Centre for International Humanitarian and Operational Law (CIHOL)
Palacký University Olomouc, Faculty of Law (Czech Republic)
have the pleasure to invite you to a conference on
„ICC´s Contribution to the Development and Enforcement of International Humanitarian Law“.
February 11-12, 2021
ESIL Supported Conference
Please note that the registration for the conference will close on 10. February 2021 at 10:00 CET. All registered participants will receive an email with a ZOOM link and instructions. Should you require information on how to join a ZOOM meeting, please consult the following help page: How to Join a Zoom Meeting.
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Dear colleagues,
We had been looking forward to welcoming you to the historic city of Olomouc in May 2020. Unfortunately, the worldwide travel restrictions due to Covid-19 made that impossible. The Conference will therefore be held, instead, in online format on 11 – 12 February 2021.
We are making every effort to prepare for a fruitful Conference online, which will enable a wider range of participants to join it, without requiring expensive international travel.
We are looking forward to meeting you all in February – even if only online.
On behalf of the Organizing Committee,
dr. Martin Faix and dr. Ondřej Svaček
CONFERENCE TOPIC AND BACKGROUND
That international criminal courts and tribunals have always played significant role in the development and enforcement of IHL is a matter of fact. Enough is to mention the seminal Tadić case which remains one of the most important legacies left in this field by the ICTY. Since the ICC has been actively operating in the field for more than 15 years it is now possible to critically evaluate and assess what is the role of the ICC in the development and effective enforcement of IHL.
The opening panel will address the issue of child soldiers. Confirmed speakers of this panel include:
prof. Claus Kreß (University of Cologne)
Mrs. Renate Winter (former President of the Special Court for Sierra Leone and Vice-Chairperson of the Committee on the Rights of the Child)
Dr. Gus Waschefort (University of Essex), and
Dr. Petr Válek (Director of the International Law Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic).
Contributions in other panels will address other areas related to the practice of the ICC, focusing on:
- Substantive issues
In particular, application and interpretation of basic rules (principles) of IHL, classification of armed conflicts, in particular war crimes, circumstances precluding wrongfulness, forms of responsibility, or sentencing practice. Contributions may also cover possible legal challenges concerning amendments to Art 8 of the Rome Statute. From the formal (normative) point of view, the methodology of interpretation and application of sources of law envisaged in Art 21 of the Rome Statute offers room for analysis.
- Procedural issues
Contributions should focus not only on procedural issues in a strict sense (e.g. evidentiary matters, or different phases of proceedings), but also on issues related to jurisdiction, immunities, admissibility (and therefore complementarity), participation of victims in the proceedings before the ICC, cooperation with the ICC and enforcement of penalties. It is envisaged that contributions cover strategies on selection of situations and cases (including examples of attempted but failed referrals by the SC). Finally, the methodology concerning interpretation and application of sources of law before and by the ICC shall be assessed.
On behalf of the Organizing Committee,
dr. Martin Faix and dr. Ondřej Svaček (Chairs of the Scientific Committee of the Conference)
— In cooperation with: —
The Czech Republic Branch
