Webinar on the International Criminal Court
The training course aimed at acquainting the audience and participants especially researchers, law students, civil activists, and other officials with the ICC judicial process and developments. The webinar also outlined when and where the Court can exercise its jurisdiction and insights on the process from preliminarily examining a situation to the prosecution of a defendant at the Court. Over 60 participants enrolled in the two-day course which indicated the increasing interest in the Court’s jurisdiction and procedures.
The first day of the webinar was led by Dr. Ali Khaleghi, Associated Professor at the University of Tehran. He gave a lecture about the jurisdiction of the Court and the admissibility requirement.
The second day was led by Dr. Mohammad Hadi Zakerhossein, Assistant Professor at the University of Tehran. He talked about the pre-trial phase at the ICC highlighting the process of investigation and prosecution. “I talked about all the situations under investigation and preliminary examination and highlighted the most important cases before the ICC to update the audience about its latest developments,” stated Dr. Zakerhossein. He believes that by explaining the wide scope of the Prosecutor's investigation, he can draw the audience’s attention towards the ICC process towards a case or situation and also erase the misconception of ICC being called an African Court. At the end of the course, participants shared their queries and views, and many requested more sessions to better understand the court.
Even though the Islamic Republic of Iran is yet to ratify the Rome Statute of the ICC, the participant’s curiosity and interest towards the Court helped ICICL and the lectures understand that it is vital to echo the voice for the ICC in Iran and for people to recognize the role of the ICC in ensuring international peace and security especially at a time when internal and international conflicts and wars in the region and around the world have been escalating.
Dr. Zakerhossein stated that the request to offer more courses is under consideration as there is a need for the regional audience to gain sufficient knowledge about the ICC work and jurisdiction.
