The students at the entrance gate of the International Criminal Tribunal fo ex-Jugoslavia in The Hague
Members of the International Criminal Law Society organized the seminar "Introduction to International Criminal Justice" at the Free University of Berlin. The purpose of the seminar was to provide students a theoretical background and practical insights into the mandates and functions of institutions in international criminal law. For more information see http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~theissen/proseminar/proseminar.htm. The seminar showed that with the entry into force of the Statute on the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Community established an instrument to punish grave violations of humanitarian law. Through the ICC international standards of human rights are implemented. Assisted by original documents, the students studied the development of international criminal justice since the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg. Concrete case law of international tribunals was discussed. Further discussed topics were the information on and prevention of serious violations of human rights as well as the rehabilitation and restitution of victims. At the end of the seminar, in April 2005, a four-day excursion to international Tribunals in The Hague was organised. The ICTY and ICC were visited and each day several meetings with practitioners took place. The highlight was the visit of a court proceeding at the ICTY. The International Criminal Law Society co-sponsored the project."