By Roy Lie A Tjam.
After being cordially welcomed by Madam Sonia Meijer, Honorary Consul of El Salvador and chairman of The Latin America table at the Nieuwe Scociteit De Witte, Judge Olga Herrera Carbuccia, from the International Criminal Court (ICC) delivered an instructive lecture in a very eloquent way.
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The lecture was in Spanish and had the theme, La Corte Penal Internacional y Latino-America: ratificación, complementariedad y cooperación.The session took place at the Groenezaal on Friday 23rd September 2016. During her lecture, Judge Herrera Carbuccia reflected upon current interesting judicial developments. She stressed the role of Latin America and the Caribbean in the adoption of the Rome Statute, its entry into force and subsequent creation of the ICC in 2002.
Furthermore, Judge Herrera Carbuccia also described how the principle of complementarily law bestows upon States the primary obligation to investigate and prosecute international crimes. She also discussed the importance of State cooperation, in order to execute arrest warrants but also to fulfill other judicial obligations.
Judge Olga Herrera Carbuccia laments the low representation of Latin-American and Caribbean nationals in positions at the ICC. Only thirty-nine positions out of approximately eight hundred are held by Latin Americans.
Herrera Carbuccia highlighted the current opportunities available to young professionals of the Latin-America and Caribbean region to get involved with the ICC. To name a few, the moot court competition as well as the internship and visiting professional program.
After the lecture, the Honorable Judge Olga Herrera Carbuccia took questions from the audience which she responded to brilliantly.
The Ambassadors of Chile, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, Uruguay and the Apostolic Nuncio attended the lecture. Also present were representatives of Embassies and a representative of the Minister Plenipotentiary of the island of St Martin in The Hague and others.
The traditional dinner with a number of people concluded the fantastic evening.
