Public International Law

[Luciano Pezzano is Professor of Human Rights at the University of Business and Social Sciences (UCES, Argentina) and Lecturer of Public International Law at the National University of Cordoba (UNC, Argentina)] On 5 March 2025, the Republic of Sudan instituted proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the United Arab Emirates (UAE), for breaches of the Genocide Convention. The...

[Dr Erica Harper is Head of Research and Policy Studies at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights] International humanitarian law (IHL) stands at a crossroads. Once a universal touchstone for safeguarding basic human dignity during conflict, its foundational norms are eroding at an alarming pace. The IHL in Focus: Annual Report (June 2023-July 2024) (‘the Report’) paints...

When the news broke that the former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte had been arrested and detained upon arrival at Manila’s airport from an overseas trip, by Philippine police executing an international arrest warrant, it was the culmination of months of speculation. The political feud and infighting in the Philippines halls of power certainly facilitated this moment. But let us not forget, it’s been the relentless work...

[Benjamin Thorne is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Criminal Law at the University of Reading] Almost 3 weeks into Donald Trump’s second term as US President and one could have been forgiven for becoming somewhat numb to the seemingly never ending conveyor belt of Executive Orders (EO) being announced. However, one particular EO jolted many from their numbness, not because it...

[Emma Charlene Lubaale is a Ugandan Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Greenwich in London, and a non-resident Research Professor at Rhodes University’s Faculty of Law in South Africa. Some of her recent publications focus on National accountability for international crimes in Africa and the intersection of gender and criminal justice in Africa.] Introduction  Thomas Kwoyelo was a mid-level commander...

[Nurul M. Azmi is a Legal Researcher and Ciara Laverty is a Legal Adviser with UpRights, an NGO which builds partnerships with victims, civil society, and judicial authorities to document human rights violations and international crimes, and identify and pursue effective legal pathways to accountability, including in the contexts of Ukraine and North Korea] Recent reporting has confirmed the deployment of...

[Maria Crippa is a postdoctoral fellow in international criminal law at the University of Milan and a visiting researcher at the University of Tilburg. Matteo Colorio is a PhD candidate in international law at Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa and a visiting researcher at the University of Tilburg.] Introduction Osama Elmasry Njeem, also known as Elmasry, was arrested in Italy on...

[Dr Eitan Diamond serves as Manager and Senior Legal Expert at the Diakonia IHL Centre in Jerusalem. Dr Ellen Nohle serves as a Senior Legal Advisor and Legal Team Coordinator at the Diakonia IHL Centre in Jerusalem.   Anna-Christina Schmidl serves as a Legal Advisor at the Diakonia IHL Centre in Jerusalem.] Introduction Between 7 October 2023, when hostilities broke out in Israel and Gaza,...

[Dr Patrick Kroker is senior legal advisor with the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, where he is responsible for the center's work on accountability for crimes in Syria. He is a German-qualified attorney and, in this capacity, regularly represents survivors of international crimes in UJ investigations and trials, including in the first case on Syrian state torture in...

[Artemis Akbary is a Co-Founder and Executive Director of ALO: the Afghan LGBT+ Organization, and member of the Gender Persecution in Afghanistan Accountability Working Group. Kirby Anwar is a Senior Legal Fellow at Human Rights and Gender Justice Clinic, CUNY School of Law, Advocacy Director at MADRE and member of the Gender Persecution in Afghanistan Accountability Working Group.] “I was beaten and...

[Philippe Mawuli Kokou Plagbe is a human rights lawyer and civil society actor from Togo. He is a Fulbright Scholar and recently completed a fellowship at Amnesty International as an International Justice Fellow in Africa (2023-2024). Oumou Salamata Bah has been a member of the Guinean Coalition for the ICC since 2018.] On July 31, 2024, the trial of the 2009 massacre in Guinea...

[Richard Dicker is Senior Legal Adviser for Advocacy at Human Rights Watch and an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Law School] It has taken two years of consideration, discussion and debate, but the agreement necessary to draft an international treaty to prevent and punish Crimes Against Humanity has finally been reached. The UN General Assembly’s Sixth Committee, which is mandated to encourage...