“The handbook interrogates the popular myths and prejudices that are often levelled against the ICC with regard to its work in Africa, especially following the issuance of an arrest warrant against a serving head of state. Far from being an exclusive creation of western countries, the ICC is a truly international court, desired by African states: 30 of the 110 States Parties that are signatories to the Rome Statute are from the African continent. Furthermore, five of the 18 elected judges are African nationals (from Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and Mali), while of the 288 counsel appearing on the list held by the Registry, 78 are African. In addition, the Court boasts at least six Africans among its higher levels of staff. An important message in this handbook is that by contributing to shorter, more transparent and more rigorous trial procedures, defence lawyers are helping to administer justice in a way that is no less important than that performed by prosecutors and judges. That is, in arguing the case of those accused of violating
human rights on a massive scale, defence lawyers are ‘human rights lawyers’ who are as important as the prosecutors who seek to bring perpetrators to justice.”
