War Crimes Justice Project trains defence lawyers in Kosovo with newly developed practice manual

PRISHTINЁ/PRIŠTINA, 19 October 2011 – An advocacy-skills training for 20 defence lawyers appearing in war crimes cases was held today in Prishtinë/Priština, as part of the War Crimes Justice Project.

The 4-million euro War Crimes Justice Project is funded by the European Union and led by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in partnership with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and OSCE field operations.

The course made use of the Manual on International Criminal Defence that was developed by UNICRI, together with the Association of Defence Counsel practicing before the ICTY. The publication is meant for defence attorneys working on war crimes cases in the region and is available in English, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian and Albanian.

“The training course focuses on the experiences of defence lawyers practicing at the ICTY and is designed to strengthen the advocacy skills of local lawyers defending war crimes cases,” said Colleen Rohan, Defence Counsel at the ICTY, who coordinated the Manual’s production and led the training seminar.

Khaldoun Sinno, the Acting Head of the European Commission’s Liaison Office to Kosovo, said: “It is important to continue ensuring a holistic approach within the project to bolster war crimes justice by training defence counsel in addition to training courses for prosecutors, judges and non-governmental organizations.”

This project is funded by the European Union.

For more information please call Ms. Sanela Tunović, War Crimes Justice Project Outreach Officer at ++387 61 539 535 or email at wcjp@odihr.pl