Michael has worked in international criminal law since 2009. He currently practises as an associate appeals counsel for the prosecution at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and has previously spent three years on the defence team of former Liberian president, Charles Taylor, at the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Michael was called to the Bar at Gray’s Inn in 2010.
From October 2013, with the new code of practice introduced by the Ministry of Justice, victims became entitled to read a statement prior to sentencing explaining the impact of the crime upon them.
The change itself is a small one, but forms part of a broader trend: victims are increasingly viewed as legitimate actors in criminal proceedings, blurring the traditional demarcations of the adversarial system. A counter-trend seems to be at play in the international criminal law arena: in September 2013, the drafters of a blueprint statute for a prospective Syrian tribunal rejected outright the enhanced role for victims that has, since the Rome Statute, been an accepted feature of international criminal proceedings. The problems of victim participation in the essentially adversarial international criminal courts should sound a note of caution for law-makers in England and Wales.
Sam Townend KC explains the Bar Council’s efforts towards ensuring a bright future for the profession
Giovanni D’Avola explores the issue of over-citation of unreported cases and the ‘added value’ elements of a law report
Louise Crush explores the key points and opportunities for tax efficiency
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Is now the time to review your financial position, having reached a career milestone? asks Louise Crush
If you were to host a dinner party with 10 guests, and you asked them to explain what financial planning is and how it differs to financial advice, you’d receive 10 different answers. The variety of answers highlights the ongoing need to clarify and promote the value of financial planning.
On the 50th anniversary of the pub bombings, even now it is still unresolved. Chris Mullin, the journalist and former MP who led the campaign leading to the release of the Birmingham Six, looks back at events
Adele Akers’ reflections on health and wellbeing support at the very junior end of the Bar
Not one to say, ‘I told you so,’ Sam Thomas continues his cyber series with the key learnings from the major supply chain attack affecting 80 law firms and at least one set of chambers at the end of 2023
One year on and the Court of Appeal fails to quash convictions after receiving evidence of racism in the jury room, and there are still no revisions to the Equal Treatment Bench Book , says Keir Monteith KC
Increasing sophistication and frequency of attacks have led many chambers to ask ‘when’ not ‘if’ they will suffer a cyber incident. Simon Davis sets out the factors to consider when renewing your cyber cover
