On 20 January 2022, the International Criminal Court opened its judicial year. The President of the ICCBA, Ms. Jennifer Naouri, the ICC President, the Prosecutor, and the Registrar, provided statements. The keynote speech was given by the President of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, Judge Ekaterina Trendafilova.
Ms. Naouri highlighted that the ICCBA had amended its Constitution to include elected representatives of counsel support staff on the Executive Council and that the ICCBA had been an interlocutor in many discussions on the reform of legal aid, including within the Review Mechanism system.
Ms. Naouri stated that the priorities of the ICCBA will continue to be:
Ensuring the principle of equality of arms between the Prosecution and Defence and the effective representation of victims, including resolving the issue of income taxation by the Host State.
Improving the working conditions for legal team members to achieve a legal aid policy which ensures access to social protections.
Working on the issues of gender parity, equality and harassment and advocate for a safe working environment, free of any form of harassment.
Advocating on important issues for the Defence and Victims including:
the need for cooperation for provisional release and serving of sentences;
the need for funding for the Trust Fund for Family Visits; and
the need to ensure effective representation of victims at all stages of proceedings.
The full video of the ICC Opening of the Judicial Year 2022 is available here.
