This is a website about international criminal defence and human rights.
I am an international criminal defence attorney, who has worked in criminal defence in domestic and international courts for more than three decades. Being a criminal defence attorney is, by definition, taking a position in the struggle against injustice and for the equal application of rule of law to everyone. Therefore, I make no claims to being a neutral party or observer in respect to international criminal defence and human rights issues.
I am a legal practitioner, but this is not counterposed to being a legal theorist. There is a dialectical relationship between theory and practice in criminal defence and in law, generally. I believe that attorneys who are developing the strategy and tactics in the courtroom litigation should also be among those who are writing about the legal issues.
The impetus for this website is to have a place to share my international criminal defence litigation with the aim of hopefully assisting other litigators. Of course, courts often reach decisions on a “case-by-case” basis. But, I have found it quite helpful to analyze other cases – even if they may be different factually and/or legally than the one on which I might be working. It is possible to learn what can be achieved, what works and what does not work and – most importantly – the reasons why a particular court rejects the remedies requested by the Defence.
To this end, the site contains links to public pleadings in my international criminal cases. I want to thank team members with whom I have worked over the years on this litigation. International criminal litigation is a team effort: it is impossible for one person to successfully “do it alone.”
I am in the process of building this site. Hopefully, it will be more complete in a few weeks.
International Criminal Defence and Human Rights 