IBA creates code of conduct for lawyers before the International Criminal Court

CREDIBILITY: practitioners who fail to adhere to the rules will face disciplinary proceedings

Lawyers appearing before the International Criminal Court (ICC) are to be subject to a special code of conduct, the International Bar Association (IBA) has announced.

The code applies to all defence lawyers before the court, and is intended to be more authoritative than any national code.

It covers issues such as privilege, conflict of interest, confidentiality, and financial arrangements between lawyer and client.

Fiona Paterson, manager of the IBA's human rights institute, explained: 'The statute of Rome [which created the ICC] states that the ICC's registrar has to collaborate with international legal bodies to develop a code of conduct for defence lawyers before the court, and so the ICC approached us at the start of last year.'

An advisory panel of 15 international lawyers was set up to draft the code.

It was sent out for consultation in May, and amendments were discussed at a two-day conference in London last November.

Particular areas of concern were problems of client confidentiality, how it would be enforced, and what would happen if it conflicted with national codes.

'Lawyers who appear before the ICC all come from diverse legal systems,' said Ms Paterson.

'The court needs one universal code to ensure that everyone is clear about how it operates, so that it can run on a truly international basis.'

Lawyers who fail to adhere to the code will be subject to controversial disciplinary proceedings, which would involve their peers and the ICC registrar rather than their national bars.

IBA executive director Mark Ellis said: 'If the ICC is to have the credibility that an international court needs, an enforceable code of professional behaviour is essential.'

Mr Ellis admitted that although the code would probably undergo a process of organic change as it came into force, he hoped that the lengthy period of drafting and consultation had captured the 'essence of an international code of ethics for criminal defence lawyers'.

Last summer, lawyers from more than 80 law societies and bar associations met in Montreal to form the International Criminal Bar Association (see [2002] Gazette, 11 July, 6).

Victoria MacCallum