12-13 September, 2008: First Meeting of the Steering Board of the International Expert Framework

Towards Codification of General Rules and Principles of International Criminal Procedure

HiiL and ACIL (Amsterdam Center for International Law) have launched the joint international research project entitled “International Expert Framework: Towards Codification of General Rules and Principles of International Criminal Procedure” at the first Meeting of the Steering Board on 12th  and 13th  September in The Hague.

This joint endeavor falls under the HiiL Forum research theme Criminal Process and International Crime contained in the HiiL Strategic Plan. This theme has been further developed in the Colloquium How to Adjudicate the Most Serious Crimes that was organized by HiiL on 15/16 October 2007 in the Peace Palace in The Hague.

The principal objective of this project is to elaborate a set of general rules and principles of international criminal procedure which could subsequently be solidified in a Model Code of International Criminal Procedure. The project strengthens and builds upon the ongoing ACIL research program ‘International Criminal Procedure: In Search of General Rules and Principles’, financed by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).

The Meeting was chaired by Professor Göran Sluiter (ACIL, University of Amsterdam) and attended, among others, by such international experts as Professor Claus Kress (University of Köln), Professor Salvatore Zappala (University of Catania), Professor Håkan Friman (University College London). The participants discussed  the substantive parameters and the methodology of the research project as well as the final structure of the International Expert Framework, i,e. a group of experts in the area of international criminal procedure consisting of both academics and practitioners that will conduct the research under the supervision of the Steering Board and supported by an Advisory Board.

The research project is funded by HiiL. ACIL assumes a leading role in the development and the realisation of the scientific activities in which both ACIL and HiiL will be involved.

C.H. Beck-Verlag publishing house has already expressed its interest in publishing the final book to be prepared as an outcome of the project.

It is anticipated that a follow-up meeting of the International Expert Framework will take place in The Hague on January 23-24, 2009.

For more information on ACIL, see www.jur.uva.nl/acil