Comments of Legal Representatives of Victims to the Registry’s Discussion Paper on the Review of the ICC Legal Aid System

1. By a letter dated 19 December 2011, the Registrar of the International Criminal Court transmitted a document entitled ―Discussion Paper on the Review of the ICC Legal Aid System‖ (the ―Discussion Paper‖), and invited comments on that paper by 31 January 2011. We express our appreciation for the invitation to comment on the Discussion Paper. As is acknowledged in the Registrar’s letter of 19 December 2011 which accompanied the Discussion Paper, this consultative process with the legal profession (and all relevant stakeholders, including interested NGOs and States Parties) 1 is of great importance in ensuring the effectiveness of the legal aid system. We are hopeful, therefore, that our observations will be given due consideration before transmission of any proposed amendments to the Assembly of States Parties’ Bureau and the Committee on Budget and Finance for consideration during its April 2012 session.