The Fifth International Meetings of the Defence

 

From 8 to 10 November 2017, the Fifth International Meetings of the Defence took place in the historic Courtroom 600 of the Nuremberg Palace of Justice and brought together various actors involved in international criminal justice. The event was organized by the Defence Office of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, in partnership with the International Nuremberg Principles Academy, and with the support of the Bar of Nuremberg, the Bar Association of Nuremberg and the International Criminal Court Bar Association.

The International Meetings of the Defence pursue the dual purpose of examining the best practices of existing Defence structures within the international criminal courts and proposing practical solutions to improve Defence capabilities before the international criminal courts. The previous International Meetings of the Defence were held respectively at the Paris Bar Association in 2013, at the Peace Palace, seat of the International Court of Justice, in The Hague in 2014, at the University of Geneva in 2015, and at the Middle Temple and the Law Society in London in 2016.

This year, the Fifth Meetings concluded with the presentation of two documents produced by the Working Groups appointed by the Meetings, which have worked during the past two years with many international professional organizations and practitioners of all nationalities and legal cultures, benefiting from a very wide experience: a Practical Guide to Investigations and a Code of Ethics for Defence Counsel and Victims practicing before International Criminal Tribunals, known as the Nuremberg Code 2017, which seeks to harmonize existing codes. A follow-up committee for this Code was be set up during the event in Nuremberg and welcomes all organizations wishing to become involved in its permanent updating, including disciplinary case law and any other relevant amendments. As for the Practical Guide to Investigations, it is a unique compilation of advice for Counsel who conduct investigations on the field, in the context of adversarial proceedings, in which there is no investigative judge.

The program can be downloaded below.


Photos below by Nuremberg Academy

 

Program 5th Meetings of the Defence
The participants of the 5th International Meetings of the Defence
Judge Ivana Hrdli?ková, President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon
The Code of Nuremberg 2017
Judge Waltraud Bayerlein, Nuremberg Court of Appeal, welcoming the participants in the historic Courtroom 600
Dr Viviane Dittrich, Deputy Director of the International Nuremberg Principles Academy
Hans Link, President of the Nuremberg Bar Association
Antonio El Hachem, Head of the Beirut Bar
Basile Ader, elected Vice-President of the Paris Bar Association
Issouf Baadhio, Vicepresident of the International Association of Lawyers
Laurent Pettiti, Member of the Conférence Internationale des Barreaux
François Roux, Head of the Defence Office of the Special Tribunal of Lebanon
Dr Viviane Dittrich, Deputy Director of the International Nuremberg Principles Academy, during her welcome speech
Karim Khan, President of the International Criminal Court Bar Association
Pierre-Alexandre Kopp, International Criminal Bar
François Roux, Head of the Defence Office of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon
Prof. Dr. Christoph Safferling, Professor at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, giving the keynote speech
(from left) Dr Viviane Dittrich, François Roux, Xavier-Jean Keïta and Antonio El Hachem
"Issues faced by the Defence" - (from left) David Hein, Xavier-Jean Keïta, Jens Dieckmann (chair of session), Jean-Louis Gilissen and Silke Studzinsky
"Issues faced by the Defence, part 2" - (from left) Héleyn Uñac, Natalie von Wistinghausen, Anta Guissé, Saskia Ditisheim (chair of session), Kate Mackintosh and Dominic Kennedy
Henrike Claussen, Director of the Memorium Nuremberg Trials, presenting the Memorium
Caroline Buisman closing the first day of the Meetings
"The history of interpretation before international criminal tribunals" – (from left) Sylvie Nossereau, Hanna Petersen (chair of session) and Dr Theodoros Radisoglou
"Victims before International Criminal Justice" – (from left) Fidel Nsita Luvengika, Hanna Petersen (chair of session) and Marie-Reine Sfeir
Members of the audience in Courtroom 600
"An empirical approach to international justice" – (from left) Catherine Mabille, Eduardo Toledo (chair of session) and Damien Scalia
Presentation of the Practical Guide to Investigations – (from left) Marie O’Leary, Thomas Hannis, Ghislain Mabanga (chair of session), Johann Soufi and Caroline Buteau
Presentation of the Code of Nuremberg 2017 – (from left) Melody Dernocoeur, Estelle Capra, Roula El Derbas, Judge Ivana Hrdli?ková (Chair of the session), Iain Edwards, Antonios Abou Kasm and Aurélie Roche-Mair