Following Armenia’s ratification of the Rome Statute on 1 February 2024, the Nuremberg Academy in cooperation with the Academy of Justice of Armenia organised an inaugural 3-day training entitled ‘Advancing International Criminal Law in Armenia’ for Armenian investigators and prosecutors. The training was held in Yerevan from 13 – 15 March 2024.
The training was opened by Director of the International Nuremberg Principles Academy, Professor Dr Christoph Safferling, Rector of the Academy of Justice of Armenia, Professor Sergey Arakelyan and Senior Officer for Training and Capacity Building, Darleen Seda.
Director Professor Safferling discussed the contribution of the Nuremberg Principles to the development of international criminal law and presented on the crime of genocide. Senior Officer Kiran Mohandas Menon thereafter introduced participants to crimes against humanity and war crimes and explored the material elements of both crimes. Philip Trewhitt, Executive Director of the Institute for International Criminal Investigations and Alexis Demirdjian from the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) led separate discussions on the practical challenges of investigating international crimes and the legal framework of the ICC as well as the complementarity regime.
Additionally, Director Professor Safferling delivered public lectures at the Armenian Genocide Museum and Institute and Yerevan State University on the foundations of international criminal law and the German approaches to international criminal law respectively. The Nuremberg Academy delegation consisted of Director Professor Dr Christoph Safferling, Senior Officer Darleen Seda, Senior Officer Dr Gurgen Petrossian and Senior Officer Kiran Mohandas Menon. They also held meetings with Deputy Minister of Justice, Ara Mkrtchyan to discuss implementation of the Rome Statute in Armenia, as well as the Constitutional Court, represented by President Armen Dilanyan and Vice President Vahe Grigoryan, where deliberations revolved around the Court’s role in advancing the ratification of the Rome Statute.
The mission culminated with a panel discussion hosted by Equality for All: Article 3, a local NGO, where the Nuremberg Academy team presented on possibilities and avenues of prosecuting international crimes. Concepts of universal jurisdiction, complementarity regime and the role of NGOs were examined.
In her closing remarks, Mrs Seda commended participants for engaging and fruitful exchanges and emphasised the need for continuous training activities on international criminal law to equip participants with necessary skills and knowledge to effectively investigate and prosecute international crimes in domestic proceedings. (ds)
