On 12 July 2017, an event commemorating the Day of International Criminal Justice was held at the seat of the International Criminal Court in The Hague (Netherlands).
The event was attended by members of the Diplomatic Community in The Hague, officials of the ICC and other international tribunals and representatives of regional organizations and civil society.
The President of the International Criminal Court, H. E. Judge Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi delivered the keynote address. "The ICC, being a global court, needs to sufficiently embrace legal diversity. No legal system alone can adequately meet the needs of an international court facing mass crimes committed in contexts of violence. Also, we must acknowledge that there are different roads to achieve fairness.", President Fernández de Gurmendi stated.
The Vice-President of the Assembly of States Parties, H.E. Ambassador Sergio Ugalde (Costa Rica), convened a panel discussion of representatives of the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC, the ICC Bar Association and the Open Society Justice Initiative on "Fair trial at the International Criminal Court in a confluence of legal traditions".
The panel, which has chaired by H.E. Ambassador Paul Wilke, Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the ICC, explored the nature of the International Criminal Court's legal system and how the fairness of trials before the Court is ensured within this hybrid system.
In his closing address, the Vice-President of the Assembly of States Parties, H.E. Ambassador Sergio Ugalde (Costa Rica) stated "We all agree that the object and purpose of the system of international criminal justice that we created is to provide a meaningful measure of redress to the victims. This meaningful measure implies a committed and resolute fight against impunity, regardless of how powerful an individual or group of individuals may be."
The event was organized with the support of the governments of Bolivia, Chile and Colombia.
Links:
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Statement by the President of the International Criminal Court, H. E. Judge Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi.
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Statement by Vice-President of the Assembly of States Parties, H.E. Ambassador Sergio Ugalde (Costa Rica).
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Programme
- YouTube Video - ENG