The International Nuremberg Principles Academy hosted the judges of the International Criminal Court during their retreat held in Nuremberg on Friday, 19 June and Saturday, 20 June, 2015.
The newly elected president of the ICC, Judge Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi and her two vice-presidents, Judge Joyce Aluoch and Judge Kuniko Ozaki as well as judges from all three divisions of the court participated in the retreat.
The aim of the judges’ retreat was to reflect on their working methods and to deliberate on ways of improving efficiency. Following two days of deliberations, concrete measures relating to harmonization of working methods and best practices were agreed upon.
The judges’ retreat was held in the historic courtroom 600 in which Nazi war criminals were tried by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg for atrocities committed in World War II.
The work of the International Nuremberg Principles Academy domiciled in Nuremberg, Germany, focuses on three program areas: research, training and human rights education.
The Nuremberg Academy provides a forum to conduct debates and to shape policy in international criminal law.
In line with the goals of the academy, the ICC judges were provided a space to reflect on past practices and to fashion more efficient working methods aimed at facilitating more effective and efficient administration of international criminal justice.
The ICC has indicated that it will provide a summary of the results of the retreat to States Parties in the near future.
See ICC Press Release regarding the retreat here.
