The amicus curiae – or friend of the court – is the main mechanism for actors other than the parties, including civil society actors and states, to participate directly in proceedings in international criminal tribunals. Yet reliance on this mechanism raises a number of significant questions concerning: the functions performed by amici, which actors seek to intervene and why, and the influence of amicus interventions on judicial outcomes. Ultimately, the amicus curiae may have a significant impact on the fairness, representativeness and legitimacy of the tribunals’ proceedings and decisions.

This book provides a comprehensive examination of the amicus curiae practice of the International Criminal Court and other major international criminal tribunals and offers suggestions for the role of the amicus curiae. In doing so, the authors develop a framework to augment the potential contributions of amicus participation in respect of the legitimacy of international criminal tribunals and their decisions, while minimising interference with the core judicial competence of the tribunal and the right of the accused to a fair and expeditious trial.

The exploration of legitimacy throughout the text is highly effective … the authors’ decision to adopt both an analytical and normative approach to the role of the amicus means that the text functions at multiple levels of usefulness to academia and practitioners alike. -- Molly Thomas, International Criminal Court, The Hague, the Netherlands * Human Rights Law Review *

Sarah Williams is Professor at the Faculty of Law, UNSW Sydney.
Hannah Woolaver is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town.
Emma Palmer is a Lecturer at Griffith Law School, Griffith University.