Professor Mireille Delmas-Marty is appointed Special Adviser to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court

ICC-OTP-20110527-PR677

ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo today announced the appointment of Professor Mireille Delmas-Marty as his Office’s Special Adviser on the Internationalization of Legal Issues. Since 2002, Professor Delmas-Marty holds the chair of comparative legal studies and internationalisation of law at the Collège de France. From 1972 to 2002, she was Professor at the Universities of Lille 2, Paris-Sud 11 and Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.

“Given her renowned expertise in this area, Professor Delmas-Marty will advise the Office of the Prosecutor on matters related to the processes of internationalization of Law, focusing on the interplay between national, regional and international norms as seen through the prism of the universalism of human rights. We look forward to her contributions to the work of the Office”, said the Prosecutor.

Professor Delmas-Marty’s appointment is in accordance with the duty of the Prosecutor established by Article 42(9) to appoint advisers with legal expertise on specific issues. It also continues the Office’s tradition of securing advice from the most recognised international law experts from all over the world and ensuring quality and fair representation of different regions. The Office is also currently discussing additional names from other regions including China, Africa and the Arab world.

Professor Mireille Delmas-Marty was a member of the Commission on Reform of the Penal Code (in 1981) before becoming President of the Criminal Justice and Human Rights Commission (justice pénale et droits de l'homme) in charge of procedural reform (1990). She was also a member of the consulting committee for the revision of the Constitution, the committee on the creation of international criminal jurisdiction and the president of the committee of European Union experts in charge of directing a project on European criminal law (Corpus Juris). She has received several doctoral degrees from the universities of Liège, Urbino, Uppsala, Peking, Louvain, Montréal and Ferrare. She is a member of the French “Académie des sciences morales et politiques” and an associate member of the Royal Academy of Belgium (Académie royale de Belgique) and holds the French national orders of “légion d’honneur” and “mérite”, as a “commandeur”. She has published many books on Criminal Law, Human Rights Law, European Community Law and Global Law. Among the most recent in French Les forces imaginantes du droit, (vol. 1 -4, Seuil, 2004-2011) and “Libertés et sureté dans un monde dangereux” (Seuil 2009). In English: Towards a Truly Common Law (Cambridge University Press, 2002); Global Law: a Triple Challenge (Transnational Publishers, 2003); Ordering Pluralism: A Conceptual Framework for Understanding the Transnational Legal World, (Oxford, Hart Publishing, 2009).

Special Advisers to the OTP are persons with recognised expertise in their field, who provide advice to the Prosecutor at his or her request or on their own initiative on training, policies, procedures and legal submissions. In addition, they may assist with cooperation between the Office and institutions associated with them.

The OTP’s Advisory Council currently includes:

Professor Catharine A. MacKinnon Special Adviser on Gender Crimes is known for her substantial contributions to shaping legal approaches to sexual and gender issues worldwide.

Professor MacKinnon provides advice to the Office on sexual and gender violence. She has been advising on the development of the policy paper on gender crimes and on specific issues related to the cases, including the Lubanga, Bemba and Darfur cases. She has also been re-designing and providing training on gender crimes for the Office staff. The Office consults with her on an ongoing basis.

Professor Juan Méndez Special Adviser on Crime Prevention. Professor Mendez has written extensively on the impact of international justice and its potential deterrent effect. He advises the Office on how to maximize the impact of its work and to prevent the commission of massive atrocities. He has prepared a submission on the issue of the importance of justice in securing peace for the 2010 Review Conference. The Office consults with her on an ongoing basis.

Professor Tim McCormack Special Adviser on International Humanitarian Law. Professor McCormack is the Acting Director of the Asia Pacific Centre for Military Law (having served as the Founding Director from 2001- 2009). He combines deep knowledge of the law and its practical application in military operations.

He has been advising the Office on its IHL Policy and issues related to the cases, including the Lubanga and Bemba cases. He is also preparing advice on key contemporary challenges to the effective interpretation and application of IHL such as the definition of a legitimate military objective and the applicable test for proportionality. He has also been re-designing and providing training on IHL to the Office staff. The Office consults with him on an ongoing basis.

Professor Jose Alvarez Special Adviser on International Law is currently Professor of International Law at the NYU Law. He has written extensively on the law-making powers of international organisations and on the ad hoc international criminal tribunals.

He advises on issues of public international law that arise in the course of the Office work. He has been advising, in particular, on the role of the UN Security Council in relation to the Darfur and Libya situations. He has also provided advice on specific issues such as independent oversight mechanisms. The Office consults with her on an ongoing basis.

Benjamin Ferencz Special Counsel to the Office of the Prosecutor and honorary member of the OTP’s advisory council was the Chief Prosecutor at one of the Nuremberg trials held by the U.S. authorities. He has been a vocal advocate of the establishment of an international rule of law and of an international criminal court. He has been advising on the gravity of crimes under the Statute and the role of international justice. It is planned that he will participate in the closing of the Lubanga case.

About the ICC: The International Criminal Court is an independent, permanent court that investigates and prosecutes persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

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For more information:

Florence Olara
OTP Public Information Officer
+31 70 515 8723 (office)
+31 65 029 4476 (cell)

Source: Office of the Prosecutor