The research project ‘Towards Codification of General Rules and Principles of International Criminal Procedure’ is an ambitious venture which aims to elaborate a set of general rules on and principles of international criminal procedure with a further perspective of crystallizing them into a Model Code of International Criminal Procedure. The project is a joint initiative by the Amsterdam Center for International Law of the University of Amsterdam (ACIL) and the Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law (HiiL) - two top research institutes which focus on the study of the internationalisation of law. ACIL is a leading partner in carrying out scientific activities. The project is primarily funded by HiiL under the umbrella of the HiiL Academy. A financial contribution is also provided by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).

The idea of the research project originates from the recognition that the past fifteen years have seen the dynamic proliferation of international and internationalised criminal tribunals and the emergence of an autonomous law of international criminal procedure from what had formerly been a mere objective of substantive international criminal law. The application of this diverse normative corpus by several institutional frameworks increases its fragmentation and raises the issue of systemic coherence. This calls for an assessment of the problems and risks inherent in a fragmented international criminal procedure.

For this task HiiL and ACIL gathered, under the heading of an International Expert Framework, a qualified team of over 40 experts, which include both distinguished academics and experienced practitioners.

On 12 September 2008 the Meeting of the Steering Board was organised in The Hague as a kick-off event for the project, which will run until 2010. The research project will culminate in a scholarly publication codifying the established General Rules and Principles of International Criminal Procedure together with an Explanatory Memorandum.

For further information about the project and its schedule, refer to section About IEF.

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