Association of Defence Counsel

On 1 July 2020, the ADC-ICT published the second edition of the 'Manual on International Criminal Defence: ADC-ICT Developed Practices'. This edition of the Manual updates the first issue which was published in 2011 and was edited by Colleen Rohan and Dominic Kennedy. The Manual provides an overview of some of the most effective and innovative practices developed by defence counsel representing accused before the international courts and tribunals. This publication is intended to be a reference tool for defence counsel defending cases of war crimes, crimes...

On 26 June 2020, the ADC-ICT conducted an online webinar on CV, cover letter and interview skills for international law jobs. The presenters were: Dragan Ivetic, Kurt Kerns and Van Hampton who gave an interactive presentation to the large number of participants. 

The full video of the webinar is now available online at: 

https://youtu.be/p9PRwOPmkWw

On 27 March 2020,  the ADC-ICT issued the following press release which urged the President of the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) to urgently grant early or provisional release to detainees in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

THE HAGUE – The Association of Defence Counsel practising before the International Courts and Tribunals (ADC-ICT) urgently requests the President of the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) to grant early or provisional release to detainees under the authority...

On 26 February 2020, ADC-ICT Vice-President, Dragan Ivetić gave a lecture from the IRMCT Hague via video-link to 100 LLM students simultaneously located at the Faculty of Law of the following Universities: a) Zagreb; b) Sarajevo; c) Pristina; d) Novi Sad; e) Podgorica and e) Skoplje.  The lecture was on the topic of ICTY practice as to “Safeguarding the rights of the accused and Self-representation.”  The lecture was the seventh in a series of 8 lectures organized as part of a program funded by the European Union, known as the Inter University Lectures Pro...

At the ADC-ICT General Assembly, which was held on 7 December 2019, a Resolution was unanimously passed which requested the President of the IRMCT to apply the established jurisprudence of the ad hoc tribunals and the Mechanism as to early release and treat all convicted persons with uniformity. It also requests the President of the Mechanism to expedite all pending and future submissions on early release, commutation of sentence and pardon and render all decisions in a timely manner.

The Resolution was passed by the General Assembly as there are many outst...

At the ADC-ICT General Assembly, which was held on 7 December 2019, a Resolution was passed, by majority, which called upon the present Judges and Principals of the IRMCT not to seek re-appointment when their current terms expire so as to provide the nominating States the opportunity to implement gender parity at the mechanism. 

The Resolution was passed by the General Assembly as there are currently 19 male judges at the Mechanism and all Principals of the Mechanism are men. The Resolution calls for there to be more action taken to ensure ge...

On Saturday 7 December 2019, the ADC-ICT held its General Assembly and elections. Mr. Geoff Roberts was elected as President for the coming year, the four Vice Presidents are: Kate Gibson, Dragan Ivetic,  Marie O'Leary and Colleen Rohan. The full election results for all ADC-ICT committees are available here. 

In October 2019, the President of the ADC-ICT, Dragan Ivetic and Head of Office, Dominic Kennedy, traveled to Guantanamo Bay to observer proceedings in the 9/11 case at the Military Commissions. Updates from their time as observers is available on the Guantanamo Bay, Observer Blog here. 

This marked the first time representatives of the ADC-ICT traveled to observe proceedings and it is anticipated that members will continue to attend Military Commission proceedings on a regular basis. 

On Sunday 22 September 2019, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals was open to the public as part of The Hague International Open Day when international organisations and courts open their doors to the public. 

President of the ADC-ICT, Dragan Ivetic, gave a presentation to around 50 members of the public on the work of the defence before the international courts and tribunals and also the role of the Association of Defence Counsel. 

A video of the presentation given by Dragan Ivetic is available here. 

On 21 September 2019, the ADC-ICT issued a statement expressing its deep concern at the killing of lawyer Derk Wiersum in Amsterdam on 18 September 2019. Mr. Wiersum was representing a witness for the prosecution in a high-profile criminal case against 16 members of a criminal organization accused of murder and attempted murder between 2015 and 2017. The ADC-ICT strongly condemns the killing and our sympathies are with his family and friends at this difficult time. This shocking tragedy is a reminder of the risks that lawyers have in seeking to uphold the...

On Saturday 21 September 2019, the ADC-ICT held an advocacy training day on the "Trials before the Trial". The training focused on international criminal law in its earliest stages. In depth presentations were given on preliminary examinations and investigations, arrest and transfer of suspects, initial appearances, admissibility, jurisdictional challenges and victim participation. 

The training was given by Marie O'Leary, Annie O'Reilly and Haydee Dijkstal and was attended by 30 participants.

The ADC-ICT holds regular training events, further info...

The ADC-ICT, in cooperation with the Faculty of Law of the Union University in Belgrade, held a training day on "Common Law Advocacy in Hybrid International Systems" in Belgrade on Friday 13 September 2019. 

The training was attended by a number of judges, defence counsel and prosecutors and consisted of presentations and interactive audience participation. 

Several ADC members presented the training which was conducted in B/C/S language, the video from the event is available here.

In August 2019, the ADC-ICT was granted NGO Observer Status at the Military Commissions by the Pentagon’s Guantànamo Bay Convening Authority. This grants permission for qualified ADC-ICT members to travel to Guantànamo Bay, Cuba, or Fort Meade, Maryland to carry out the role as an observer at the Military Commission proceedings. There are currently only 26 participant organisations worldwide which have been granted permission to observe proceedings. Only members of the ADC-ICT are eligible to serve as observers.​

Further information on the NGO Observer Prog...