Integrity in International Criminal Justice: Steps Toward a Code of Judicial Ethics

International tribunals, particularly the ICC, have become key actors in the quest for global security and peace. Their judges wield great power, but they work in what is often a political minefield. That makes their ethics and impartiality central to the effectiveness of international law.

The “Ethica Project” is a multi-year international effort to draft model ethical principles for international criminal judges. This event will announce and discuss the result of the Ethica Project: 25 principles to secure the independence, impartiality, probity, and professionalism of international criminal judges.

The event is sponsored by Georgetown Law’s Human Rights Institute, its Center on Ethics and the Legal Profession, and the Embassy of France. Stephen Rapp, the Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues heading the Office of Global Criminal Justice at the U.S. Dept. of State from 2009–2015, will deliver the keynote address via video. The panel discussion will feature distinguished jurists, including Nicolas Guillou, international judge at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers since 2019 and scientific coordinator of the Ethica Project. It will be introduced by Diégo Colas, legal adviser at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Professor David Luban will moderate.

Ethica is a joint project of the French National School for the Judiciary, the International Nuremberg Principles Academy, and the Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights.