Evidence before International Courts and Tribunals: Distinct Fora, Similar Approaches?

James Gerard Devaney Lecturer in Law, University of Glasgow

Dr. James Devaney is Lecturer in Law at the University of Glasgow and member of the research group on International Law, Conflict and Security. He has studied law at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy (Ph.D. 2015, LL.M 2012), the University of Glasgow (LL.M (distinction) 2010) and the University of Strathclyde (LL.B (Hons) 2009). Whilst his primary area of research is the procedure of international courts and tribunals, he has published on a range of areas of international law, including State immunity, genocide, self-defence and the use of force, the law of the sea and State succession to treaties. His monograph, “Fact-Finding before the International Court of Justice”, which focusses on the use of evidence before international courts and tribunals including the adjudicative bodies of the WTO and inter-State arbitration, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2016. He is a member of the International Law Association Committee on the Procedure of International Courts and Tribunals.

Khanlar Hajiyev Head of the Judicial Practice and Law Enforcement Department, the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law under the Government of the Russian Federation

Dr. Khanlar Hajiyev served as judge of the European Court of Human Rights for more than 13 years. Dr Hajiyev was also the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan in 1998-2003. He was a member of the European Commission “For Democracy Through Law” (Venice Commission). In 1998, Dr Hajiyev led a delegation at an international conference on the establishment of the Statute of the International Criminal Court. He also taught criminal law at Moscow State University and international criminal law at Baku State University. Dr Hajiyev is the author of a monograph and numerous publications.

Bakhtiyar Tuzmukhamedov Professor of International Law, Merited Jurist of the Russian Federation, Vice-President of the Russian Association of International Law, Member of the Committee against Torture since 2018, Ad hoc Judge of the European Court of Human Rights

In 1992-2016 he was a senior staff member of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.

From 2009 to 2015 he was a judge at the UN International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and a judge at the Appeals Chamber of the UN International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and for the former Yugoslavia.

He taught at the Hague Academy of International Law, Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry and other higher education establishments in Russia and abroad.

Author of multiple publications in the field of international law, including on international law in constitutional jurisdiction.

Michael Swainston QC, Barrister, Brick Court Chambers

Michael Swainston, QC, is a Barrister at Brick Court Chambers. He has a broad litigation and advisory practice in England and overseas in areas including commercial and corporate litigation, international commercial and investment arbitration, human rights, humanitarian law and related public international law. He has particular experience in litigation connected with Russia and CIS countries. Aside from his work in London, Michael Swainston is admitted and practices in the BVI, Cayman Islands, Qatar, Hong Kong and Dubai, and has extensive experience in international arbitration, including LCIA, ICC, Bermuda Form and bilateral investment treaties cases. He is also Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn and a member of the international panel of the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum.

Anatoliy Kovler Professor Kovler is now serving as Head of the Foreign Law and Comparative Law Center at the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law under the Government of the Russian Federation. He was elected judge of the European Court of Human Rights in 1999 and served until 2012

Professor Anatoly Kovler is the holder of Ph.D. and Honored Lawyer of the Russian Federation. Professor Kovler is now serving as Head of the Foreign Law and Comparative Law Center at the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law under the Government of the Russian Federation. He worked as Head of Comparative Law Center at the Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1979-1999.
Professor Kovler was elected judge of the European Court of Human Rights in 1999 and served until 2012. Professor Kovler also has a broad teaching experience. He is the author of 8 monographs and about 150 scientific publications on the theory of law, anthropology, human rights, comparative constitutional law.

Aniruddha Rajput Member, UN International Law Commission

Dr. Aniruddha Rajput is a Member of the UN International Law Commission (ILC) (2017-2021). He was the Chairperson of the Drafting Committee at the 69th Session of the ILC. In 2017, the topic he proposed “Evidence before International Courts and Tribunals” was added to the Long Term Programme of Work by the ILC. His areas of expertise include general international law, dispute resolution, law of the sea, boundary disputes, international investment law and international trade law. He has taught courses in international law at the Indian Law Institute, New Delhi, and National Law University, Delhi and currently sits on the Board of Studies of the South Asian University. Dr. Aniruddha Rajput advises and appears on behalf of States and foreign investors in international disputes. He is Consultant, Public International Law and International Arbitration at Withers LLP and an advocate of the Supreme Court of India.

Gudmundur Eiriksson Judge / Ad-hoc Judge, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (1996-2002 / 2016-present)

Gudmundur Eiriksson was a member of the UN International Law Commission from 1987 to 1996 and a Judge at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea from 1996 to 2002. He is currently a Judge ad hoc in the M/V “Norstar” case before the Tribunal. He is a member of the Panel of Conciliators and Panel of Arbitrators at the ICSID, the Panels of Conciliation and Arbitration under the UNCLOS, the International Council of Environmental Law and the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law. From 1974 to 1976, he also served as a Law of the Sea Officer in the United Nations. From 1977 to 2014, he served in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Iceland, as Assistant Legal Adviser, Legal Adviser and Ambassador of Iceland in Ottawa, Pretoria and New Delhi. Gudmundur Eiriksson is also Professor and Executive Director at the Centre for International Legal Studies, Jindal Global Law School. He is a Fellow of King’s College London and Professor Emeritus at the University for Peace.

Philippe Couvreur Registrar, International Court of Justice

H.E. Mr. Philippe Couvreur is serving his third term of seven years as Registrar of the International Court of Justice He was Principal Legal Secretary at the Court from 1995 to 2000, after having served in the Court’s Registry since 1982. Mr. Couvreur has been senior guest lecturer for 20 years in public international law at the Law Faculty of the Université Catholique de Louvain, lectured in various foreign universities and academies and spoke at many symposia and conferences. He is the author of numerous publications on public international law. Mr. Couvreur is also a Corresponding Member of the Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences of Spain.

Kate Parlett Counsel, International Court of Justice, London Court of International Arbitration, International Chamber of Commerce

Dr. Kate Parlett is a barrister at 20 Essex Street specialising in public international law and international arbitration. She acts for States and private entities on issues including land and maritime boundaries, transboundary environmental harm, investment treaty and contract disputes, human rights, law of the sea, State responsibility, treaty obligations, immunities, environmental law, sanctions and international crimes. She also acts as counsel and arbitrator in international commercial disputes. Dr. Kate Parlett has a doctorate and a master’s degree in public international law from the University of Cambridge, having completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Queensland, Australia. She is widely published, particularly in international dispute settlement. Dr. Parlett has lectured in public international law, international investment and commercial arbitration and international human rights law, at the universities of Cambridge, Geneva, Paris-II (Panthéon-Assas), Queen Mary (University of London), Queen’s University (Canada), and Queensland.

Anna Austin Deputy Jurisconsult, European Court of Human Rights

Anna Austin qualified as a Solicitor (Law Society of Ireland) in 1991. Having worked for 6 years with A&L Goodbody in Dublin, she joined the European Commission for Human rights in 1994 and, subsequently, the European Court of Human Rights in 1998. Having worked as a Head of Division in the Registry of the Court for 10 years, she was appointed in 2015 the Court’s Deputy Jurisconsult, a position she holds to date. She has also been seconded from those institutions on a number of occasions. She was the Deputy Ombudsperson for Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1997. She headed the Office of the Investigating Judges of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Cambodia 2008-2009. Anna Austin was also in charge of human rights issues in the Secretariat of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in 2014-2015. In 2013-2015, she acted as the Legal Advisor of the International Advisory Panel on Ukraine.

Armen Harutyunyan Judge, European Court of Human Rights

Armen Harutyunyan was elected judge of the European Court of Human Rights in September 2015. Before his election, he served as the Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (2014-2015). He also was Regional Representative of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Central Asia (2011-2014). In 2006-2011, Armen Harutyunyan was the Human Rights Defender of Armenia. He also was the Honorary Member of the French Association of Armenian Advocates and Lawyers, Paris (2008-2011), and Member of the Council of Justice of Armenia (2004-2005). Judge Harutyunyan has a doctorate degree in law from the Academy of Public Administration of the Russian Federation in Moscow. He was Rector of the Public Administration Academy of Armenia (2002-2006).

Lord Iain Bonomy Judge, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (2004-2009)

The Right Hon Lord Bonomy has been engaged in the practice of law since 1968, first as a lawyer in private practice, then as Scotland’s senior prosecuting counsel, and thereafter as a judge. As a judge in Scotland and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, he presided over trials in many serious, and some prominent, criminal cases. In Scotland, he also sat in civil cases. Latterly as a member of the Court of Appeal, he sat in civil and criminal appeals. In retirement, he continues to sit occasionally. In Scotland and at the ICTY he chaired Working Groups that produced recommendations for improvements in the practice and procedure for serious and international criminal proceedings, which were largely implemented.

Kimberly Prost Judge, International Criminal Court

Kimberly Prost was elected judge of the International Criminal Court in March 2018, for a term of nine years. Prior to her election as the judge, she served as Chef de Cabinet for the President of the International Criminal Court for a two-year term. Before joining the Court, she was appointed in 2010 as the first Ombudsperson for the Security Council Al Qaida Sanctions Committee. In July 2006, after election by the United Nations General Assembly, Judge Prost was appointed to sit as an ad litem judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on a multi-accused trial (Popovic et al) related to events at Srebrenica and Zepa. Earlier in her career, she worked for the Canadian Department of Justice for 18 years appearing before all levels of the Canadian courts, including the Supreme Court. For 7 years she served as Director of the International Assistance Group which is responsible for extradition and mutual legal assistance matters for Canada. She was a member of the Canadian delegation for negotiating the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and related documents, as well as the UN Conventions against Transnational Organized Crime and Corruption.

Nayla Comair-Obeid Professor, Lebanese University; Founding Partner, Obeid Law Firm; president of CIARb (2017), Arbitrator

Dr Nayla Comair-Obeid is a founding partner of Obeid Law Firm, where she heads the dispute resolution practice. Dr Comair-Obeid regularly serves in arbitral proceedings as counsel, arbitrator or legal expert on various aspects of Lebanese law and Middle Eastern legislations. Dr Nayla Comair-Obeid is a professor of international commercial arbitration at the Lebanese University and the author of numerous publications in Arabic, French and English, and, particularly, of the monography “The Law of Business Contracts in the Middle East”. In addition to her experience in academia and practice, Dr Comair-Obeid sits on the ICSID panel of arbitrators; is a member of the Council of the Institute of World Business Law of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC); member of the LCIA Court; trustee of the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration board of trustees; former Commissioner of the United Nations Compensation Commission in Geneva; and former Vice Chair of the Arbitration Committee of International Bar Association. Prof Comair-Obeid has acted as the President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) for 2017 and is the former Chair of the CIArb Board of Trustees.

Mojtaba Kazazi Vice-President, Institut de Droit International, Arbitrator

Dr. Mojtaba Kazazi is a former judge of the courts of Tehran and has a long experience in international arbitration. Currently he is serving as a Vice-président of the Institut de Droit International and acting as arbitrator in different disputes. He is also a board member of Tehran Regional Arbitration Centre. Dr. Kazazi worked extensively on the arbitration and settlement of claims before the Iran-Unites States Claims Tribunal at The Hague. He also served for many years as the Executive Head of the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), and as the Secretary of its Governing Council, in Geneva, where he was instrumental in setting up the UNCC and in resolving 2.7 million claims from over 100 countries. More recently, Dr. Kazazi was the Executive Commissioner of two international mass claims programs for payment of compensation to workers. Dr. Mojtaba Kazazi is a graduate of Tehran University (LLB and LLM) and UCL Louvain (PhD) and has a wide teaching experience. He lectured at The Hague Academy of International Law in 2017 and is currently a visiting scholar at the Graduate Institute, in Geneva. His publications include the book “Burden of Proof and Related Issues: A Study on Evidence before International Tribunals” (Kluwer 1996).

Dirk-Reiner Martens Partner, Martens Rechtsanwälte, founder of Basketball Arbitral Tribunal (BAT), Arbitrator

Dr Dirk-Reiner Martens is Partner at Martens Rechtsanwälte. Since 2000, he has acted in more than 170 proceedings relating to commercial law or sports law, as either a party-appointed arbitrator or President of the tribunal. In 2007, he established the Basketball Arbitral Tribunal (BAT). Since the BAT foundation, more than 1 100 cases have been brought before it. Dr Martens is included in the list of arbitrators of the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA), the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the Arbitration Tribunal of the International Automobile Federation (FIA, Formula 1), American Arbitration Association (AAA) and International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR). He has also lectured at the University of Neuchâtel for the Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport (FIFA Master), as well as in International Commercial Arbitration at Bucerius Law School and in International Sports Law at the Higher Institute of Law and Economics (ISDE).

Louise Wichmann Madsen Dispute Settlement Lawyer, Legal Affairs Division of the World Trade Organization

Provides legal assistance to panels consisting ad hoc appointed judges in dispute settlement proceedings between member states.

Tullio Treves Emeritus Professor of the State University of Milano

He was a judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (1996-2011) and President of its Seabed Disputes Chamber. He was a counsel of different states in international courts and tribunals, consultant to various governments and international organizations. Judge Treves is also a member of the Curatorium of The Hague Academy of International Law since 2010 and previously taught at the Academy. He is a member of many learned societies including Institut de Droit International and author of numerous books and articles on international law, including on the international courts and tribunals.

Peter Michael Kremer QC, former Chief of Appeals and Acting Deputy Prosecutor (2005-2014), International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (2012-2014)

Peter Michael Kremer, QC, was Chief of Appeals (2005-2014) and Acting Deputy Prosecutor (2012-2014) of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Before his posts with the ICTY, from 1977 until 2005, Mr. Kremer held various positions with the Department of Justice of Canada, including General Counsel in Litigation (1996-2005), Director and General Counsel at the Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes Section (1990-1996) in Ottawa, Chief of Prosecutions and Senior Counsel (1982-1990) and Prosecutor (1977-1982) with the Winnipeg Regional Office. Mr. Kremer was appointed Queen’s Counsel (Canada) in 1990. He retired from public service in 2014.

Ivana Hrdličková Presiding Judge of the Appeals Chamber and President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

Ivana Hrdličková began her career as a Judge in 1990 and has been presiding over both civil and criminal cases.
Judge Hrdličková also specializes in Islamic Shari'a, with a focus on human rights and Islamic finance in international and Islamic law.
She is further specialized in the development of the rule of law in post-revolution societies.
Judge Hrdličková is also a member of international teams to train judges and lawyers in international public law, international criminal law, rule of law and independence of the judiciary.