Int. Criminal Court Judge to give Public Lecture

International Criminal Court Judge to give Public Lecture

International Criminal Court Judge Tuiloma Neroni Slade will give a public lecture at Victoria University’s School of Law next week (Thursday 15 April).

Judge Slade, who graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from Victoria in 1969, will speak about The International Criminal Court (ICC) and Interdependence.

Based at The Hague, the 18 Judges of the ICC (which was established in 2003) will preside over serious criminal cases of concern to the international community, including genocide, war and crimes against humanity.

Judge Slade was elected to this international position, the highest ever held by a Samoan, for a three-year term following his leadership of the Samoan delegation to the United Nations during the development of the ICC. During this time he was Vice-President of the UN Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court and Co-ordinator for the Preamble and Final Clauses of the draft Rome Statute (the establishing document for the Court).

Judge Slade’s career began as a barrister and solicitor in a private law firm in Wellington. He went on to serve as Parliamentary Counsel and Attorney-General of Samoa, Assistant Director of the Legal Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, and then as Permanent Representative of Samoa to the United Nations, concurrently Ambassador to the United States and High Commissioner to Canada.

The United States does not support the ICC, whose first formal investigation will commence in the near future.

Public are welcome to attend the lecture, which will be held in Lecture Theatre 1, Rutherford House, 23 Lambton Quay, at 5.00pm on Thursday 15 April. RSVPs to Ryan.Malone@vuw.ac.nz; 04 463 6327.

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