremberg: ICTY - a milestone for the fight against impunity?

The International Nuremberg Principles Academy held on 05-06 May 2017 a seminar on the 'Legacy of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the Nuremberg Principles'. The Nuremberg trials, including its subsequent trials ended in 1949 and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was only established in 1993. The seminar looked at the establishment of the first international criminal tribunal since Nuremberg and discussed the ICTY's legacy in terms of case law development, the prosecution of heads of states, defense strategies and domestic jurisdiction. The Academy brought together high level academics and legal practitioners from a diverse background and discussed the impact of the ICTY in the region, as well as its impact on the development of international criminal law and the furtherance of the Nuremberg Principles. In 2010, the UN Security Council Resolution 1966 established the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals which will continue the jurisdiction, rights and obligations and essential functions of the ICTY once it closes at the end of 2017.

Seminar Program (PDF) 

 

 


Friday 05 May

Welcoming remarks (13:45 – 14:15)

1) From the Nuremberg Principles to Judicial Action – the Creation of the ICTY (14:15-16:00)

  • The UNSC’s first-ever court established under Chapter VII – the best of all options? 
    • Juan Antonio Yánez-Barnuevo (former Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
  • Comparative look at ad hoc and hybrid courts and the ICC: new advances
    • David Tolbert (International Center for Transitional Justice)
  • International Courts and Tribunals – non-political?
    • Philipp Ambach (International Criminal Court)
  • The ICTY Registry: Building best practices for international justice
    • John Hocking (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia)

     

Moderator: Serge Brammertz (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia/United Nations Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals)

2) From an International Tribunal to Domestic Jurisprudence (16:30-18:00)

  • Outreach: from a minimalist approach through the ‘awakening’ to a sophisticated outreach strategy 
    • Carmel Agius (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia)
  • The transition of trials to states on the territory of the former Yugoslavia and the acceptance of the ICTY in the region and its long-term impact 
    • Milan Petrovic (Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor‘s Office)
    • Ivan Crncec (Croatian Ministry of Justice)
    • Emira Hodžic (Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina)

     

Moderator: John Hocking (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia)

Saturday 06 May

3) The Evolution of the Substantive and Procedural Criminal Law (I) (08:45-10:15)

  • “Dabo tibi ius sine omni facto” – The strange role of a judge at the ICTY, factually and legally in the hands of the parties
    • Wolfgang Schomburg (former International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia)
  • A merger of different legal systems or the birth of a unique procedural system?
    • Michelle Jarvis (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia)
  • The role of the law making of the ICTY judges
    • Liu Daqun (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia)

     

Moderator: Kai Ambos (Georg August University Goettingen/Kosovo Specialist Chambers)

4) The Evolution of the Substantive and Procedural Criminal Law (II) (10:30-12:00)

  • Joint criminal enterprise, individual and command criminal responsibility
    • Fausto Pocar (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia)
  • ICTY and the new law on genocide
    • Carsten Stahn (Grotius Institute, Leiden University)
  • Sexual enslavement and rape as crimes against humanity; nexus between rape and ethnic cleansing
    • Olympia Bekou (University of Nottingham)

     

Moderator: Astrid Reisinger Coracini (Salzburg Law School)

5) The Prosecution – the “Engine” of the Court (12:45-14:15)

  • Art. 18 ICTY-Statute and the choice of cases – a sole prerogative with no checks and balances?
    • Serge Brammertz (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia/United Nations Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals)
  • Prosecuting Heads of States - how “stable” is the ICTY’s legacy of perpetuating the Nuremberg Principles?
    • Elies van Sliedregt (Leeds University)
  • The prosecutorial strategy since Nuremberg: lessons learned and challenges
    • Brenda Hollis (Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone)

     

Moderator: Peter Wilkitzki (former German Federal Ministry of Justice)

6) Defence (14:30-16:00)

  • From national practice to international proceedings – challenges for the defence lawyers
    • Christopher Gosnell (Counsel practicing before international tribunals)
  • Equality of arms – the principle and the reality
    • Branko Lukic (Association of Defence Counsel Practising Before the ICTY and Representing Counsel Before the MICT)
  • Self-defence of accused persons – fair trial or the contrary?
    • Colleen Rohan (9 Bedford Chambers)

     

Moderator: Stefan Kirsch (Counsel practicing before international tribunals)

Closing remarks (16:00-16:10)