On 16 May, 2008, the International Criminal Court’s (ICC’s) highest-ranking officials – president Philippe Kirsch, registrar Silvana Arbia, and prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo – used the opportunity of a visit by 50 leading International Bar Association (IBA) members to call for a closer dialogue with Bar associations.
The call showed recognition that the relationship between the legal profession and the ICC has lost momentum since the days of the drafting of the Rome Statute, by which this permanent court with jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute persons accused of the most serious crimes was established. Among the serious gaps to be addressed are the small numbers of lawyers from around the world who have registered to participate in the Court’s cases – just 236 – and, among those, the almost complete lack of participation by women and by lawyers of either sex from large swathes of the globe, including Asia and Latin America.
