The International Nuremberg Principles Academy and the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (the Mechanism) held a five-day advanced seminar for 26 magistrates from French-speaking Central and West African countries. The seminar was supported by the Ivorian ministry of Justice and the Attorney General of Abidjan and was held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from 6 to 10 May 2019.
The participants had the opportunity to share their experience and discuss practical issues related to international criminal investigations and prosecutions. Trainers were members of the Mechanism's Office of the Prosecutor, a member of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, and a former member of the Extraordinary African Chambers in the Senegalese courts (CAE).
The seminar included a mix of discussions and practical exercises on international criminal law and international humanitarian law (how to prove crimes and modes of liability, investigations, selection and presentation of evidence, prosecution strategy, etc.). It also included a session during which the participants discussed the positive experience and lessons learned from the work of the CAE.
The ultimate objectives of the seminar was to strengthen national capacities of Western and Central African prosecutors and judges, as well as the establishment of a network of experts.