Working Group on International Criminal Law

Contact: Emilie Hunter and Valentina Spiga

The International Criminal Law Working Group (ICL WG) is a forum for EUI researchers to better inform themselves on key developments in the area of international criminal law and justice. Throughout the year, researchers convene a range of activities, to reflect their research interests as well as to reflect on current developments in the practice of international criminal law. Activities can include workshops or conferences, lectures, informal discussion meetings and researcher presentations, and are often held in collaboration with other working groups.

Established in 2002 at the initiative of Prof. Pierre-Marie Dupuy, the ICL WG is currently sponsored by Prof. Martin Scheinin and Prof Francesco Francioni.

Forthcoming Events

Please visit EUI Law Department Seminars and Events page for forthcoming events, as this page is updated annually.

Academic Year 2011-2012

Seminar: Reducing Genocide To Law, Professor Payam Akhavan, McGill University. Sala Europa, 17th October 2011.

Lunch: With Prof. Payam Akhavan and Martin Scheinin, 17th October 2011.

Discussion: The Prosecution of Children Before Military Tribunals, Smita Shah, Barrister at Garden Court Chambers, UK and Visiting Fellow, Lauterpacht Centre, University of Cambridge, 15th September 2011.

Previous Events

Academic Year 2010-2011

Workshop: Gender Issues in International Criminal Justice , 22 February 2011, Sala Europa.

Organised with the support of Professors Ruth Rubio Marin, Francesco Francioni and Martin Scheinin.

The workshop brought experts and the EUI research community together to evaluate the standards, aspirations and limitations of international criminal justice mechanisms to mainstream gender justice. The research papers of Marina Aksenova (1st year, law) and Susanna Greijer (3rd year, law) will be published in Thematic Investigation and Prosecution of International Sex Crimes, Forum for International Criminal and Humanitarian Law, forthcoming 2011.

Discussion: Topical Issues in the Protection of the Right to Water, with Catarina de Albuquerque, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Water. Organised in collaboration with the Human Rights Working Group, 10th December 2011.

Discussion: Discussion of thesis outlines with Professor Klaus Kress, University of Cologne, 4th February 2011.

Researcher Presentations:

Corporate International Criminal Responsibility: Oxymoron or an Effective Tool for 21st Century Governance? Joris Larik. In collaboration with the Corporate Responsibility Working Group

Adoption of the Definition of The Crime of Aggression, Dov Jacobs, 25 November 2011. In collaboration with the Human Rights Working Group.

Academic Year 2009-2010

Workshop: Methods in Human Rights Research , 26th to 28th May 2010.

Organised with the EUI Working Group on Human Rights and the EU Nordic Network.

Seminar: 'Transferring Legal Information and Knowledge from International to National Criminal Justice for Atrocities: the Legal Tools Project', Morten Bergsmo, Senior Researcher PRIO and former Senior Legal Advisor, ICC Office of the Prosecutor.

Meeting: The International Criminal Court Legal Tools Project.

Academic Year 2007 – 2008

Conference: Fighting Impunity in a Fragmented World, New Challenges for the ICC , 23-24th May. Organised with the support of the Academy of European Law.

The Conference brought together professors from Public International Law, including International Criminal Law as well as high level practitioners to reflect on the first decade of the International Criminal Court. Speakers included Professors Bruce Broomhall, Antonio Cassese, Annalisa Ciampi, Luigi Condorelli, Stephen Crawford, Paola Gaeta, Allen Pellet, and Bill Schabas, as well as Judge Mauro Politi and Deputy Prosecutor Fatua Bensouda.

Researcher Presentations:

• State Sovereignty and International Criminal Law, Noora Arajärvi, 12/03/2008.

• The Security Council Performance within the System Drawn by the Statute of Rome: Abusive Practice or Due Exercise of Competences?, Patricia Pinto Soares, 23/01/2008.

• Introduction on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Dov Jacobs, 24/10/2007.

• Customary International Law in International Criminal Tribunals. Noora Arajärvi, 09/05/2007.

Academic Year 2006 – 2007

Conference: Analysis and Discussion of the Genocide Judgment of the ICJ (Bosnia/Serbia Montenegro). Organized by Profs. Dupuy and Francioni. 27th March 2007.

Guest Speakers: Profs. Paola Gaeta, Marina Spinedi, Luigi Condorelli, Antonio Cassese (University of Florence) and with the partecipation of Annalisa Ciampi, Paolo Palchetti and the EUI Working Groups on International Criminal Law, Cultural Heritage, Human Rights

Seminar: International Court of Justice Judgement: Bosnia-Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro. Special Joint Session of the WGs on International Criminal Law, Human Rights, and Cultural Heritage, 22nd March 2007.

Seminar: Principles of Superior Responsibility in International Criminal Law, by Prof. Paola Gaeta, professor of International Law, University of Florence. Special Session of the WG on International Criminal Law, 5th March 2007.