The ABA’s ICC Project releases its most recent online roundtable, discussing witness protection in international atrocity crime trials.
Washington D.C., Apr. 17, 2015 - The American Bar Association’s International Criminal Court (ICC) Projectand Stanford Law School Program in International and Comparative Law released today their latest online roundtable, Arguendo, with a panel of experts discussing the reliance on witness testimonies in international atrocity crime trials and the best practices for effective witness protection.
This Arguendo roundtable features contributions from six distinguished experts: Professor Alexa Koenig, director of the Human Rights Center at University of California (UC) Berkeley School of Law, Professor Stephen Smith Cody, director of the Atrocity Response Program at the Human Rights Center, University of California (UC) Berkeley School of Law, and Professor Eric Stover, faculty director of the Human Rights Center at the University of California (UC) Berkeley School of Law; Herman von Hebel, Registrar of the ICC; Fergal Gaynor, counsel for the victims in Prosecutor v. Uhuru Kenyatta at the ICC; Dayna Chaikel, independent legal consultant based in The Hague; and Wendy Betts, Director of eyeWitness, a project of the International Bar Association focused on the collection of verifiable video of human rights violations for use in investigations and trials.
In their article, Professors Koenig, Cody and Stover call for an increase in funding for research related to the gender disparity and long-term needs of witnesses. Mr. von Hebel highlights the challenges the Registrar faces in witness protection, notably the need for gaining the trust and cooperation of States Parties. Mr. Gaynor advocates for stronger enforcement of prosecutions of offences against the administration of justice in order to achieve a more effective deterrent. Dayna Chaikel shares the recent progress the Court has made in witness protection, as well as the gaps that remain. Wendy Betts supports the use of statistical data and analyses in international criminal law as a means of relying less heavily on witness testimonies.
We encourage you to visit this latest Arguendo, and please comment with your ideas and responses.
The American Bar Association’s (ABA) International Criminal Court (ICC) Project is an independent initiative of the ABA Center for Human Rights that advances international criminal justice and US-ICC relations through advocacy, education and practical legal assistance. More information about the ABA’s ICC Project can be found at its website.