Kamil Sobański participated in the 3rd Doctoral Seminar organized by the Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights

Between March 18 and 19, 2024, Kamil Sobański participated in the 3rd Doctoral Seminar on International Criminal Law, International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law organized by the Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights.

He presented a paper called “Is There a Defendant’s Right to Be (Online) Present in the Trial Before the International Criminal Court?”. During his talk, he deconstructed the defendant’s right to be present at trial in the context of the ICC and presented the origin of the defendant’s presence via video link. He attempted to answer the following research question: can there be a right for the defendant to be present online during ICC trials? Results of his research indicate that the defendant should have the right to participate remotely in the trial, not just the option, but appropriate safeguards and standards are required. Kamil also outlined the rationale for the defendant’s remote participation. Then he made a construction of the defendant’s right to be present online and provided a definition of remote communication tools, which enable an online presence.

This Seminar provided an opportunity to receive feedback from prominent experts in the field of international criminal law, as well as other doctoral students interested in this topic. It was very beneficial for young scholars to discuss and exchange academic ideas at an international forum. Kamil started establishing his own network of criminal justice-related contacts.

The trip was held as part of of the research project “Virtual Justice. Remote Proceedings before the International Criminal Court  – Threat or Opportunity?” funded by the NCN National Science Centre (2022/47/O/HS5/01229).