Paolina Massidda

Principal Counsel of the Office of Public Counsel for Victims (OPCV) at the ICC.

Paolina Massidda is the Principal Counsel of the independent Office of Public Counsel for Victims (OPCV) at the ICC since its creation in 2005 and she has been appointed Counsel to represent victims in virtually all situations and cases before the Court.

She sought to bring the OPCV, and with it the ICC, closer to the victims who reside in the affected communities of the situation Countries.

At her initiative, the capacity of the ICC to reach out to victims without discrimination of any kind was significantly strengthened. She has developed the expertise of the OPCV to present the views and concerns of victims in the form of legal submissions in Court proceedings.

Before joining the ICC, Ms Massidda practised before national and international tribunals, representing accused and victims.

She worked as Legal Adviser for the International Federation of the Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross and participated as expert in several European Union training programmes.

She is specialised in human rights and international humanitarian law, she holds a master in international criminal law and is a member of the Genoa Bar (Italy) since 1992.