By Mel O’Brien

Last weekend I went to another conference, once again in Italy (hence my absence lately from blogging of any issues of real substantiality!). This conference was held at the European University Institute in Florence, and was titled "Fighting Impunity in a Fragmented World- New Challenges for the International Criminal Court". Firstly, let me comment on how spectacular the location was! The EUI is located in several different villas on a hill in Florence, and the conference was held in one of these villas and its chapel. The views were stunning, and the villa even has a beautiful sculpted garden and its own soccer field! A very nice place to work and study, indeed! The conference ran for one and a half days, and a lot of big names were in attendance. Academics included Bill Schabas, Bruce Broomhall, Antonio Cassese, Paola Gaeta, Pierre-Marie Dupuy, and James Crawford. Also speaking were ICC Judge Mauro Politi, ICC Deputy Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, and Luc Walleyn, counsel for the victims in the Lubanga case. Papers were presented by both established academics and by PhD students, which gave the conference a greater sense of equality. There were four panels over the conference, looking at "international crimes and applicable law", "actual challenges for the ICC", "the ICC and international justice", and "the ICC in relation to other actors of international relations". Speakers did not have much time for their presentations, which made it somewhat difficult for the presenters to really discuss issues in depth, resulting in some papers being quite descriptive. Nonetheless, there were some papers and chair comments of interest, and there was particular debate in relation to the rights of victims versus the rights of defence, and this debate was made very interesting by the insight of M. Walleyn who was able to describe the practical issues facing victims before the ICC. The lengthy pre-trial procedural processes encountered in the current cases were one particular issue that sparked lively debate. There were also discussions over the role of customary law in international criminal law, and the relationship between the ICC and both states and the Security Council. Probably the strongest presentation of the conference was the concluding remark delivered by Fatou Bensouda, who emphasised the importance of the role of states in ensuring the ICC is effective, particularly in relation to cooperation of states. She stressed the fact that the ICC is an international criminal justice system, not just a Court, as it is a system consisting of not just the ICC but also the state parties. Mrs Bensouda declared the Court’s biggest challenge to being the resistance of the Office of the Prosecutor (and the Court as a whole) to political pressure and considerations, which is something they face on a regular basis. She also revealed the recent problems the Court has been having with regards to witness protection. The Office of the Prosecutor is not willing to take any risk in relation to witnesses and their family, and in fact the withdrawal of sexual offences charges from the Katanga case was due to the potential risk to witnesses. Mrs Bensouda emphasised the ICC’s determination to proceed with cases, stating that the withdrawal of Kony’s arrest warrant would be a denial of the crimes, despite political pressure to withdraw the warrant. It is the role of the Court to decide Kony’s fate, not politicians.