International Criminal Court Bar Association

Sabrine is qualified as a lawyer in France. She has been working as a case manager and legal assistant for the Yekatom Defence team (CAR) since 2019. She studied international law and transitional law at Aix-Marseille University and at the University of La Sapienza in Rome. She worked as a legal trainee for a Human Rights NGO in Beirut and subsequently interned at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (Appeals Chamber and Presidency) and at the International Criminal Court with the Defence for Mr Blé Goudé (CIV). 

Eva Kalb is a French and Dutch jurist in international criminal law who has been a part of Mr. Abd-Al-Rahman’s Defence team at the ICC since November 2021. Prior to being a Legal Assistant in the Abd-Al-Rahman Defence, she started her international career as an intern in the Defence team of Mr. Patrice-Édouard Ngaïssona. Eva holds an LLM in International and Transnational Criminal Law from the University of Amsterdam (Cum Laude) as well as two Masters respectively in International and European Law as well as French and English Law both from the Université Paris X Nanterre. She also holds an LLB from the University of Essex in French and English law, obtained with First Class Honours. Eva’s domestic experience in France includes working alongside a criminal lawyer in Paris (Cabinet 7bac) and with investigative judges at the Tribunal Judiciaire of Nanterre (France). She speaks English, French and Spanish fluently.

Florent Pages-Granier has been working as Legal Consultant for the Yekatom Defence Team since 2019. He graduated from the Ecole de Formation des Avocats Centre Sud (EFACS) at the end of 2018, as part of this formation he worked as a trainee lawyer in law firms in France, as well as conducted a six months internship in the Merhi Defence Team at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. His law course was completed at the Law Faculty of the University of Montpellier, in which he completed a Master 1 Droit Pénal et Sciences Criminelles, as well as a Master 2 Droit des Contentieux. 

Dr. Poorhashemi is a recognized expert before the International Criminal Court (ICC), where he provides specialized expertise in international criminal law, environmental law, human rights law, and humanitarian law. He is the President of the Canadian Institute for International Law Expertise (CIFILE), a role that aligns with his distinguished career in public international law. Dr. Poorhashemi has an extensive background as a legal scholar, practitioner, and educator, particularly in international criminal and environmental law, with numerous publications to his credit. He also serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the CIFILE Journal of International Law (CJIL), reflecting his commitment to fostering legal scholarship. He earned his Ph.D. in International Law from the University of Strasbourg (France) in 2005, followed by a Postdoctoral Fellowship in International Law and Globalization at UQAM University, (Canada) in 2013. He served as an assistant professor at the University of Science and Research (IAU) for over a decade, where he taught international law, arbitration, and dispute resolution. His practical legal work extends across multiple jurisdictions, where he has held various roles as a lawyer, legal expert, and adviser. His contributions significantly impact the development and practice of international law globally.

My name is Hélène Raïs and I am a Swiss jurist, currently member of the ICCBA Working Group on AI. If I have originally studied criminal and international law at the university of Lausanne in Switzerland, I have recently developed an expertise in Artificial Intelligence through the course of my career in a technology company based in Rotterdam. The use of AI in legal proceedings has considerably increased throughout the years, which undoubtedly started to raise essential concerns among practitioners. Aside from the ethical considerations and the compliance with Data Protection Regulations related to the use of AI, how can a human based science be left at the mercy of a non-human analyst? Moreover, how can one ensure that certain nuances and subtleties are considered in circumstances which may sometimes depend on one's creativity? Will this new technology lessen the defendants/victims' trust in the legal system? The necessity for legal practitioners to extend their knowledge beyond their practice area has led me to examine the possibility to create a bridge between law and AI. It is therefore with great motivation that I wish to join the Council Support Staff Committee and help addressing key topics for the Staff’s interests.

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Barbara Szmatula is a French jurist working at the International Criminal Court (ICC). She has been working as a Case Manager in the Defence team for Mr Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona before the ICC since January 2020. Barbara studied international law at Panthéon-Assas Paris II and University of Warsaw for a semester, as well as history of art at Université Sorbonne Paris-IV. After obtaining her Masters of International Public Law in Paris, she joined the Defence team of Mr Charles Blé-Goudé before the ICC and worked on various projects related to international law and international politics. She was also an intern for jus Mundi, a legal-tech company dedicated to international law. Barbara speaks French, English, Polish and is currently learning Dutch.