Right to not be present in trial
ICC has as the right of the accused to be present at his trial. Should the accused voluntarily give up this right, then the presence of the accused is not viewed as indispensible. (Court may appoint a counsel for the accused to present the accused at his absence.
Defendant and defence counsel:
The ICC and RPE avoid the term suspect, and uses better accused. The suspect have the right to remain silent, to legal assistance during questioning and to interpretation and translation. The assistance of defence council has been enforced by international jurisdictions. Specific qualifications are required of
counsel. The registry has important function regarding vetting of qualifications and assistance to counsel and the Chambers exercise some supervision.
The ICC Statute recognizes the right to legal representation of the suspects or accused own choosing and id necessary free of cost. (Art 55.2 and 67.1 of ICC Statute). In ICC RPE allows a counsel not on the list to be chosen if that counsel meets the required qualifications and is willing to be included in the list. Until now, all the suspects have been represented by defence counsel and issue of selfrepresentation has not yet appear. ICC has established a system with public defence counsel, such as ad hoc counsel, to assist in very early stages of an investigation. Such a counsel may be appointed from the list or from the independent office of public council for the defence.
Witnesses and Victims:
Protection of the victims and witnesses is regulated in RPE. There are special protective measures adopted by ICC. The Prosecution, Chambers, Registry and Registrar share responsibility with ICC in
protective measures. In order to avoid ‘’secondary victimization’’ specialized registry units provide support measures that are similar to social welfare services.
The different factors, such as age, gender, health conditions, nature of crime may add vulnerability to protective measures. Really often the victims and witnesses are not willing to cooperate with the Court if certain protective measures are provided.
The protection can be motivated by security or privacy reasons. The protective measures are possible just in limited extent, like witness protection programmes, including relocation, require assistance by
States and others. A cheaper and maybe more effective alternative is to develop investigation plans and practices whereby contacts with vulnerable witnesses and victims are avoided to greatest possible
extent. This is used in ICC with the indirect evidences and intermediaries are successful but criticized.
In the proceedings, measures may be taken to prevent disclosure to the public that means screening, voice or image distortion, pseudonyms and a ban on photography. And in closed sessions, the video linked testimony can be employed.
The protection programs must be available to both the prosecution and defence and must be perceived as neutral. Registry is the responsible of the protection of the victims.…
