On 2 and 3 August 2017, the ICTY/MICT Office of the Prosecutor hosted the first visit of Prosecutor Snežana Stanojković, the Chief War Crimes Prosecutor of Serbia.

Prosecutor Stanojković met with ICTY/MICT Prosecutor Brammertz, her office's EU-MICT Liaison Prosecutor and ICTY/MICT OTP staff. Prosecutor Brammertz and Prosecutor Stanojković discussed the status of war crimes justice in Serbia and the work of the Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor's Office (WCPO), as well as regional judicial cooperation in war crimes matters.

At a time when conflicts continue to ravage communities the world over and violations of international law occur at far too great a frequency, the Day of International Criminal Justice stands as a powerful reminder of the importance of international courts and tribunals created to adjudicate crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide and other serious offences.

The Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (“Mechanism”) is seeking qualified candidates for admission to the list of counsel eligible for assignment to suspects or accused who lack the means to remunerate counsel pursuant to Rule 43 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence (“Rules”). The Mechanism is particularly interested in candidates who are readily available and eligible for assignment as “Duty Counsel” to a suspect or accused pursuant to Rule 43(C) of the Rules (“Duty Counsel List”).

The President of the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT or Mechanism), Judge Theodor Meron, yesterday met with a high-level judicial delegation from Bangladesh at the Mechanism’s Hague branch. The delegation, led by the Honourable Chief Justice of Bangladesh, Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, included judges and legal professionals from the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bangladesh, and Bangladesh’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, H.E. Sheikh Mohammed Belal.

The Appeals Chamber of the United Nations Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (“Mechanism”), composed of Judge Theodor Meron (United States), presiding, Judge Joseph Masanche (Tanzania), Judge Aydin Sefa Akay (Turkey), Judge Aminatta N’gum (Gambia), and Judge Gberdao Kam (Burkina Faso), today issued a decision granting a request for review of the judgement in the case of Prosecutor v. Augustin Ngirabatware. The issuance of the decision marks the resumption of the proceedings on the merits of the case by the full bench of the Appeals Chamber.

Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT) and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) wish to clarify that the United Nations Detention Unit (UNDU) has not been affected in any way by the fire that broke out on Thursday, 15 June 2017 in the early hours of the morning at the premises of Penitentiary Institution Haaglanden in Scheveningen. The fire took place in a different part of the prison complex and the cause has not been determined as of yet. Police are now investigating this unfortunate incident.

Judge Aydin Sefa Akay, a Judge of the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, was yesterday convicted by a Turkish criminal court of first instance in Ankara on a single charge of being a member of a terrorist organization, FETO. He was sentenced to a term of seven years and six months’ imprisonment. The Mechanism notes that the judgment of first instance is subject to potential appeal and review proceedings at national and international levels, and the verdict has therefore yet to acquire legal finality.

The accreditation procedure for representatives of the press wishing to attend the start of trial in the case of Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović, scheduled for 13 June 2017, is now closed.

Final media information and the list of accredited media are now available on the MICT website.  

The Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (Mechanism or MICT) today joins in the celebration of International Archives Day by promoting the dissemination of the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Archives (Declaration).

The President of the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (Mechanism or MICT), Judge Theodor Meron, today addressed the United Nations Security Council to present the latest six-month report on the progress of the Mechanism’s work.