Pre-Trial Division publishes a Manual of best practice in Pre-Trial proceedings
In order to and to identify solutions to challenges faced in the first years of the Court and build on the experience acquired after more than 10 year of activity, Judges of the Pre-Trial Division – Judges Cuno Tarfusser, President of the Division, Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, Antoine Kesia-Mbe Mindua, Péter Kovács and Chang-ho Chung, published a “Pre-Trial Practice Manual” recording what has been identified as best practice to be followed in pre-trial proceedings and stating the expectations that pre-trial Judges have from the Prosecutor and Defence counsel. The final goal of the manual is therefore to contribute to the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the proceedings before the Court.
The manual was presented to and shared with all Judges of the Court in advance of the Judges’ retreat that took place in Nuremberg, Germany, from 18 to 21 June 2015. At the retreat, after discussion, all the Judges endorsed the manual and agreed to make it public. This manual is a living document. It will be updated, integrated, amended as warranted by any relevant development. The first update will concern issues with respect to the modalities of victims’ applications for participation in the proceedings and the procedure for their admission, on which the Judges of the Division are currently working together with the other Judges of the Court.