2024 International Moot Pre-Trial
on Crimes Against Humanity
in North Korea's Political Prison Camps
Goals of Pre-Trial
Experienced former international judges will gather in Seoul to hold a symbolic Pre-Trial hearing on abuses of international humanitarian and criminal law perpetrated in the Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea (North Korea).
By having distinguished former international judges sitting as a Pre-Trial Chamber evaluate charges related to typical crimes against humanity committed in North Korean detention facilities, this event is expected to raise international awareness of the grave human rights violations in North Korea significantly. It will also serve as a milestone in efforts to improve the human rights situation in North Korea, one of the world's longest and worst.
About the Pre-Trial
Background
On February 7, 2014, the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) concluded that North Korea's human rights violations are unprecedented crimes against humanity in modern society. The COI recommended that the UN Security Council refer North Korea's situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC) or establish an ad-hoc international tribunal.
However, due to the opposition of permanent Security Council members, the Peoples' Republic of China and the Russian Federation, the COI's recommendations have not been implemented.
As we mark the 10th anniversary of this historic report, a groundbreaking moot pre-trial event will take place in Seoul. This event will be notable for assembling distinguished former judges, prosecutors, and attorneys from international tribunals, aiming to draw both domestic and international attention to the human rights violations occurring within North Korea's political prison camps.
What to Expect
The purpose of the hearing before the Pre-Trial Chamber is to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that the supreme leader committed each of the crimes charged.
The Pre-Trial Chamber will rule orally either confirming the charges presented to it, or declining to do so, or adjourning the hearing and requesting the Prosecutor to consider specified matters (the written report will be released in a few weeks).
In addition to the evidence outlined in the 2014 COI Report, the Moot Pre-Trial Hearing will incorporate testimonies from the 2012 Compilations of North Korean Human Rights Violations by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK). Further evidence will be drawn from the 2017 Inquiry on Crimes Against Humanity in North Korean Political Prisons (IBA), the 2022 Inquiry on Crimes against Humanity in North Korean Detention Centers (IBA), and the 2024 Report on North Korean Human Rights issued by the ROK Ministry of Unification.
Tribunal Documents
Additional documents, including the final judgement, will be uploaded upon completion of the tribunal.
Event Info
Date: Monday, November 25 - Tuesday, November 26, 2024
Venue: Korea Press Center, Press Club
Events Calendar
Nov. 25 (Monday)
Opening Statements
Direct Examination
Lunch
Cross Examination
Judge’s Examination
Nov. 26 (Tuesday)
Closing Arguments
Judge’s Deliberation
Lunch
Conclusion of Pre-Trial
Closing Ceremony
Defense Counsels
James Connell is a Learned Counsel at the Military Commissions Defense Organization (MCDO), where he represents Ammar al Baluchi, one of the accused in the 9/11 trial, at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. With more than 20 years of experience in criminal defense, human rights, freedom of information, and music law, James is a versatile and skilled attorney who is passionate about justice and social change. He is also pursuing a Master of Music Business degree at Berklee College of Music.
Mashal Aamir , is a barrister and activist. She is also a postgraduate law student at the University of Oxford studying Human Rights and International Law, with a thesis on North Korea's use of starvation as a means of warfare against their own citizens. She is a recipient of the International Bar Association's Outstanding Young Lawyer Award 2024 as well as being a UN delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women. Previously she has worked for the British Government, the ICC, Legal Aid USA and Pakistan's Supreme Court, among others.
The Participants
Chamber
Kwangil Chu is the former vice-president of the International Ombudsman Institute. He has an extensive career including as the Chief Ombudsman of Korea, a ministerial level position. As a prosecutor, he has spent time in various offices across the country, culminating in his role as the Chief Prosecutor at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office. In 2011, at the age of 68 he became an attorney-at-law in Washington, D.C. Currently, among other endeavors, he serves as a Chair Professor at Sejong University.
Dame Silvia Rose Cartwright is a New Zealand jurist who served as the 18th Governor-General of New Zealand from 2001 to 2006. Cartwright contributed as a member of the United Nations committee monitoring compliance with the United Nations Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). She was also appointed to sit as one of two international judges in the Trial Chamber of the Cambodia Tribunal by Cambodia’s Supreme Council of Magistracy.
Martin Karopkin is a former judge at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). This includes work as a Judge of the Trial Chamber and Reserve Justice of the Supreme Court. He has also worked with the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo as well. Beyond these international experiences, he has spent substantial time in the New York State Unified Court System as a Judge of the Criminal Court and Acting Justice of the Supreme Court.
Prosecutors
Lee Young-Hyun is the first North Korean defector to become an attorney at law in South Korea. He earned his law degree at Yonsei University and is currently a lawyer at Law Firm I-re. Along with his work as a state-appointed attorney at the Supreme Court, he is also an advisor for the Ministry of Unification Hanawon, a director at the NKDB Database Center for North Korean Human Rights, and a director at the North Korean Human Rights Corporation. In 2023 and 2024 respectively he received commendations from the Minister of Justice and Prime Minister of Korea
Jared Genser is an international human rights lawyer for and is Managing Director of Perseus Strategies, a public interest law firm. Referred to by the New York Times as “The Extractor” for his work freeing political prisoners worldwide, he has served as counsel to such luminaries as former Czech Republic President Václav Havel, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Ales Bialiatski, Liu Xiaobo, Desmond Tutu, and Elie Wiesel. Genser has received the Tällberg Eliasson Global Leadership Prize and the American Bar Association’s International Human Rights Award.
Brian Tronic is currently Director of the Fred Hiatt Program to Free Political Prisoners at Freedom House. He was previously a lawyer at Perseus Strategies. He has experience internationally and particularly in the field of human rights, serving as an Assistant Professor at the Jindal Global Law School (India), the Crowley Fellow in International Human Rights at Fordham Law School, and the Supervising Attorney and Teaching Fellow at the International Women’s Human Rights Clinic at the Georgetown Law Center.
Kim Hyun-Ki is a Korean citizen and a New York bar-licensed lawyer, currently serving as general counsel for a listed biotech company in Korea. He also serves as an advisor to the Korean Ministry of Unification (focused on North Korean human rights), the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council (a presidential advisory body), and the North Korean Human Rights Corporation (an NGO). As a Christian, he has maintained a strong interest in North Korean human rights. He studied Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE) at a university in the UK and graduated from law school in the US.
Key Evidence
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