In this interview, we are speaking with Dr Charles Adeogun-Phillips about the history of guilty pleas in international criminal law, as an author of a chapter on the same topic, as part of the edited works, Contemporary International Criminal Law Issues - Contributions in Pursuit of Accountability for Africa and the World. The challenges associated with the running of international criminal trials are extensive, and establishing a process for plea bargaining, to satisfactorily address some of the legal challenges associated with atrocity crimes, is an even more delicate one.
Today we are talking with Dr Adeogun-Phillips about how this process has evolved over the course of the ad hoc tribunals, and what plea bargaining means in terms of accountability for international criminal offences.
Dr Charles A. Adeogun-Phillips is an accomplished international lawyer and former lead international prosecutor. He founded the cross-border law firm of Charles Anthony LLP, following a distinguished legal career at the UN, wherein he successfully led teams of international prosecutors in 12 precedent-setting genocide trials before the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, making him arguably one of the most experienced and successful genocide prosecutors in history. In 2021, he was called to the Bar of England and Wales as a transferring Solicitor, by the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, and practises as a Barrister from the prestigious Guernica 37 (International Justice) Chambers in London and The Hague. In 2022, he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) by his alma mater, Warwick University, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the development of international criminal law. He contributed to the book International Criminal Investigations, Law, and Practice—“The Challenges of International Investigations and Prosecutions: Perspectives of a Prosecutor” published by Eleven International, The Hague in 2018. He is the focal point for Nigeria at the ICC Bar Association.