An estimated 85 lawyers of all nationalities regularly appear before the ICTR. The president of the ICTR, Judge Erik Møse from Norway, who was one of those invited to attend the presentation of the new committee, announced that the defence lawyers body could now take part in the Tribunal's plenary sessions. This annual gathering usually adopts modifications on the Tribunal's regulations. The next plenary session is set for Friday and Saturday in Arusha. The ICTR, which was created on November 8, 2004 by the UN Security Council, opened its first trial in January 1997. It has since tried on 21 people out of the 82 accused of taking part in the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. 23 others are awaiting trials. The mandate of the ICTR is set to end at the end of 2008. KN/PB/JA/FH (DE''0422e)