Speaker details

Biography

Michelle Butler has fifteen years of experience working as a barrister at Matrix Chambers specialising in international criminal law, public international law, human rights and arbitration. In this context, she represents States, political and military leaders, corporate entities and NGOs before an array of domestic and international courts and tribunals. Michelle’s cases generally intersect with armed conflict. She acted for Libya in its ICC admissibility challenges in the cases of Saif Gaddafi and Abdullah Al-Senussi. She represented the Democratic Republic of the Congo in its recent ICJ proceedings seeking reparations for loss of life, loss of natural resources and property damage caused by Uganda during the armed conflict from 1998 to 2003. Michelle was counsel for Georgia in its ECtHR claim against Russia arising out of the 2008 invasion of South Ossetia and Upper Abkhazia. She also acted for the displaced Azeri Kurdish claimants from Nagorno-Karabakh in the ECtHR case of Chiragov v Armenia. Michelle is instructed in the ICC proceedings relating to the Situations in Palestine and Georgia and is presently advising the UK on the domestic law framework underpinning its cooperation obligations with the ICC. Michelle has also served as defence counsel (and previously, consultant and legal assistant) in several ICL cases, including: Kosgey at the ICC; and Zupljanin, Gvero, Krajisnik, Seselj, Limaj and Musliu at the ICTY. She has additionally represented witnesses in the cases of Ntaganda at the ICC and Taylor at the SCSL.