By Baron Henri Estramant. Their Majesties The King and Queen of the Netherlands have embarked on a State Visit to Japan at the invitation of the Nipponese Government between 29 and 31 October 2014. The Dutch royals were welcomed upon arrival in Tokyo by Their Imperial Highness The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Japan. This is the first time in five years that Crown Princess Masako partakes in a welcoming ceremony of foreign dignitaries. Likewise she is scheduled to attend the State Banquet offered at the Imperial Palace by His Imperial Majesty The Emperor, a first one in eleven years. The relations between the Netherlands royal couple and the Japanese Crown Princely Couple are very warm. Back in 2006, Queen Beatrix offered them a home in The Netherlands to facilitate the recovery of the ailing crown princess. The Japanese heirs also attended the investiture of King Willem-Alexander in Amsterdam in 2013. This is the first overseas trip for The Crown Princess in eleven years.

By Baron Henri Estramant. Canada’s Viceroy and Personal Representative of Her Majesty The Queen of Canada, HE the Right Honourable David Johnston and her wife HE Mrs Sharon Johnston have just paid a two-day visit to The Netherlands. During their brief stay, Their Excellencies called upon Their Majesties The King and Queen of the Netherlands at Noordeinde Palace on 27 October 2014. The vice-regals’ visit was to attend the 70th anniversary of the battle of the Schelde River. Later that day, the Dutch King’s cousin and Aide-de-camp, His Highness Prince Maurits van Oranje-Nassau escorted Their Excellencies to the Canadian war cemetery in Bergen op Zoom. After departing from The Netherlands the viceregal couple headed south to neighbouring Belgium where they were welcomed by Her Canadian Majesty’s Ambassador to HM The King of the Belgians, M Denis Robert.    Representing Canada’s monarch and Her government the vice-regals attended the National Commemorative Ceremony for the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Ypres at Menin Gate. Before the commemoration, and after a full day of activities in The Netherlands, Governor General Johnston, his spouse and Ambassador Denis Robert attended a dinner hosted in their honour at Laeken Castle by Their Majesties The King and Queen of the Belgians. David Lloyd Johnston is Canada’s 28th Governor General since the foundation of the Confederation in 1867. He assumed office on 1 October 2010 after being appointed by Canada’s Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II, at the recommendation of incumbent Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The Governor General carries out the ceremonial and protocolary duties of the constitutional monarch on a daily basis pursuant to the Letters Patent Constituting the Office of Governor General of Canada issued by King George VI in 1947.

Credits picture:  http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=14006&lan=eng

ICC holds first sub-region​al Seminar of Counsel and the Legal Profession in Dakar, Senegal / La CPI tient son premier Séminaire sous régional des conseils et de la profession juridique à Dakar, Sénégal On the left (left to right): ICC-OTP Head of international cooperation section Amady Ba, ICC First Vice-President Judge Sanji Mmasenono Monageng, Keeper of the Seals and Minister of Justice of the Republic of Senegal H.E. Sidiki Kaba, and ICC Registrar Herman von Hebel at the sub-regional Seminar of Counsel and the Legal Profession in Dakar on 27 October 2014. On the right (left to right): ICC-OTP Head of international cooperation section Amady Ba, Keeper of the Seals and Minister of Justice of the Republic of Senegal H.E. Sidiki Kaba, ICC Registrar Herman von Hebel, ICC First Vice-President Judge Sanji Mmasenono Monageng and ICC Counsel Support Section representative Abdoul Mbaye at the opening of the seminar. ©ICC-CPI Building on the many years of continuing dialogue between the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the legal profession and civil society, the ICC is today, 27 October 2014, holding its first sub-regional Seminar of Counsel and the Legal Profession in Dakar (Senegal). The aim of the event, the first of its kind to be organised in Africa by the Registry of the ICC, is to help build the knowledge of members of the legal profession in law, ICC practice and issues concerning the rule of law, to facilitate the sharing of experience and good practice, and to discuss topics of interest to the legal profession. In his address, H.E. Mr Sidiki Kaba, Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice of the Republic of Senegal and guest of honour at the seminar, observed that the creation of the ICC reflected the fact that the principles of humanitarian law have penetrated international law and that the protection of human dignity is now an imperative. He pointed out that the Court is a permanent international court which complements national jurisdictions, and is geared towards the values of peace, equity, justice and reparation. Having mentioned Senegal’s support of the Court’s activities and the immense progress made by the ICC since its inception, he remarked that it was unquestionable that without cooperation, there could be no expectation of effective criminal justice. Without cooperation with criminal justice, he observed, international society will continue to face spiralling violence, departing further from the key objective: to fight impunity through justice. Lastly, he stressed that the involvement of the legal profession in the Court’s activities was key to justice. The First Vice-President of the ICC, Judge Sanji Mmasenono Monageng, congratulated H.E. Mr Sidiki Kaba on being the first African to become President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding treaty. She said that this was a sign of the vitality of the legal profession in Senegal and commented that “it is important that lawyers on the List of Counsel of the ICC maintain high skills in international criminal, humanitarian and human rights law.” Judge Monageng added that “when it comes to concrete situations and cases, the Court will take its decisions purely on the basis of the factual and legal merits, and nothing else”. In his speech at the launch of the seminar, the ICC’s Registrar, Mr Herman von Hebel, highlighted Senegal’s special place in the history of the ICC as the first State to have ratified the Rome Statute, in February 1999. Referring to the challenges faced by the Court and the discussions held with Africa, the Registrar also remarked that “[t]he overwhelming majority of cases before the Court have been referred independently by the African States concerned, which have requested the Court to prosecute because their national legal systems have been unable to do so” and that “through dialogue and cooperation, we will face the challenges together”. The Registrar went on to welcome the “mobilisation of Counsel, all highly skilled experts, who have responded positively to the call for knowledge sharing”. Thanking the participants on behalf of the ICC Prosecutor Mrs Fatou Bensouda, Mr. Amady Ba, Head of international cooperation at the Office of the Prosecutor, said: “Here in Dakar, the Court has demonstrated its proximity to the legal practitioners”. Introducing the June 2012-2015 strategic plan of the Office of the Prosecutor, Mr. Ba explained that the Office developed it “to improve the quality of its investigations and prosecutions, their efficiency and their effectiveness.” He concluded by noting that “the Office intends to expand and diversify its collection of evidence and will continue to pay particular attention to sexual crimes and gender-based crimes, including against children.” During the seminar, participants will examine such vital issues as the rights of the defence, the status of victims before the Court, witness protection and ethics. They will also discuss the importance of collaboration by all stakeholders – State and non-State – with the International Criminal Court, and will explore avenues for building the capacity of the Court and that of the States in those areas. Participants in the first sub-regional seminar include representatives of the State of Senegal and other high-ranking officials from several countries (magistrates, prosecutors and other practitioners in the justice system), representatives of the diplomatic corps, the academic community, civil society, ICC staff, magistrates of the Senegalese courts and of the Extraordinary African Chambers, members of the Senegal Bar, independent experts as well as students and trainees of Senegal’s judicial training centre. The seminar, which will be followed by training sessions spread over four days (28 – 31 October), is organised by the International Criminal Court in partnership with the International Development Law Organization. It is funded by the European Commission and the Government of the Republic of Finland, and supported by the Government of Senegal. The International Criminal Court is an independent permanent court that tries persons accused of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole, namely the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.  

Justice plays a “crucial role” in maintaining international peace and security:  ICC Prosecutor briefs the UN Security Council. On Thursday, 23 October 2014, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC or the Court), Mrs. Fatou Bensouda, briefed the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in New York,  in an open debate on the constructive role the Council can play in support of the exercise of the Office of the Prosecutor’s independent mandate. “We believe that the rights of women and children, indeed the rights of all civilians in times of conflict; the protection of peacekeeping missions and the rule of law are topics of common importance for both of our respective institutions.  The same holds true for the crucial role justice plays in relation to the maintenance of international peace and security,” said the Prosecutor. Focussed on the working methods of the UNSC, the open debate took place almost exactly two years after a similar session was organized by Guatemala, and provided a unique opportunity to exchange on how the Council can support the work of the Court and propose concrete solutions to the specific challenges that will make a difference to the victims of mass atrocities. At the meeting, Prosecutor Bensouda emphasized the continued need for cooperation and follow-up to UNSC referrals and the need for mechanisms to ensure timely and coordinated support. She underscored the importance of States Parties within and outside the Council working together and in one voice, as well as the need to think proactively about how the Council, the Assembly of States Parties and the ICC can work in concert within their respective mandates, to advance the crucially important goals of ending impunity for mass crimes and promoting the international rule of law. Calling for the appointment of a single focal point for interaction between the UNSC and the ICC, the Prosecutor outlined a number of areas where enhanced coordination could provide greater follow-up to relevant Council resolutions. Lack of adequate and effective follow-up on referrals to the ICC is a matter of continuing concern, shared with the Council, said the Prosecutor. Citing the Darfur situation, the failure to implement aspects of resolutions referring situations to the ICC, she said, can reflect a much deeper problem.  Prosecutor Bensouda noted that of the fifty-five resolutions on the Sudan, very few had been implemented, suggesting the need to review them collectively as well as individually. The Prosecutor also invited the Council to use clearer language in its referrals, in particular concerning the obligation of all States to cooperate with the ICC and to uphold its judicial rulings. Prosecutor Bensouda called for serious discussion on effective arrest strategies, expressing her sincere hope that the UNSC “can definitively call on all UN Member States to provide the necessary assistance.”  She proposed that a focal point for interaction between the UNSC and the ICC could be of practical assistance on this issue and in a number of other helpful ways, including the question of the outstanding response of the Council to the ICC’s findings of non-cooperation. ”It is not only a question of focusing on non-cooperation of specific States,” said the Prosecutor, ”but of looking more positively and proactively at how to encourage cooperation as specific challenges arise.’’ Finally, the Prosecutor urged the UNSC to take into consideration that the lack of State or UN financing for Council referrals “has a real impact on the ability of my Office to conduct full and effective investigations in the Darfur and Libya situations” in light of the need to revitalize both of these investigations. In the spirit that sustainable peace and security cannot be achieved without justice, Prosecutor Bensouda stressed that “[t]he Council assumes a crucial role in the emerging system of international criminal justice and must embrace this role with all the opportunities for constructive engagement that it provides.” She concluded by welcoming “further interaction on specific challenges, and to seeking the intersections and synergies between the ICC’s and the Council’s separate and independent mandates” in so far as they enhance humanity’s yearning to seek impartial justice for “mass crimes that shock our collective conscience and ‘threaten the peace, security and well-being of the world’.” The Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC conducts independent and impartial investigations and prosecution of the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The Office of the Prosecutor is currently conducting eight investigations: in Uganda; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Darfur, Sudan; Central African Republic; Kenya; Libya; Côte d’Ivoire and Mali. The Office is also conducting preliminary examinations relating to the situations in Afghanistan, Colombia, Georgia, Guinea, Honduras, Iraq, Nigeria, Ukraine and the situation referred by the Union of the Comoros.