31.8.09

Today was a really incredible day, and while I would like to describe it as being exciting, it would be an inappropriate word. Today was the day when two years of law school were drawn upon, when reserves of emotional calm were tapped. I was in my first witness proofing, going through the testimony of a survivor of the Srebrenica massacres. The investigator in the room described it as the most intense testimony from one person he had heard in 15 years at the Tribunal. I don't have adequate words to describe what it was like to look at the face of a man who witnessed some of the most vicious and depraved acts this side of WWII, listening to him first-hand describe what he lived through. This was the most humbling day I have had at the court, and the reasons for me being here and learning as much as I can from these attorneys could not have been clearer. I have two more witness proofings this month, and as trite as the phrase is I really feel as though I am getting the experience of a lifetime.

This article was written before the extent of the massacre was even known.

I just have to think that the goal of an international criminal law attorney is to not have any work at all.

Amsterdam and a new acquisition

After an incredibly frustrating week searching for a bike that would be 1) of an acceptable quality AND 2) not cost an outrageous amount of money (new bikes starting at 199 Euros), I decided to move to the larger market of Amsterdam. I was dead-set on going to Recycled Bikes, a shop that takes discarded and donated bicycles, fixes them up and paints them all sorts of lovely colors, then sells them for a reasonable price. I really liked the concept of the shop... However, by the time I got there a mere one hour after opening time, all of the inventory for the day was already sold out, much to my disappointment and that of the line of people out the door. 

My trip was relatively brief, since I was so annoyed that I could spit. Where are all the used bikes in this country!? No wonder stealing is a much-turned-to option. I trotted back towards the train station, eyeing lamp posts for unchained cycles, while apparently skirting the Red Light District on my way. I remember Amsterdam very well from my time there with my parents years ago, but don't remember getting a contact high from passing the coffee shops.

Once back in Den Haag I started perusing the Dutch version of Craig's List with a vengeance. To make a very long day short, I am now in possession of a gorgeous Lowlands bike, shiny and nearly new, with an equally lovely price tag. I do need to tighten the bolts on the back wheel, since it's riding a little squirrely at the moment - the wrench my dad mailed to me is coming in handy after all. Other than a quick tune-up at the shop, I think this cycle and I will get along famously. Keep your fingers crossed that my days of bike dramatics are over.

Had to share

This photo cracked me up, and the blog is filled with so many quintessentially 'Hague' photos that I am adding it to my list of links.

Happy Tuesday

El Niño Beach Bar, fantastic spot

Lovely Paula

Kurhaus

What's left of the bike...

Apparently the spokes acted like a perforation... SO glad this didn't happen when I was cruising down the road.

Sadly...

The back tire of my bike is no more. I knew there was rust on the rim, but didn't appreciate how much. I shamefully was also aware that the back wheel was wobbling during my rides, and still this didn't stop me from scooting all over town. I pumped up the tire after work today, smoothly pushed off of the curb, and heard two bangs in quick succession. The first was my metal rim cracking in two, and the second was the sound of my tire getting punctured and deflating instantly. The noise resembled a gunshot and certainly got the attention of all the motorists lined up at the light - however, I regret to report (much to my father's disappointment) that I did not catch the look on the U.N. guard's face. I'm sure he instinctively reached for his holster. 

And while we're on the subject of the guards, I also VERY stupidly showed up to work today with a butter knife stashed in my bag. I have no plans to take a fellow intern hostage, it was simply left over from my watermelon carving at the beach. Security was none too pleased with me sliding that through the x-ray machine. It's hardly a Bayonet of Death, but it was definitely enough to warrant a reprimand. 

First video post!

Afternoon sunshine

Amarys is a fellow intern that was, fortunately for me, placed in my office though she works on another case. We had a fantastic Sunday evening at Kijkduin beach, sipping white wine and snacking on watermelon, watching happy families lounging on towels. I missed my mother when I saw a cruise ship on the horizon, remembering our trip to Montreal this past May. 

Holland has definitely been a unique experience. There aren't many beaches I can think of where one can see children flinging sand into the air only yards away from a man lighting up a joint. 

Sunday at Kijkduin

Thursday evening

Hello everyone!

Sorry for the lapse in writing. I haven't been feeling 100% this week, and spent yesterday at home with a fever. I'm getting back on my feet, though, and am drinking lots of water (you'd be so proud, Sara). It's a good night to be under the weather, as the sky opened up and dumped rain around 7:00. The Hague was under a high-wind advisory today, which I callously mocked... until I saw a seagull flapping frantically but remaining in place, and it took me twice as long to get home against the headwinds. The higher the wind speeds kick up, the more I feel like Dorothy on my bike. 

This weekend I think it's finally time to hit the Mauritshuis, where the 'Girl with a pearl earring' is housed, along with (of course) plenty of other masterpieces. I may also have dinner at my fave Indonesian place with a new friend that works at the ICTY, so it should be a fun couple of days!

More to come, and thank you for the sweet emails! I miss you all! 

Spotted:

Elderly gentleman, on his bicycle, neatly clipped white hair and tweed jacket... smoking a cigar as he pedaled. 

ICTY

New office

I really have no complaints about the view from my new office - I don't look out at the Peace Palace anymore, but this is still a nice, somewhat quaint angle. 

Near the Tribunal

Finally, summer

Ironically, on a day that I am inside working, it is the weekend and absolutely gorgeous weather for once in the Hague. It seems as though clouds have been rolling in every Friday evening, just in time to ruin most plans for Saturday beach trips. I even spotted an Italian ice cream cart parked strategically outside of the Museon.

On my bike ride to the court, I passed a family of three that was obviously on their way to a picnic at Scheveningen - nestled into their baskets of food and blankets were also a sandy pail and shovel for the little girl. I was highly jealous.

Laudable article

THE COST OF JUSTICE - IS THE ICC LIVING BEYOND ITS MEANS?

International Criminal Law Bureau

By Dr. Guénaël Mettraux 

06.08.09 - International criminal tribunals have been subjected to much criticism over the years for being too slow and too costly.  Part of the case against them is unfair: justice can hardly be reduced to its financial cost and it requires time to proceed in orderly fashion. Part of the criticism is, however, well justified and various tribunals have, therefore, sought to reduce the cost of their proceedings and taken measures to shorten these proceedings.

Whilst it certainly is not the sole, nor perhaps even the primary, consideration relevant to assessing the work of international criminal tribunals, the financial cost of these tribunals is a factor of relevance in assessing their work and performance.  It is particularly so when donors have to decide between various models for the courts and tribunals that they are setting up (national, international, internationalized, etc).  If local jurisdictions can do the same job at a fraction of the cost, why bother with an international tribunal? It is also relevant because we, taxpayers of the world, are paying for these tribunals and they owe it to us to spend our money as responsibly as they can.  Finally, it might be relevant to evaluating the “quality” of justice that these tribunals are generating: if the money that is spent on these institutions goes into feeding new international bureaucracies rather than paying for the core activities of the judicial institution (investigative, prosecutorial, judicial and defence work), there may be a case to ask for their reform.

Since it was created, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has spent almost half a billion euro.  Considering that only one trial – and a relatively minor one by international standards – has started before the ICC (after about 6 years of existence), this seems – and is – a staggering figure. What is equally staggering is the structure that is put in place around the beating heart of the ICC: its courtroom. With only one trial going on, the ICC now has a budget of 101,000,000€ and the ICC website tells us that as of January 2009, 285 women and 302 men worked for the ICC (i.e., 587 employees).  By comparison, the ICTY has a biennium budget for 2008-2009 of 238,000,000€,  so approximately 120,000,000€/year for over 1,118 employees (see http://www.icty.org/sid/325) with 7 on-going trials, 5 appeals (plus contempt matters) and 3 cases in preparation at the pre-trial stage.  With almost twice the staff and much greater judicial activity, the ICTY is costing almost the same as the ICC.  Despite this, the ICTY has been criticized for being too expensive.  In those circumstances, what should be said of the ICC?

Certainly, running international criminal tribunals costs money.  There comes a point, however, when the gap between what is being achieved judicially and what it costs to the international community should raise some serious concerns among those who foot the bill.  Some indications are quite worrying. Some might be anecdotal (though perhaps telling of a more general problem) whilst others are better characterized as “institutional”.

In the 1-7 August 2009 issue of the magazine the Economist, the ICC purchased a full one-page advertising in the “Executive Focus” section of this magazine.  For what purpose? To advertise two administrative positions that it wishes to fill. Such a page costs 21,000£.  By comparison, the UN Habitat advertised in the same section of the magazine for two – hierarchically superior positions – in a quarter of page. Cost: 5,800£. Will the ICC really attract those bankers and business executives that read these pages of the Economist or should it perhaps have advertised in the cheaper and perhaps more adequate “Appointments” section of the Economist where important organizations such as the European Investment Bank or the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea consider it perfectly adequate and sufficient to advertise in a quarter of a page costing them 4,900£.  Should the ICC advertise at once each and all of the positions hierarchically similar to the ones contained in the Economist advertisement (39 positions – 30 P5 and 9 D1), it would cost ICC member states (and their taxpayers) approximately 400,000£ (or 471,000€) just to advertise these positions in the pages of the Economist. By comparison, the ICTY advertise positions on free websites such as reliefweb, the UN network or its own website (www.icty.org).

It may be that this advertisement is indeed merely anecdotal.  It may also be that the ICC has realized that to succeed it needs genuine managerial competence and that by putting such money up-front, it has increased its chance to attract the sort of people that it needs to revive the institution.  Or it may be that the ICC suffers from institutional egomania? Whatever the answer, it is time for the ICC to promote transparency, not just financial/budgetary, but also in terms of allocations of those resources that are put at its disposal and to focus those resources onto its primary mandate, i.e., to investigate, prosecute and try criminal cases, not to create an inflated bureaucracy.

In that context, the allocations of resources between the various organs of the ICC is, well, intriguing.  Sixty or so per cent of the 2009 budget goes to the Registry (60,222,700€) while the shares of the budget going to Chambers (10,332,100€) and the Office of the Prosecutor (25,528,910€) represent respectively about 10% and 25% of the budget. Together, the judicial and prosecutorial branches of the Court, therefore, cost almost half of what the administration of the Court (which, it should be said, covers the budget of defence teams) cost to the taxpayers of State Parties.

With only one trial to show for, half a billion euros is simply too much money to spend for a tribunal.  21,000£ is just too much to recruit two administrators.  Time perhaps for the Court to reconsider its priorities and to spend our money more wisely.

Sigh...

I am remembering tonight what it was like to work full-time with a very trying personality, as today I had an annoying encounter with someone I work with. It wasn't anything serious, more a moment of wanting to stomp my feet and shriek 'I know I'm right, and I can prove it!' My mother's advice of killing someone with kindness came in handy, as gritting my teeth and being overly accommodating diffused the situation far quicker than my knee-jerk reaction would have. 

I may also be a bit vexed because it has been a hard week - I am struggling to get through the mounds of work that I took on, all in time for the attorneys' return next week. I foresee a working weekend. All is not lost, though! Tomorrow night I will be at a going-away party for Erin and Mati and other interns that I have grown fond of, so I'm sure the stresses of the past week will melt away.

Photos to follow, and keep posting comments! I love to hear from all of you! 

Amazing Airedale!

I usually only see children in these boxes... 

Max would be down for the ride.

Weekend

Flowers are relatively inexpensive here, so I bought my favorite color of hydrangea (about 2.50). I am a little disappointed that I got to Holland after the spring tulips were finished.

As part of my amazing care package, Maggie (the tea maven) included my requested Sleepytime, the smell of which evokes memories of my childhood.

You knew I would post this, Mags

I'm back, baby!

Thanks to a little Dutch Mac shop, my formerly-trusty Mac is back in business and running like a charm. More memory, newer operating system... and cool new wallpapers (which of course is the important thing). The old hard drive has been banished to the deepest recesses of my purse, and I don't have it in me to look at it just yet. 

R.I.P. Mac, and other tales

This weekend, with absolutely no warning or reason, my Mac completely crashed. I came home to find the screen frozen in place, and when I rebooted it was unable to find the hard drive, instead choosing to show me a folder with a blinking question mark. GRACK. Thankfully, I backed everything from law school up right before I left Boston, and apparently iTunes will be able to reinstate my music (only the purchased files, though). My parents and I are working on figuring out how to repair the computer, or what to replace it with, so in the meantime I will be posting from here at work. Photos will be delayed!

Other than that chaos, my weekend was lovely. I spent Friday relaxing and mentally preparing for a dinner at my senior trial attorney's house Saturday night. I managed to bike to his house near the beach in a skirt and heels, all while balancing a bouquet of floppy lisianthus on the handlebars, so I have earned my Dutch stripes. The dinner was very nice, with another attorney from the Tribunal attending with her parents and sister in tow.

Sunday was a fantastic day, as Maggie and her boyfriend Ben were in Den Haag! It was a bit surreal to see familiar Boston faces here in town, and I am so happy that they were able to stop by while touring through Munich and Amsterdam. The entire time that Maggie and I have been friends, I was living in my ridiculous shoebox apartment on Beacon Street, so my lovely flat here with huge windows and a fluffy bed was a happy sight for her as well. We had dinner outside on the Fred, a shopping street near my place, and sat around in the twilight that lasted until nearly 10:00. She brought me an amazing care package, full of things that I miss from the states, which I am still pawing through today.

Little canal by my apartment

Patently ridiculous cars

This Fiat looks like a marshmallow in a microwave.

I mean, who wouldn't want a banana yellow Beemer?!

Wedding weekend in Detmold

I got back into Den Haag late last night after having a wonderful time at the wedding of my friends Nicole and Jens. I stayed with Christian and his lovely girlfriend Rebecca, who showed me around and made me feel so completely welcome. This was the first wedding I had been to in Germany, and while it was pretty much the same affair as in America, the civil ceremony took place earlier in the day in a fantastic old Schloss, with the reception taking place that evening. The party was absolutely fantastic - champagne and beer flowing (Detmolder Pils above!) and a dj that played everything imaginable (I was definitely on the dance floor for Bloc Party). Christian's brother Julian was nice enough to put up with my novice waltz. Nicole was an utterly elegant bride, and somehow managed to look beautiful even at 5 a.m. when the whole thing was finally over.

Nicole + Jens, Standesamt Schloss Brake

The Newly Married Couple

Uppsala Friends

Fantastic Ride for the Bride

Rebecca's Beautiful Shawl

After the Ceremony

Flower Girl Watching Carefully for her Cue

Exchanging Rings

Taking Vows

Kleines Mäuschen

Modern Chandelier in a 1587 Building

Waiting in the Courtyard

Moat around Schloss Brake

Schloss Brake

Rebecca in the Sun

Balcony Overlooking the Schloss Courtyard