Trust Fund for Family Visits

How was it created?

In a public decision of 10 March 2009, the ICC Presidency upheld that the Court had an obligation to provide and fund family visits for indigent detained persons due to the fact that: (i) persons detained in The Hague tend to be far from where their family is located and often lack the means to fund such visits, (ii) pre-trial proceedings and detention, during which time detained persons are presumed innocent, can extend over several years, and (iii) family visits affect positively the well-being of detained persons. The Presidency further added that the Registrar should ensure that provision is made for the funding of family visits to indigent detained persons in the budget of the Court.

This Presidency decision was reinforced by a 2009 Resolution of the Assembly of States Parties inviting the Court to continue to address the well-being of its detained persons, with particular focus on the maintenance of family contacts. In 2010, the TFFV was established by the ASP, who charged the Court with its promotion and the collection of voluntary donations.

Why is the TFFV important?

Respect of international human rights standards and the well-being of detained persons

In accordance with international human rights standards, the right to receive family visits is not only a human right but also fundamentally affects the well-being of the detained person. Maintaining family ties is a central component of the identity of every individual.

Image

Family visits also facilitate the future re-integration of a detained person following acquittal or release after sentence. The detained person's right correlates with the interests of other affected individuals such as those of his/ her children of minority age who wish to have contact with their detained parent.

The TFFV provides an essential contribution to the psychological and physical well-being of detainees, especially those who are indigent, by ensuring a key human right: enabling during their time in detention, visits from their families who could not otherwise afford to visit them.

Contribution to the efficient conduct of proceedings

It is evident that direct contact with immediate family members, through visits organised by the TFFV, has played a critical role in promoting the psychological well-being of the detained persons throughout what is an often lengthy judicial process. In turn, this has a positive impact on the efficient and smooth conduct of the judicial proceedings and has helped to avoid any unnecessary delays.

Image

The facilitation of family visits through the TFFV ensures not only the good health and well-being of the detained person but also a smooth and efficient flow in the proceedings.

Proper administration of the detention centre and implementation of its policies, practices and regulations

The TFFV has allowed for the good management of the detention centre. The physical distance of detained persons from their families can create, throughout time, feelings of frustration which require a lot from the detention centre. It is noticeable that family visits provide an opportunity to maintain contact and to lower these feelings of stress and frustration, which allows the detention centre to save valuable time and financial and human resources by not requiring for example special surveillance procedure. From its over fifteen years of experience, the detention centre notes that connection with families not only lowers frustrations from the detained persons, but also contributes to reducing litigation with defence teams, which has an impact on the human and financial resources of the Detention section, the Registry as a whole and the Presidency.