ICRC consultation brings together legal professionals to discuss IHL

22 June 2015

Judges, prosecutors, and defence lawyers from around the world have been meeting in a consultation organised by the ICRC's Advisory Service on International Humanitarian Law, to discuss key issues on the legal profession and IHL.

The meeting, held in Geneva on 28th and 29th May 2015, brought together 35 practitioners from all parts of the world representing different levels within national jurisdictions and different legal systems.


Representatives of international and regional courts, training institutions for judges, and academics working on IHL also attended, with panel discussions and working groups focusing extensively on how the judicial sector has contributed to the interpretation, enforcement and development of IHL. Other key themes were the sector's role in post-conflict and transition settings, relations between military and civilian jurisdictions in applying IHL, as well as the ICRC's role in IHL training.

The key note address was delivered by the international law expert, Professor Cherif M. Bassiouni, Emeritus professor and President at the International Human Rights Law Institute, DePaul University College of Law, Chicago, who spoke about the role of domestic legal systems in applying IHL.