ICC hearings are generally open to the public and can be attended by journalists at the ICC’s headquarters in The Hague, The Netherlands.
Prior to attendance, please consult the hearing schedule or contact us for more information. We also invite you to read the rules of behavior to be followed in the public gallery.
Media accreditation
On regular hearing days, no prior accreditation is required for journalists. You will only need to present a valid ID and a press card which will be exchanged for a media badge.
On days of high-level hearings (the opening of a trial, first appearance of a suspect, etc.), prior registration is required. Before such hearings, detailed information on how to register will be clearly indicated on the ICC website and circulated by email to those on the mailing list.
Attend a hearing
You are not permitted to bring any recording devices, cameras or phones into the public galleries. Only a notepad and pen is allowed.
You are invited to carefully read the
rules of behavior before entering the gallery.
You can choose to hear the proceedings in the floor language (language used in the courtroom), in English or in French. The channels for the different languages are indicated in each public gallery.
Media Centre
Media representatives attending ICC hearings can use, and bring their equipment to the ICC media centre.
The ICC media centre is located in the building’s ‘Court Tower’. It is composed of hot desk areas, which can sit up to 104 people, and two interview rooms.
The media centre distributes the video and embedded audio of the hearing, via HD-SDI with a female BNC connection. Journalists wishing to connect to this should bring compatible equipment and a BNC cable. Power is provided (European plug).
Wi-Fi connection is available in the media centre.
Press Conferences
The press briefing room is located on the second floor and is used for press briefings with ICC officials, including the ICC President, Prosecutor, Registrar, Defence teams or Legal representatives of victims.
You will be alerted of a press conference via an email sent to the ICC mailing list and a tweet via the ICC’s Twitter account. Prior registration may be required; the procedure to be followed will be indicated in the e-mail.
Recording press conferences
You can leave your recording device on the lectern at the front of the room to ensure a loud and clear recording.
The ICC will also provide an audio-visual recording and photographs of the press conference for download, distributed via email to the mailing list after the conference.
Parking facilities
Media representatives can use the ICC’s Visitor Parking.
SNG vehicles
The ICC Parking includes an area for SNG vehicles. BNC connections are available and the video format is HD-SDI with embedded Audio (8 dual mono pairs): Channel 1 – Floor language (international audio); Channel 2 - English interpretation; Channel 3 - French interpretation; Channel 4 - 8 - Other languages, or if no interpretation then Floor language will be sent.
Important
A Chamber might determine that certain proceedings are to be conducted in closed session, fully or partially, in order to protect the safety of victims and witnesses or the confidentiality of sensitive evidentiary material. Moreover, a closed session (temporary or not) can be ordered in the course of a hearing. In some cases, closed sessions last only for a few minutes, in some others they can last for some hours or days. Private or closed sessions might not be reflected in the hearing schedule.
The media is allowed to film or record interviews in front of the building, inside the media centre or in the press briefing room. However, it is prohibited to film or record elsewhere within the ICC premises.
Only a notepad and pen is allowed in the public galleries of the courtrooms. You cannot bring cameras, phones, laptops or other electronic devices into the public galleries. These devices are allowed only in the media centre.
Radio reporters need to file sound from the media room and therefore need the room to be as quiet as possible. As a professional courtesy, please keep conversations and noise to an absolute minimum at these times.
There are no public phones available to the media in the building.