Recently I filed a request for leave to file an amicus brief in the Bemba Gombo et al. case at the ICC. Decisions by the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber((Situation in the Central African Republic, ICC-01/05-52-Red2, Decision on the Prosecutor’s “Request for judicial order to obtain evidence for investigation under Article 70”, 29 July 2013. (“Bemba 29 July 2013 Decision”)) and Trial Chamber((Prosecutor v. Bemba Gombo et al., ICC-01/05-01/13-947, Decision Providing Materials in Two Independent Counsel Reports and Related Matters, 15 May 2015 (“Bemba 15 May 2015 Decision”); Prosecutor v. Bemba Gombo et al., ICC-01/05-01/13-1096, Decision on Defence Request for Leave to Appeal the “Decision Providing Materials in Two Independent Counsel Reports and Related Matters, 21 July 2015 (“Bemba 21 July 2015 Decision”.) )) have raised the issues of when the attorney-client privilege can be lifted and the use of communications between an attorney and a client. As these issues affect all List Counsel at the ICC, and perhaps beyond, this is precisely the type of matter in which a Bar Association for List Counsel (“ICCBA”) may seek to intervene. There being no association to take on the matter, and with the working group drafting the constitution for the ICCBA having no mandate to seek leave to file an amicus brief, I decided to step up to a request made by one of the defence counsel. Continue reading “Attorney-Client Privilege and the Crime-Fraud Exception — Part I”
Last December I had the privilege of being invited to participate at a conference hosted by the International Research and Documentation Centre War Crimes Trials, in Marburg, Germany. The conference, titled The Defence in International Criminal Courts, was by far the best conference I have ever attended, focusing on defence issues from Nuremberg and onwards. The presentations and discussions were excellent. Here is an excerpt of my presentation. The full version is scheduled for publication.
Hybrid Courts: a marriage of inconvenience Michael G. Karnavas
Imagine being on the football pitch. The stakes are high – it’s a championship game. You and your teammates have been preparing for this game, sharpening your skills, studying your opponent, developing your game plan, mastering the intricacies of the rules, doing everything possible to take advantage of every opportunity that may present itself and every weakness that your opponent may have. All is riding on this game, so you have thought of everything. You are ready. You are ready to control the ball, control your opponent, control the slightest openings. Ready to control it all. All except the referee. That’s the wildcard. The unknown, the unpredictable, the uncontrollable. The luck of the draw. If the referee knows the rules and applies the rules as they are intended, then you have only yourself to blame if the game is lost. But what if the referee does not follow the rules or applies them unevenly, or interprets them in a manner that is not in keeping with the spirit and tradition of the game? What if the referee decides to also play with the ball, handle it a bit, kick it around, pass it to your opponents, or, worse yet, lay in wait near your goalpost for the opportune moment to tap the ball into your net (even if it takes using his hands) and, having done so, smugly signals the goal? Continue reading “Hybrid Courts: a marriage of inconvenience”
On 16-17 July 2015, Dr Fabián O. Raimondo, Assistant Professor of Public International Law, Maastricht University, is hosting a Seminar directed exclusively to ICC List Counsel. The program is topical, relevant and practical.
Moreover, the Registrar will not only present his proposal for restructuring the Registry under the ReVision project, but will also engage the participants in what promises to be a lively discussion on many of the issues related to his vision and expectations on restructuring two of the most critical sections deemed by many List Counsel as essential in their representation of their clients: the OPCD and OPCV. See my prior post on Establishment of a Victims and Defence Office at the ICC. Continue reading “Upcoming Seminar concerning ICC List Counsel – 16-17 July 2015”
As I noted in a prior post, I was selected to chair the Committee for drafting a Constitution for a Bar/Association at the ICC. The latest draft of the Constitution (English / French) has just been sent around to List Counsel with a commentary (English / French) to assist in understanding the efforts and aims of the Committee, and to further guide deliberations and contributions on this draft. Comments are being solicited to ensure that the Constitution is representative of List Counsel’s collective views. As I have done before, I would like to present my vision on the draft Constitution. Continue reading “Musing on the ICCBA Draft Constitution”
In my last post on establishing a Bar for the ICC, I noted that a committee had been formed to draft a Constitution to be circulated for comments, and that my draft was selected as the working draft. Now I would like further elaborate upon my vision for and concerns of a Constitution for a Bar for Counsel practicing at the ICC; a Bar that should also be open for Counsel practicing before other international tribunals. Continue reading “Sketches of a Bar for the ICC Counsel”
Expert Conference on the Establishment of an ICC Victims and Defence Office & Establishment of committee to draft a constitution for and ICC Bar for List Counsel
On the 23rd and 24th of March 2015, the ICC Registrar held a conference of experts to discuss the establishment of a Victims Office and a Defence Office and the potential establishment of an association or bar for List Counsel. I was privileged to have been invited. Prior to the conference, the Registrar distributed his concept for the reorganization of the current setup with that envisaged by him and the ReVision team he set up for reorganizing the entire Registry. In addition to the Concept Note, there was an agenda which reflected the areas of discussion, and a draft basic outline of the Registrar’s proposals. Continue reading “Establishment of a Victims and Defence Office at the ICC”
For several years there have been talks and initiatives by members of the ICC List Counsel to establish a Bar or an Association. Indeed, in the last couple of years we have seen a growing interest, if not impatience, for a Bar or Association.
Last year I circulated a draft Constitution for an ICC Bar for List Counsel (click language choice to see draft in English or French) based in part on an earlier initiative and inspired by the ADC-ICTY model. I also circulated a modest commentary. But as in the past, the momentum and enthusiasm waned with the passage of time.
Then, out of the blue, the ICC Registrar, Herman von Hebel, sent an outline of proposals to be discussed during a meeting with List Counsel held on 16 September, wherein he expressed an interest in the establishment of an Association by, for and of List Counsel, that would be officially recognized by the ICC. Just what many of us have been advocating since as far back as 2007.
Finally, it was time to focus on Syria: what are the realistic prospects of Bashar Al-Assad and others being prosecuted at the ICC? Recalling how a case comes before the ICC, I noted that it was highly unlikely that Assad or others would end up at The Hague any time soon, if at all. Syria has not signed on to the Rome Statute.[1] This Syrian government is not about to agree to ICC jurisdiction. Assuming the Assad regime falls, the next government would be poised to ask the ICC to investigate and prosecute, but given that all sides to the conflict seem to be committing mass atrocities, it does call into question whether there would be a genuine desire to get the ICC involved. The Security Council is unlikely to refer the matter to the ICC Prosecutor, when it cannot even agree on the need to intervene for humanitarian reasons.[2] But hope springs eternal. Theoretically, nothing can be precluded. Continue reading “Just How Relevant is the ICC – Part VII and Conclusion”
My next vignette dealt with the Kenya case and the African Union (AU)’s reaction to the ICC, focusing exclusively on Africa, and in particular, the ICC efforts to prosecute sitting Heads of State. Kenya has had a long history of election violence.[1] On 30 December 2007, following the announcement of the Kenyan election results, large-scale political violence broke out amid claims that the electoral commission of Kenya had rigged the elections in favor of incumbent Mwai Kibaki.[2] Two months of bloodshed between the two rival coalitions (Ralia Odigna’s Orange Democratic Movement [“ODP”] and Mwai Kibaki’s Government/Party for National Unity [“PNU”]) left an estimated 1,000 people dead, and as many as 500,000 internally displaced persons.[3] In the midst of the violence, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan received a call from President Kufor of Ghana, then Chairman of the AU, asking Kofi Annan to mediate the crisis in Kenya.[4] Kofi Annan led the Panel of African Eminent Personalities through 41 days of mediation and the political violence ended upon the two parties signing a peace agreement: TheAgreement on the Principles of Partnership of the Coalition Government.[5] On 4 March 2008, the parties agreed to form two fact-finding commissions: the Independent Review Committee and the Commission of Inquiry on Post-Election Violence (CIPEV).[6] The CIPEV made a number of recommendations to the government, and findings were presented to Kofi Annan, the appointing authority for the commission.[7] The CIPEV recommended investigation, and eventual prosecution of certain persons alleged to have masterminded the violence and recommended that a Special Tribunal adjudicate serious crimes: particularly, crimes against humanity.[8]The names were placed in a secret envelope and were kept with the Panel led by Kofi Annan and pending the establishment of a Special Tribunal.[9] If the government failed to establish the Tribunal, the Panel would forward the names of the perpetrators to the ICC.[10] The Kenyan parliament failed—due to political stalemate[11]—to establish the Tribunal and Kofi Annan handed over the sealed envelope to the ICC Chief Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo.[12]
I next turned to a vignette from Cambodia since it seemed to nicely compliment the Egyptian one. On 7 January 2014, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) issued a press release that it had engaged an international lawyer to lead a team of international lawyers to “analyse the evidence of crimes committed by Cambodian security forces and, if justified, file a request to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal court to initiate investigations into the situation in Cambodia under Article 15 of the Rome Statute.”[1] Seemingly, the trip wire for this investigation was an incident where military police dedicated effectively to the ruling party, the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), shot dead five civilians, injured more and imprisoned demonstrating garment factory workers on 3 January 2014.[2] The investigation is expected to go well beyond this incident, since the CNRP is alleging that the CPP security forces “commit illegal violent acts as part of a widespread or systematic attack against the civilian population” amounting to crimes against humanity.[3] On the same day, the international lawyer chosen to spearhead the investigation was quoted saying that the underlying criminal acts are “likely to include murder, arbitrary imprisonment, forced transfer and persecution on political grounds,” with the likelihood of there being “tens or even hundreds of thousands of victims.”[4]
Imagine being on the football pitch. The stakes are high – it’s a championship game. You and your teammates have been preparing for this game, sharpening your skills, studying your opponent, developing your game plan, mastering the intricacies of the rules, doing everything possible to take advantage of every opportunity that may present itself and every weakness that your opponent may have. All is riding on this game, so you have thought of everything. You are ready. You are ready to control the ball, control your opponent, control the slightest openings. Ready to control it all. All except the referee. That’s the wildcard. The unknown, the unpredictable, the uncontrollable. The luck of the draw. If the referee knows the rules and applies the rules as they are intended, then you have only yourself to blame if the game is lost. But what if the referee does not follow the rules or applies them unevenly, or interprets them in a manner that is not in keeping with the spirit and tradition of the game? What if the referee decides to also play with the ball, handle it a bit, kick it around, pass it to your opponents, or, worse yet, lay in wait near your goalpost for the opportune moment to tap the ball into your net (even if it takes using his hands) and, having done so, smugly signals the goal? Continue reading “Hybrid Courts: a marriage of inconvenience”
As I noted in a prior post, I was selected to chair the Committee for drafting a Constitution for a Bar/Association at the ICC. The latest draft of the Constitution (English / French) has just been sent around to List Counsel with a commentary (English / French) to assist in understanding the efforts and aims of the Committee, and to further guide deliberations and contributions on this draft. Comments are being solicited to ensure that the Constitution is representative of List Counsel’s collective views. As I have done before, I would like to present my vision on the draft Constitution. Continue reading “Musing on the ICCBA Draft Constitution”
So the biggest hurdle – that of convincing the Registrar to recognize a Bar or Association for ICC List Counsel – has been removed. Time to move forward, and move swiftly. And here is why. Continue reading “ICC Registrar supports establishment of an Association for List Counsel”
The names were placed in a secret envelope and were kept with the Panel led by Kofi Annan and pending the establishment of a Special Tribunal.[9] If the government failed to establish the Tribunal, the Panel would forward the names of the perpetrators to the ICC.[10] The Kenyan parliament failed—due to political stalemate[11]—to establish the Tribunal and Kofi Annan handed over the sealed envelope to the ICC Chief Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo.[12]
I next turned to a vignette from Cambodia since it seemed to nicely compliment the Egyptian one. On 7 January 2014, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) issued a press release that it had engaged an international lawyer to lead a team of international lawyers to “analyse the evidence of crimes committed by Cambodian security forces and, if justified, file a request to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal court to initiate investigations into the situation in Cambodia under Article 15 of the Rome Statute.”[1] Seemingly, the trip wire for this investigation was an incident where military police dedicated effectively to the ruling party, the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), shot dead five civilians, injured more and imprisoned demonstrating garment factory workers on 3 January 2014.[2] The investigation is expected to go well beyond this incident, since the CNRP is alleging that the CPP security forces “commit illegal violent acts as part of a widespread or systematic attack against the civilian population” amounting to crimes against humanity.[3] On the same day, the international lawyer chosen to spearhead the investigation was quoted saying that the underlying criminal acts are “likely to include murder, arbitrary imprisonment, forced transfer and persecution on political grounds,” with the likelihood of there being “tens or even hundreds of thousands of victims.”[4]