Hauptinhalt

Konferenz: "The Defence in International Criminal Courts. A Conference" | Marburg 3. bis 5. Dezember 2014

"The conference, titled 'The Defence in International Criminal Courts', was by far the best conference I have ever attended, focusing on defence issues from Nuremberg and onwards. The presentations and discussions were excellent."

Dies sind die Worte von Michael G. Karnavas, am Internationalen Strafgerichtshof zugelassener Verteidiger und ehemaliger Präsident der "Association of Defence Counsel Practicing Before the ICTY (ADC-ICTY)", der Auszüge seines Tagungsbeitrags zusammen mit diesem Fazit auf seinem Blog veröffentlicht hat.

Gruppenfoto der Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmer der Konferenz im Landgrafensaal des Staatsarchivs — Foto: Wolfgang Form

Im Folgenden finden Sie einen kurzen englischsprachigen Überblick über die Konferenz sowie weitere Informationen über Teilnehmer/innen und Themen.

From December 3 to 5, 2014 the International Research and Documentation Centre War Crimes Trials (ICWC) cordially invited to throw a glance at the past and future of international criminal defence.

Nowadays, defence lawyers are frequently confronted with a variety of difficulties when acting in front of international, respectively internationalised, courts, such as dealing with an unknown jurisdiction or procedural law as well as with completely new criminal offences. Even the roles of the parties to the proceedings are often not clearly defined in advance; they rather evolve in the course of the proceedings. In this regard, defence lawyers often have to face new and challenging tasks like focusing on own, proper investigation.

Many of these aforementioned issues have – of course – been current in former international criminal proceedings, e.g. the Nuremberg Trials, followed by the so called subsequent Nuremberg Trials and other national trials. And although the contemporary proceedings since 1990 have constantly been relating to its precursors of the post-World-War-II – period, the role of the defence in particular has only been subject to little research.

Within these three days in Marburg, the conference has brought together academics and practitioners from various professions in order to spotlight different issues related to the defence in international criminal proceedings from both a historic and judicial point of view. It was questioned who these defence lawyers have been, how they have dealt with the problems named above and especially what kind of strategies they have pursued. In this context, the defence lawyer’s personal and maybe political intentions were focal points of discussion as well as revealing possible networks among counsels.

Furthermore, criminal proceedings never only take place in courtrooms. Public prosecutors and defence lawyers not only argue over guilt and innocence; in fact, it is more often a question of unearthing the truth. In this respect, defenders may have a unique chance to exert influence on the court’s notions and narratives. Exactly that is what we have openly examined and discussed at the conference and subsequently it was asked, whether – in retrospective – defenders have already tried to influence the court in that way.

"The Defence in International Criminal Courts" tried to find answers to these and further, highly topical questions and challenges defenders in international proceedings have to face. We rather intended to focus on this widespread but at the same time nearly untouched research area as we wish to initiate and even the path for a future research agenda. On that account, we did not only members of legal professions have been invited, but also historians and social scientists. For answering those pestering questions of international criminal law an interdisciplinary approach is more needed than ever. That is what the two past conferences hosted by the International Research and Documentation Centre War Crimes Trials (ICWC), "The Genocide Convention. 60 Years after its Adoption" (2008) and "Victims of International Crimes" (2011), have made obvious.

Teilnehmer/innen und Themen der Panels:

PART A: Historical Dimensions

Panel 1: The Defence in War Crimes Trials after 1945
Chair: Christoph Safferling

Margaretha Bauer von der Universität Augsburg berichtet über die Verteidigung in britischen Kriegsverbrecherprozessen 1945-1949.

Lars Büngener (Frankfurt/Main): The legal framework for the defence at the IMT
Joghn Q. Barrett (St. Johns University N.Y.): Justice Jackson, the IMT & OMGUS, Delivering 'the assistance of Counsel' to the Nuremberg Defendants (1945-46)
Margaretha F. Bauer (Universität Augsburg): Defence in British War Crimes Trials 1945-1949
Martin Luber (ICWC): Defence in American Trials - The Justice Trial
Michael S. Bryant (Bryant University Smithfield): German Defence Lawyers and Angloamerican Procedure

Panel 2: Biographies, Strategies and Interests
Chair: Eckart Conze (ICWC)

Willi Winkler von der Süddeutschen Zeitung, München, beleuchtete die auch geschäftlichen Aktivitäten des Verteidigers im Eichmann-Prozess Robert Servatius.

Benedikt Salleck (ICWC): Friedrich Bergold as Defence Counsel before the IMT and NMT
Heike Krösche (Linz): Hans Latemser: From the IMT to the Auschwitz-Trial
Kirsten Sellars (National University Singapore): Jahrreiß, Takayanagi, and Crimes against Peace
Willi Winkler (München): Robert Servatius: Defending Eichmann and selling him

Panel 3: Politics of the Past and Historical Memory
Chair: Wencke Meteling (ICWC)

Das gesamte dritte Panel, auch mit ICWC-Mitglied Schulmeister (Mitte), PD Dr. Weinke (2.v.r.) und ICWC-Mitglied Luber (ganz rechts).

Kim C. Priemel (Humboldt-Universität Berlin): Transition and Combination Play. Organising the Nuremberg Defence, 1945-51
Irina Schulmeister (Frankfurt/Main): Revision and Revisionism: The Example of Erich Schmidt-Leichner
Anette Weinke (Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena): "Hitlerising": Defence strategies and images of history

PART B: Modern Trials

Panel 4: Defence before International Courts and Tribunals
Chair: Stefan Kirsch (Frankfurt/Main)

Panel 4 hatte zum Gegenstand „Defence before International Courts and Tribunals“ — Foto: Wolfgang Form

Die Teilnehmer/innen des 4. Panels (v.l.n.r.): Stefan Kirsch, Kay QC, Melinda A. Taylor, André Klip und Peter Robinson.

Steven Kay QC (The Hague): Teh Impact of Defence Work in Modern International Criminal Law
Melinda A. Taylor (The Hague): The Legal and Institutional Framework of the Defence
André Klip (Maastricht University): Trial in Absentia
Peter Robinson (The Hague): The Accused without Counsel

Marburg Lecture of International Criminal Law

Panel 5: The Defence between National and International Prosecution
Chair: Eberhard Kempf (Frankfurt/Main)

Die Teilnehmer des 5. Panels (The Defence between National and International Prosecution) (v.l.n.r.): Chair Eberhard Kempf, Michael G. Karnavas, Stefan Wäspi und Jean Flamme — Foto: Wolfgang Form

Die Teilnehmer des 5. Panels (v.l.n.r.): Chair Eberhard Kempf, Michael G. Karnavas, Stefan Wäspi und Jean Flamme.

Michael G. Karnavas (The Hague): Teh Positoin of the Defence in adversarial and inquisitorial trial proceedings
Stefan Wäspi (Berne): Collection of Evidence Abroad
Jean Flamme (The Hague): Teh Dramatic Absence of a Proper Organization of Defense and of an Independent Bar and its Far-Reaching Consequences

Panel 6: Roundtable Discussion: The Defence and the Quest for the Truth
Chair: Peter Wilkitzki (Berlin)

Gillian Higgins bei ihrem instruktiven Beitrag während der Panel-Diskussion zum Konferenzabschluss.

Gillian Higgins (The Hague)
Michael A. Newton (Vanderbilt University Nashville)
Ulrich Herbert (Albert Ludwigs Universität Freiburg)