Speaker details

Biography

Kate Gibson is the President of the Association of Defence Counsel practicing before the International Courts and Tribunals. She has been appearing before international criminal courts and tribunals since 2005, representing accused in cases involving conflicts in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cambodia, Sierra Leone and the former Yugoslavia. Currently, Kate is the co-counsel of Bosco Ntaganda before the International Criminal Court, and also represents Rohingya victims in the Bangladesh/Myanmar situation. Kate also leads the legal team of Paul Rusesabagina, charged with terrorism in Rwanda, and is a member of the Defence team of former President of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague. Previously at the International Criminal Court, Kate spent 10 years representing Jean-Pierre Bemba, former Vice-President of the DRC who was acquitted by the ICC Appeals Chamber in 2018. She was also the co-counsel of former President of Liberia Charles Taylor before the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and the Co-Counsel of former President of the Republika Srpška Radovan Karadžić before the UN Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Kate was one of the youngest Lead Counsel appointed at the UN Tribunal for Rwanda, representing Minister Justin Mugenzi who was acquitted on appeal. In 2018, Kate was appointed as a Legal Consultant to the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Myamnar, in Geneva. She holds an LL.M in International Law from Cambridge University.