International Criminal Court Bar Association

Kenneth S. Gallant is a founding member of the ICCBA/ABCPI, and was Moderator of the inaugural meeting when the ICCBA/ABCPI Constitution was adopted and the first elections were held. He has since served on the Legal Advisory Committee (2018-21) and Amicus Committee (2017-20). Prof. Gallant was the first Representative of Counsel elected to the International Criminal Court Advisory Committee on Legal Texts (2006-12, two terms), elected by members of the ICC List of Counsel.  He was later elected by the List of Counsel as a Member of the ICC Disciplinary Appeals Board (2014-18). He is the author of two books relevant to the work of counsel at the ICC: Gallant, The Principle of Legality in International and Comparative Criminal Law (Cambridge, 2009), cited by the ICC Appeals Chamber in the abd-al-Rahman appeal in 2021; Gallant, International Criminal Jurisdiction: Whose Law Must We Obey? (Oxford, 2022).

Lady Gifty Tetteh is a barrister and the Head of Chambers at Chambers of GD Tetteh-UK, she is a member of the Honorable Society of the Middle Temple and the first black woman to set up her Chambers in the Middle Temple. She is also a Solicitor and Barrister of the Supreme Court of Ghana, and the CEO of Rehoboth Chambers’ (Tetteh and Tetteh Advocates)-Ghana. She holds a law degree LLB (Hons) from the London Guildhall University, a postgraduate certificate from the University of West of England –UWE and a Master of Laws Degree in Oil and Gas (LLM) from the Robert Gordon University – Aberdeen. She is (among other areas of law) a criminal barrister. She has handled cases of rape, murder and attempted murder. Lady Tetteh is a listed Counsel/Advocate at the International Criminal Court – The Hague. She regularly participates and speaks at workshops across the UK on trafficking & safeguarding children. She is a registered pupillage supervisor in England and Wales. She is a girl child mentor with the Menfyd foundation. She is a trustee and a Board member both in the UK and Africa. She is the founder and President of the Africa Women in Energy-AWIE and the Africa Women in Farming. She serves as a Patron of the Kaybobo Girls School (Ghana Education Project).

Haneen is an international criminal law practitioner from Syria; she has experience in the defence in the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Kosovo Specialist Chambers. She is currently part of the defence team of Mr. Maxime Mokom at the ICC as a Case Manager. Prior to her current position, she was a member of the defence team of Mr. Al Hassan and has practiced in various jurisdictions. Haneen has experience working on SGBV (UN Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence), reparations, and a wide range of procedural issues related to international criminal proceedings, namely disclosure and management of evidence. Haneen is a graduate of LLM Public International Law from Leiden University and the Sorbonne.

James Onalaja is a criminal barrister with over 18 years’ experience, called to the Bar of England and Wales. He practises from 187 Chambers, London. He has a Bachelor of Law from Durham University, UK. He has undertaken postgraduate studies in ICL at Columbia Law School, New York and obtained a Master of Laws in ICL (Cum Laude) from Amsterdam University. His practise focuses on: serious, complex and violent crimes, including matters with transnational and international law complexities; military court martials and; cases involving alleged human rights violations. He is admitted to the ICC’s and the Kosovo Specialist Chambers’ lists of counsel. He has assisted the defence team in Case 004 before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). He has also worked with members of the United Nations Human Rights Committee in preparing them for their 122nd Session and periodic oral dialogues with States re compliance with the ICCPR. He takes up the post of Visiting Professional at the Office of Public Counsel for the Defence in November 2023. James is an advocacy tutor to trainee lawyers in England and is experienced at providing Continuing Professional Development training to legal professionals. He has served on the Amicus Committee for the past three terms and is the outgoing Committee Chair. James led the Amicus Committee’s intervention on the Independent Expert Review and the SGG proposal to amend the ICC Statute and/or Rules to allow for a replacement judge in a trial should a judge become unable to continue. James also led the Amicus Committee’s intervention on the recent proposed amendments to the ICCBA Constitution. James previously served on the Training Committee in 2020/21. He looks forward to continuing to serve the ICCBA wherever required.

Seraphine Nga Essomba defended her PhD thesis in international criminal law in 2011 and has been a Lawyer practicing in Beziers (France) since 2015. She is fascinated by the evolution and the operation of the ICC. Her thesis, published by L'HAMATTAN editions, is entitled "protection of the rights of the accused in the international criminal court" et her master thesis is "the registry of the international criminal court". She was the laureate of the "prix de la thèse" given by the French Minister ROBERT BADINTER, and is the author of several articles on the international criminal law, transitional justice, and international crimes. She has an in-depth knowledge of the rules governing international law, transitional justice, and international human rights law. Seraphine Nga Essomba has received a degree of "International crimes analyst" from the institute for international crime investigations (LA HAYE, 2011), and was an intern at UN( 2008) at the registry of the ICC (2009). She was a lecturer in criminal law and criminal procedure in three universities: Douala (Cameroun), Brest (France) and Toulouse (France). She was a member of the ABCPI training and amicus curiae committees from 2016 to 2018. She is an assistant of the Council before the ICC since 2012