The ICTY Outreach team joined representatives of outreach programmes from three other international courts to conduct a panel at the 11th Conference of the International Association for Court Administration (IACA). The panel was a unique opportunity to share with court administrators from all corners of the world how outreach can help boost a court’s effectiveness by raising its public profile and engaging with its stakeholders.
This year’s IACA Conference was held at The Hague World Trade Centre from 18 to 20 May. The Outreach panel took place on 20 May and featured representatives of the ICTY, the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) and the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone (RSCSL).
ICTY Spokesperson for Registry and Chambers Nenad Golčevski explained that, given the geographical distance between the ICTY and the region most affected by its work, as well as the lack of objective information about the Tribunal in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, the Tribunal needed a targeted communication effort to overcome that information gap.
Against that background, Mr Golčevski remarked, “ICTY Outreach developed over the years from a programme aimed to provide information, into a tool of exchange and dialogue between the Tribunal and the people of the former Yugoslavia.”
The Spokesperson for the STL, Wajed Ramadan, noted that one of the key lessons learned from the ICTY was the importance of establishing an effective outreach programme from the outset of the court’s work.
Mohamed Bangura, Prosecution Legal Adviser for the RSCSL, gave a comprehensive overview of the outreach activities of that court, which is often commended for its efficiency and impact.
Finally, Sonia Robla, Chief of Public Information and Outreach Section of the ICC, explained how the only permanent international criminal court had learned from the outreach experiences of other, ad hoc war crimes Tribunals and applied these lessons in different countries. However, she explained that the best outreach practices implemented in one region cannot be directly applied in new situations. Rather, courts need to adapt their communication methods to each country’s specific circumstances.
Founded in 2004, IACA brings together experts and professionals from court systems throughout the world to share best practices for judicial administration, to support the rule of law in emerging democracies, and to spur innovative ideas to improve court functioning.