Defence Committee
The Defence Committee is mandated to take into consideration the interests of suspects and accused and, through a commentary, provide proposals to the Legal Advisory Committee and advise the Executive Council and the General Assembly on all matters affecting the Defence.
Jad Khalil
Chair
Mr Jad Khalil has been a member of the Beirut Bar since 1990. He was admitted to the List of Defence Counsel of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in 2012. Mr Khalil is co-founder of the legal practice "Khalil's Law Office" in Beirut. Mr Khalil specialises in general criminal law, private, public and international law. Another part of his firm specialises in civil and property law. Mr Khalil was appointed a Lebanese State Lawyer by presidential decree and he acts in that capacity before the Council of State He is also a member of the Environment Committee of the Beirut Bar Association, and he lectures to the Bar. He has written numerous articles published in the quarterly legal journal Al Adel, and in particular one relating to the STL, entitled "Le Tribunal spécial pour le Liban, une justice garantie ou une garantie justiciable". Mr Khalil has also written two legal works, one entitled "Les troubles anormaux de voisinage en droit comparé" published in 2006 by Dar al adala, and one entitled "Les dommages des boîtes de nuit, des établissements classés et des restaurants", published in 2012 by Editions de l'Orient, Paris. He also wrote the draft law: "Code Libanais de Voisinage", which was submitted to the Ministry of Justice in 2010. He holds a Master's Degree in French Law, and a Doctorate in Lebanese Law from Saint Joseph University/Huvelin and he is fluent in Arabic, French and English. In December 2013, Mr Khalil was assigned as a co-counsel to represent the rights and interests of the Accused Hassan Habib Merhi at the STL.
Emmanuel Altit
I am a member of the Paris Bar. Before the ICC, I am Lead Counsel for President Gbagbo and Counsel for the gabonese opposition. I have 20 years of experience in international criminal law. For example, I appeared as Lead Counsel before the ICTR; in Cambodia for victims of the Khmer Rouge regime, etc. I represent victims of terrorism and political opponents in the Middle East. I represented a Guantanamo detainee. I was the lawyer of the Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death in Libya, etc.
Elisabetta Galeazzi
Elisabetta is an Italian Criminal Lawyer admitted to the ICC List of Counsel. She is Chair of the ICCBA Membership Committee, where she was elected for a second mandate. For over twenty years she has worked as a practitioner qualified to act as Defence Counsel and Counsel for Victims before Higher Courts. She is an elected member in governing bodies of national and international associations of counsel, and currently sits on the international committee of the Bologna Bar. She is also a trainer in compulsory training programs for counsel.
Xavier-Jean Keita
Mr. Keïta joined the ICC in 2007 as Principal Counsel for the Defence Office and was involved in all cases. He is fluent in French, English, Spanish, Wolof, Bambara and Malinké, practised law for over 33 years (Senegal and Paris Bar) and is specialised in Human Rights, International Relations and (International) Criminal Law. He is a founding member of the International Training Centre for Lawyers in Africa, ICB and the ICCBA. He is a qualified Mediator and acted as a Judge for five years at the International Organisation of La Francophonie.
Beth Lyons
I have been a Legal Aid criminal defence attorney for 25+ years, and have litigated in national and international courts and tribunals at trial and appellate levels. At the ICC, I am currently one of the defence counsel for Mr. Dominic Ongwen. Lead Counsel Chief Taku and I represented Mr. Narcisse Arido in the Article 70 case. I also represented three clients at the ICTR (2004-2014), including Major F.X. Nzuwonemeye in the “Military II” case. In this case, Lead Counsel Chief Taku and our defence team won an acquittal in the ICTR Appeals Chamber in February 2014. For more than two decades, I have served as an Alternate Delegate to the U.N. for the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), an NGO, founded in 1946, in Consultative Status II with ECOSOC. In the late 1990’s, I volunteered with the South Africa Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I have published on international criminal law and procedure, international human rights and transitional justice/truth and reconciliation commissions.
Franky Vincent Tagne Tagne
Lawyer at the Bars of Cameroon and of Brussels, Belgium. Holder of a 3rd Cycle (graduate) degree in international law. Specialization in criminal law and international human rights law. Counsel for the Defence before the ICC. Founding president of a child protection organisation.
Chief Charles Taku