Witnesses in the ICJ Committee

Hi delegates! This week's blog post will be discussing witnesses and how they play a role in our committee and in the actual ICJ.

It is very worthy of noting that witness testimony in the ICJ for both parties involved play a vital role in deciding the outcome of the case. This is due to the fact that various witness testimonies can be very helpful and reliable in deciding whether the faults of each party/country are actually valid. Witness testimony can possibly affirm the respondent party's accusation or refute it, so it is a very large deciding factor.

At BMUN's conference, we will have approximately two to three witnesses be introduced in committee for each day of conference. Witnesses will vary from each party (Georgia v. Russia). For example, one of our witnesses will be the Georgian President in 2008 testifying under oath, to various legal scholars who will be able to clarify Russia's supposed violations of the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Basically, witnesses will be introduced throughout committee and the attorneys representing both parties (Georgia and Russia) will ask various questions to those specific witnesses; there will be direct and cross examinations of the witnesses. In addition, judges (the delegates) will be able to ask the witnesses questions directly to the witnesses afterwards to ultimately help in creating their verdicts, so please keep that in mind!

Ultimately, having witnesses testify throughout committee keeps committee flowing and greatly assists in verdict writing! Please leave a comment below if you have any questions about witnesses throughout the ICJ Committee or if you would like anything mentioned in this blogpost clarified!

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