"We have been greatly encouraged in our meetings with the President, Prosecutor and Registrar and by their clear recognition of the positive role we can play in the future development of the ICC. The ICC has been all the poorer in not having had an association to provide an independent and effective voice for defence and victims counsel. I am sure that now we have such an association we can and will step up to play our part", said Mr Hooper.
ICC President Judge Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi, alongside Vice-President Joyce Aluoch, welcomed the establishment of the ICCBA, noting the importance of an independent body which gives a unified voice to counsel before the ICC.
In a separate meeting, the Prosecutor of the Court, Mrs Fatou Bensouda congratulated the representatives of the ICCBA for the establishment of the Association, emphasizing that an independent peer-led association of counsel, which, inter alia, reinforces the highest standards of the legal profession is a helpful development. She welcomed cooperation between her Office and the ICCBA.
In his meeting with the first elected leadership of the ICCBA, the Registrar of the Court, Herman von Hebel, also highlighted the importance of the ICCBA's establishment and expressed his willingness to cooperate closely with the Association on all issues of mutual interest and concern.
The ICCBA was established in The Hague, at the seat of the Court, on 1 July 2016, as the first bar association for counsel and their assistants eligible to practise before the Court. It is an independent association and not part of the Court, with the goal of advancing the general interests of counsel appearing before the Court, reinforcing the full independence of counsel, and strengthening equality of arms at the ICC.
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/icc-cpi/albums/72157654937958628
For further information, please contact Fadi El Abdallah, Spokesperson and Head of Public Affairs Unit, International Criminal Court, by telephone at: +31 (0)70 515-9152 or +31 (0)6 46448938 or by e-mail at: publicaffairs.unit @icc-cpi.int.
The International Criminal Court (ICC)
Fadi El Abdallah
+31 (0)6 46448938
publicaffairs.unit @icc-cpi.int.
Source: EmailWire.Com
