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Kate Gibson practices in international criminal law, and international human rights law.

Kate has been appearing before the international criminal courts and tribunals since 2005, representing former heads of state, military leaders, and victims of international crimes in some of the leading cases in the field.

Kate spent 10 years representing former Vice-President of the Congo, Jean-Pierre Bemba before the ICC, where she was also counsel to Congolese militia leader Bosco Ntaganda. She represented former Liberian President Charles Taylor before the Special Court for Sierre Leone, and was counsel to former President Radovan Karadžić before the UN Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals in The Hague. Kate was one of the youngest Lead Counsel to appear before the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, representing former minister Justin Mugenzi. Kate is currently Legal Consultant to former President Hashim Thaçi, before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.

Kate’s practice also extends to transnational repression and hostage diplomacy. She was Lead Counsel to Hotel Rwanda subject Paul Rusesabagina, who was kidnapped and detained in Rwanda, and currently acts on behalf of US citizen Ryan Corbett, held hostage by the Taliban. Kate also represents Rwandan dissident and activist Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza.

In 2018, Kate was appointed as Legal Consultant to the Independent International Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar, established by the UN Human Rights Council, and currently represents a group of Rohingya victims in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Kate was also part of a legal team representing civil parties in the first case before the Extraordinary Chambers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in 2009.

Kate holds an appointment as a Senior Legal Advisor with the Public International Law and Policy Group in Washington, D.C., and is a member and former President (2023) of the Association of Defence Counsels practicing before the International Courts (ADC-ICT). Kate is published and teaches in international criminal law and procedure, and holds an LL.M (First) in International Law from Cambridge University. She lives in Geneva, Switzerland.

Publications

Kate Gibson & Caroline Buisman, ‘Sexual violence and offences as international crimes’ in Rook & Ward (eds) Sexual Offences Law & Practice, 6th edn (2021).

Kate Gibson, John RWD Jones QC, Michael G Karnavas and Melinda Taylor, ‘Regulation of the international bar: the challenges for defence counsel’ in Schabas & Murphy (eds) Research Handbook on International Courts and Tribunals (2017).

Kate Gibson, ‘Reliance Upon and Complications with State Cooperation’, UN-ICTR, A Compendium on the Legacy of the ICTR and the Development of International Law (2014).

Kate Gibson, ‘Defence Counsel in International Criminal Trials’ in Romano Alter & Shany (eds) The Oxford Handbook of International Adjudication (2013).

Kate Gibson & Cainnech Lusiàa‑Berdou, ‘Disclosure of Evidence‘ in Buisman, Gosnell & Khan (eds), Principals of Evidence in International Criminal Justice (2010).

Kate Gibson, Carsten Stahn & Hector Olasolo, ‘The Role of Victims in the Pre-Trial Proceedings of the ICC: Conceptual, Temporal and Procedural Issues’, 2006 4(2) Journal of International Criminal Justice 212‑238.

Kate Gibson, ‘The relationship between hybrids and their national counterparts in post-conflict states’, (2009) 9International Criminal Law Review 275 – 300.

Kate Gibson & Daniella Rudy, ‘A new model of international criminal procedure? The Progress of the Duch Trial at the ECCC’, 2009 (7) Journal of International Criminal Justice.