ICCBA President Addresses the 24th Session of the Assembly of States Parties
- ICCBA
- 7 minutes ago
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On 2 December, the ICCBA President, Mr. Philippe Larochelle, delivered an address to the 24th Session of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), outlining several structural and operational issues affecting counsel and support staff and the functioning of the Court.
In his remarks, the President highlighted three key themes:
the importance of full cooperation with the Court,
the impact of limited resources on defence and victims’ teams, and
the continuing concerns regarding taxation, legal aid, and support for counsel.
On cooperation, he noted that “cooperation should be a non-negotiable concept,” emphasizing that States Parties must meet the obligations they undertook under the Rome Statute.
Addressing resources, he referred to the constraints faced by practitioners before the Court, stating: “The ICC’s budget is once again described as ‘lean.’ He outlined the importance of adequate support for evidence collection, expert assistance, translation, and field access to ensure fair and efficient proceedings.
He also recalled the ICCBA’s position regarding external pressure on the Court, reaffirming its stance that “any sanctions, intimidation or reprisals that target judges, prosecutors, counsel or NGOs solely for contributing to our judicial process” are unacceptable.
Regarding the conditions of work for counsel and support staff, the President referenced ongoing concerns, including taxation of remuneration, inflation, uncertainty regarding support staff, and the lack of progression on Step 5 in the legal aid policy.
The President expressed appreciation to States that have engaged with the ICCBA on these matters, including acknowledgement of Ambassador Adsett of Canada for his work within the Legal Aid Facilitation. He also reported that the ICCBA has expanded cooperation with regional and national bar associations in recent months.
The full speech is available below.