The Cooperation and Judicial Assistance Database (CJAD) will be launched today at a side event during the 15th Session of the ICC Assembly of States Parties. The database has been developed over the past three years by our International Criminal Justice Unit. Professor Olympia Bekou, Head of the ICJ Unit and Deputy Director of the Case Matrix Network, Ms Agnes Flues, HRLC Co-ordinator, and Ms Katerina Katsimardou-Miariti, HRLC Research Assistant will be at the event.
CJAD is a new database that facilitates access to State legislation on cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC). It offers free, universal access to detailed information on cooperation from around the world. Out of the 124 State Parties to the Rome Statue of the ICC, less than half have legislation in place allowing them to arrest and surrender to the ICC perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes or contribute to their prosecution by the Court.
Professor Bekou, the creator of CJAD said: "2015 saw indicted Sudanese president Al Bashir travel to 76 countries with impunity. The failure of South Africa to arrest him when he visited the country, brought the need to examine a State's national legal framework on cooperation with the ICC to the fore. It is our hope that CJAD will facilitate access to information, leading to better cooperation with the Court."
The side event will include a panel discussion, chaired by Mr Klaus Rackwitz, Director of the International Nuremberg Principles Academy, on Strengthening ICC Co-operation through Legislation and Access to Legal Sources. Panel presentations include:
- Where Do We Stand in Opening Access to ICL Sources?, Professor Morten Bergsmo, Director of the Centre for International Law Research and Policy
- Cooperation and the ICC: A View from the ICC-OTP, Mr Amady Ba, Head of international cooperation section, Office of the Prosecutor, International Criminal Court
- State Cooperation and the Role of the Hague Working Group on Cooperation, H.E. Ambassador Paul Wilke, Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the ICC, Hague Working Group on Cooperation Convener
- Cooperation Best Practices: A State's View, Mr. Gérard Dive, Coordinateur fédéral de la coopération avec les juridictions pénales internationals, Conseiller-chef de service, Belgique
- Challenges on Cooperation: A View from Civil Society, Mr Matthew Cannock, Head of Office, Amnesty International Centre for International Justice
- Strengthening the ICC Cooperation Regime: Introduction to the Cooperation and Judicial Assistance Database (CJAD), Professor Olympia Bekou
CJAD was created following a request by The Hague Working Group of the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Developed by The University of Nottingham Human Rights Law Centre as part of CILRAP-CMN's International Criminal Justice Toolkits Project, it is fully available in English and can also be accessed in French, Spanish and Arabic. The creation of CJAD was funded by the EU and the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Posted on Monday 21st November 2016