afrol News, 10 March - A delegation of Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) will on Monday meet with registry officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to discuss procedural issues related to the legal representation of suspects before the court.

The meeting will also dilate on procedure and time limits for the filing of documentation and materials with the registry.

"As a neutral organ that facilitates fair trial, the registry does not engage in substantive discussions with any of the parties on the merits of cases before the court," the ICC said in a release.

"Rather, the registry is responsible for defence counsel matters and for receiving and distributing all documents and materials used in proceedings before the court".

The body is also responsible for providing support, assistance and information to defence counsel, including the necessary facilities for the direct performance of counsel’s duties. It maintains a list of counsel from which a person may freely choose from.

On 13 October 2005, the UN-backed court unsealed five arrest warrants against the leaders of LRA for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Uganda since July 2002.

The court ordered that "there are reasonable grounds to believe" that Joseph Kony, Vincent Otti, Okot Odhiambo, Dominic Ongwen and Raska Lukwiya, “ordered the commission of crimes within the jurisdiction of the court." Following the confirmation of his death, the court has discontinued proceedings against Raska Lukwiya. But warrants against the rest still stands.

The northern rebels have recently agreed to sign a peace deal with the Uganda government. They raised eyebrows over the ICC arrest warrants.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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