Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs of the United Nations (UN) Patricia O’Brien on January 27 held talks with the heads of five international courts on how to improve cooperation between the UN and the tribunals in dealing with war crimes and other grave violations of international law.

The international courts, which were established in the Hague, Holland, by the UN, include the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) and the Special Court for Sierra Leon (SCSL).

In her meetings with officials at the courts and tribunals, O’Brien stressed Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s high regard for their work and his strong support for the pursuit of international criminals.

Patricia O’Brien worked with ICJ’s president Hisashi Owada to discuss cooperation between the UN’s Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) and the ICJ, known as the world court, a crucial body in charge of the peaceful settlement of international disputes between States in line with contributing to the development of international law.

When talking with ICC president Sang-Hyun Song, she underlined the significance of strengthening cooperation between the UN and ICC, adding that Ban Ki-moon consistently supports ICC’s activities and considers the body the centre of the global judicial system./.