Meeting between Representatives of International Criminal Court and Academic Circles of Georgia
On October 6, 2017, the Human Rights Academy of the Public Defender of Georgia organized a public lecture and a meeting between the representatives of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the academic staff and students at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU). The main purpose of the meeting was to raise awareness of the representatives of the academic staff about the function and activities of the International Criminal Court.
The meeting was led by Public Defender Ucha Nanuashvili. Welcome speeches were delivered by Moris Shalikashvili, Deputy Dean of the TSU Department of Law, and Ketevan Khutsishvili, Director of the International Law Institute of the TSU Department of Law. ICC Registrar Herman von Hebel spoke about the importance of the International Criminal Court in the international justice system; Pieter de Baan, Director of the ICC Fund for Victims, reviewed the activities of the fund.
Representatives of the International Criminal Court also spoke about the latest news about the Court and the functional characteristics of the organization. Phakiso Mochochoko, Head of the Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation Division (Office of the Prosecutor) of the International Criminal Court, and Alma Taso Deljkovic, representative of the Fund for Victims, answered the questions of the attendees.
During the question-and-answer session, particular emphasis was put on the investigation of the Russia-Georgia war crimes, as well as the issues of responsibility of the representatives of non-member states of the Rome Statute, problematic aspects of Russia's relations with ICC, assistance capabilities of the ICC Fund for Victims for the victims of the Russia-Georgia war, sharing international experience in the protection of victims and other issues.
At the end of the meeting, the Public Defender expressed his readiness to support similar meetings in the future and cooperate with the International Criminal Court in general.