COURSE CATALOGUE - Geneva Academy of International

COURSE CATALOGUE
LL.M. – Master of Advanced Studies (MAS)
In International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights
CORE COURSES
Language of instruction: English
FIRST SEMESTER (FALL)
INSTRUCTOR
COURSE
Vincent CHETAIL – Professor
PhD Paris II Panthéon-Assas
Research Director at the Geneva
Academy, Vincent Chetail is
Associate Professor of International
Law at the Graduate Institute of
International Studies and Development, and at the
Programme for the Study of Global Migration. He is
also Head of the Master in International Affairs at the
Graduate Institute and Vice-President of the Frenchspeaking Network of International Law (RFDI).
Professor Chetail is Editor-in-Chief of Refugee Survey
Quarterly (Oxford University Press) and Editor of the
series “Organisation internationale et relations
internationales” and “Axes” at Bruylant, Brussels.
INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE LAW - The course
will analyze the different rules of international law
governing the status of refugees. It is divided into three
essential parts. The first part will examine the sources
(both international and regional) and the fundamental
principles of international refugee law. The second part
will examine the rules governing the asylum procedure,
while the third part will focus on the definition of
refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection,
paying particular attention to the jurisprudence of the
States Parties to the 1951 Geneva Convention relating
to the status of Refugees.
Andrew CLAPHAM – Professor
PhD European University
Institute
Director of the Geneva Academy
and of its Policy Studies
programme, Andrew Clapham is
Professor of International Law at the Graduate Institute
of International and Development Studies since 1997.
Before joining the Institute, he was the Representative
of Amnesty International to the United Nations in New
York. He is member of the Editorial Board of the
Journal of International Criminal Justice. His
publications include Human Rights: A Very Short
Introduction (2007), Human Rights Obligations of Non-State
Actors (2006), and International Human Rights Lexicon
(2005), with Susan Marks.
INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW This course covers the legal dimension of human rights
protection in the contemporary context. Starting with
the history of the concept of human rights and an
examination of the ways human rights are
instrumentalised in foreign policy, the course will then
focus on the legal dimension. International obligations
are explored as they arise in customary and treaty law.
Special attention will be paid to the obligations of nonstate actors, especially in times of armed conflict. The
UN and regional machinery for the protection of
human rights will be critically examined with a special
emphasis on the work of the Human Rights Council
and its Universal Periodic Review Mechanism.
Paola GAETA – Professor
PhD European University
Institute
Director of the Academy and of its
LL.M.
Programme,
she
is
Professor at the Law Faculty of the
University of Geneva and adjunct Professor at the
Graduate Institute for International and Development
Studies. She was Assistant Professor (1998), Associate
Professor (2001) and then Professor (2001-2010) of
Public International Law at the University of Florence.
PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW - The purpose
of this class is to acquaint students with the basic
concepts and methods used in public international law.
It focuses on sources, subjects and sanctions as ways
into understanding the theory of international law and
some of the problems students will encounter in
applying international law in times of armed conflict.
The course will cover the ground first dealt with in
“The Law of Nations” as originally structured by J.C
Brierly and now recently revised. The basic principles
of international law concerning, the role of the UN,
COURSE CATALOGUE
She is Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of
International Criminal Justice and of the Editorial Board of
the European Journal of International Law. Her publications
include The UN Genocide Convention: A Commentary (ed.)
(2009) and The Statute of the International Criminal Court: A
Commentary (co-editor with A. Cassese and J. R.W D.
Jones) (2001).
statehood, criminal jurisdiction, the law of treaties, state
responsibility, peaceful settlement of disputes, and the
rules on recourse to force will all be covered. By the
end of the course students should be equipped to apply
the basic rules of international to the relevant branches
they are seeking to apply in situations of armed conflict.
Marco SASSOLI – Professor
PhD University of Basel
Marco Sassòli chaired the Board of
the Academy until 2008. He is
Professor and Director of the
Department of international law and
international organisation of the University of Geneva.
From 2001-03, he was Professor of International Law at
the University of Québec, Montréal, where he remains
Associate Professor. He chairs the Board of Geneva
Call, an NGO which engages with armed Non-State
Actors to adhere to humanitarian norms. He worked
from 1985-1997 for the International Committee of the
Red Cross, at its headquarters in Geneva, inter alia as
deputy head of its legal division, and in the field, inter
alia as head of delegation in Jordan and Syria and as
protection coordinator for the former Yugoslavia. He
has also served as Executive Secretary of the
International Commission of Jurists and as Registrar at
the Swiss Supreme Court.
INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW The course stems from contemporary practice in the
field of IHL. The main learning method will be
inductive, i.e. students will acquire knowledge of IHL
by discovering and discussing its rules applicable to
practical cases taken from contemporary practice. This
means that students have to prepare for every class and
acquire their knowledge of the relevant IHL rules
through their own reading before the relevant case or
subject is discussed. Complementary to this inductive
learning method, the professor will present, in the form
of lectures, a conceptual and theoretical framework
covering what has been learned from a case, issues not
appearing in a case, and particularly difficult and
controversial subjects.
Evaluation (which should contribute to learning) will be
based on papers students must write on issues arising in
the cases, on oral pleadings on a historical case, and on
three written exams in two of which the law must be
applied to hypothetical facts and in one of which one of
the cases studied in the course must be discussed from
a particular perspective.
SECOND SEMESTER (SPRING)
INSTRUCTOR
COURSE
Guido ACQUAVIVA
PhD University of Padova
Guido Acquaviva works as Chef de
Cabinet to the President of the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon. Prior to that, he worked as an
attorney in Italy and for over six years as a legal officer at
the ICTY. His education includes an LLM from Tulane
Law School (USA, Fulbright scholar) and a Phd in
international relations from Padova University (Italy). He
has published widely on matters related to international
criminal law as well as public international law in general,
and serves as a co-chair of the Editorial Committee of
the Journal of International Criminal Justice. Dr. Acquaviva is
also a member of the faculty of the LL.M in International
Criminal Law and Crime Prevention (University of Turin
and UNICRI).
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW – This
course aims at giving students an in-depth knowledge
of the most crucial issues of international criminal law.
After dealing briefly with the birth and evolution of
international criminal law as a branch of public
international law with regard to the so-called core
crimes, the course focuses on the legal ingredients of
each core crime (war crimes, crimes against humanity
and genocide). The course also deals with the various
forms of criminal accountability, defences and excuses,
and the question of international immunities for State
officials. As for the mechanisms to enforce
international criminal law, the course examines the role
of international and mixed tribunals and the role of
national criminal jurisdictions in repressing
international crimes, focusing in particular on the
legitimate grounds of criminal jurisdiction under
international law and the question of universal criminal
jurisdiction.
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Andrea BIANCHI
PhD University of Milan
Andrea Bianchi is Professor of
international law at the Graduate
Institute of International and
Development Studies since 2002. Professor Bianchi was
previously Full Professor at the Catholic University,
Milan, and Associate Professor at the University of
Parma. Until 2002, he was also Professorial Lecturer in
International Law at the Bologna Centre of the Johns
Hopkins University. His publications address topics that
range from international human rights and humanitarian
law, international economic law, the law of jurisdiction
and jurisdictional immunities to state responsibility and
the law of treaties. Recently he has published on
international law and terrorism and on non-state actors.
INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW IN
TIMES OF ARMED CONFLICT – This course
aims at investigating the scope of application of human
rights law in times of armed conflict and in relation to
counter-terrorism. Due heed will be paid to the rights
that are most affected in such situations such as the
right to life, freedom from torture and other cruel and
inhuman treatment, the right to liberty and the right to
fair trial. The issue of when and which human rights
apply in different factual and legal settings, such as
armed conflict, states of emergency or peacetime, will
be broached with a view to identifying the applicable
rules. The interplay between different legal regimes,
such as international humanitarian law and human
rights law, will be examined against the backdrop of
contemporary practice. Overall, the course aims at
providing students with the analytical and
argumentative skills that are necessary to understand
and make use of human rights in armed conflict or
other national emergency situation.
Marco SASSOLI
INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW
See above for the biography (First semester, core
courses, International Humanitarian Law)
Following from the first semester course
OPTIONAL COURSES
Language of instructions: English or French
FIRST SEMESTER (FALL)
INSTRUCTOR
COURSE
Alex CONTE – PhD University of
Canterbury. Dr Alex Conte is
convenor of the LL.M. course on
terrorism, international law and
human rights. He is also the UN
Representative of the International
Commission of Jurists. Professor
Conte has had extensive experience in human rights and
counter-terrorism. He has been involved in several
country missions of the former UN Special Rapporteur
on counter-terrorism (including to Israel and the United
States) and the preparation of three thematic reports,
including the 2010 report on best practices in the
countering of terrorism. Alex has written extensively on
terrorism and counter-terrorism and the impact of both
on security, human rights, and the rule of law. Recent
books include Human Rights in the Prevention and Punishment
of Terrorism (Springer, 2010), Defining Civil and Political
Rights (Ashgate, 2008) and An Introduction to International
Law (LexisNexis, 2006). Alex holds undergraduate,
masters and PhD degrees in law and was the 2004 New
Zealand Law Foundation International Research Fellow.
CASE STUDY - INTERNATIONAL LAW OF
HUMAN RIGHTS: COUNTER TERRORISM
AND HUMAN RIGHTS – This course will examine
the international law on terrorism and counterterrorism, through the lens of international human
rights law and, where applicable, international
humanitarian law and refugee law. Each class will
examine discreet issues and – where it is useful to
illustrate problems, applicable jurisprudence and/or
possible solutions – also place them in a regional or
domestic context. The five classes for the course will
commence with two ‘foundation’ lectures, considering
the nature and definition of terrorism, the international
framework for countering terrorism, and human rights
compliance when doing so. The remaining classes will
be conducted by way of discussion-style seminars, on
the topical issues of: detention and other forms of
interference with liberty rights; fair trial rights;
measures affecting or triggered by the transboundary
movement of terrorists; incitement to terrorism; and
the use of armed force against non-State actors,
including by way of targeted killings.
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Giovanni DISTEFANO –
Professeur, PhD Graduate
Institute of International Studies
(now IHEID) Giovanni Distefano
est professeur extraordinaire à la
Faculté de droit de l'Université de Neuchâtel. De 2002 à
2004, Giovanni Distefano était chargé de cours pour le
Département de droit international public et
organisations internationales et Maître assistant pour
l’Institut de droit public à l’Université de Lausanne. Il a
aussi collaboré ponctuellement avec le Tribunal pénal
international pour l’ex-Yougoslavie (1997), l’Institut de
droit international (1995, 1997, 2003), l’UNICEF – Italie
(1999), la Société italienne de droit international (2000),
l’Université Libre de Bruxelles (2000), l’Australian
National University (2001), les Universités de Vérone et
Catane (2001- 2004), l’Institut de droit international
(Session de Bruges) et l’Université des Emirats Arabes
Unis (2004).
LE DROIT DE RECOURIR À LA FORCE EN
DROIT INTERNATIONAL – Le recours à la force
a longtemps été considéré, en sus d’autres moyens,
comme l’une des garanties à la disposition des Etats aux
fins de la tutelle de leurs intérêts juridiques (ius ad
bellum). Le bannissement de la force aux fins du
règlement des différends – que traduit la nouvelle
formule (ius contra bellum) – implique un changement
de paradigme qu’on n’hésiterait pas à qualifier de
révolutionnaire. De surcroît, le remplacement de la
préposition ad par contra n’est donc pas uniquement de
nature cosmétique, car du droit (subjectif) au recours à
la force – (le ius ad bellum) – , faisant la part belle au
pouvoir souverain de mener la guerre, on est passé à
un corps de règles (ius contra bellum) bannissant l’usage
et la menace de la force ne laissant ainsi aux Etats
qu’une seule voie étroite d’usage unilatéral de la force
armée, à savoir la légitime défense. Que reste-t-il dès
lors du self-help reconnu aux Etats par le droit
international d’avant la Charte des Nations Unies?
Frank HALDEMANN –
Professor, PhD University of
Zurich
Professeur boursier FNS à
l’Université de Genève, Frank
Haldemann est titulaire d’un LLM de la London School
of Economics and Political Science. Après avoir travaillé
comme collaborateur juridique auprès de la Commission
Indépendante d’Experts Suisse – Seconde Guerre
Mondiale (« Commission Bergier »), il a été Visiting
Fellow aux États Unis (Center for Human Rights and
Global Justice, New York University School of Law), aux
Pays-Bas (The Grotius Centre for International Legal
Studies, Université de Leyde, Campus La Haye) ainsi
qu’en Afrique du Sud (Centre for Human Rights,
Université de Pretoria). Il a été professeur invité dans
différentes universités (l’Université de Leyde, l’Università
degli Studi di Sassari et l’Université Catholique de
Louvain).
DROIT INTERNATIONAL ET JUSTICE
TRANSITIONNELLE – Comment assurer la
meilleure transition possible vers la démocratie, l’État
de droit et la paix civile dans des sociétés ayant traversé
des périodes de violations systématiques et massives
des droits humains? En étudiant cette question,
souvent évoquée sous le terme de «justice
transitionnelle», ce cours se penchera sur un nombre
d’outils et pratiques juridiques susceptibles d’être
employés dans le processus de transition: justice pénale
(nationale, internationale ou hybride), commissions de
la vérité, réparations, programmes de vérification et de
filtrage de la fonction publique («vetting»). Le cours se
propose d’étudier ces différents instruments sous
l’angle des principes et règles de droit international
régissant la matière, tout en tenant compte des
dilemmes pratiques et juridiques – incluant les
problèmes de légalité posés par l’octroi d’amnistie –
auxquels est confrontée la mise en place de processus
de justice transitionnelle. Le cours comporte deux
parties: la première est consacrée au cadre normatif et
conceptuel de la justice transitionnelle alors que la
deuxième vise à dresser, par le biais d’études de cas, un
état des lieux des initiatives de justice transitionnelle
entreprises dans des pays comme l’Afrique du Sud,
l’Argentine et le Timor Oriental.
Eibe RIEDEL – Professor
PhD University of Kiel
Eibe Riedel is the Swiss Chair of
Human Rights at the Geneva
Academy. He is member of the UN
Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, and serves as Judge at the Hague
Permanent Court of Arbitration. He has been Professor
of Public Law and International Law at the University of
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
RIGHTS IN ARMED CONFLICT – This courseseminar will address specific problems of economic,
social and cultural rights (ESCR) in situations of armed
conflict. Issues addressed range from international
humanitarian law (IHL) norms with ESCR relevance,
to the dimensions of ESCR realization of groups of
individuals, minorities and indigenous people. The
problems of emergency assistance in armed conflict
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Mainz, then at the University of Marburg, and later at the
University of Mannheim where he also served as ProVice Chancellor from 1996–2000. Professor Riedel is
also Director of the Inland Navigation Law Institute, and
the Director of the Institute of Medical Law, Bioethics
and Public Health.
will be looked at from an HR and IHL perspective; the
ICJ “Wall” opinion and the decisions of the Israeli
High Court and Supreme Court concerning the
Occupied Palestinian Territory will be looked at
through the lens of ESC rights. In addition, limitations,
exceptions and reservations to ESC rights in armed
conflict and specific rights with their IHL dimension
(rights to life, health, food, housing, water/sanitation,
and access to energy) will be reviewed.
SECOND SEMESTER (SPRING)
INSTRUCTOR
COURSE
Christopher GOSNELL
Christopher Gosnell has defended and
prosecuted accused persons before the
International Criminal Tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia, and represented
victims in
proceedings at the
International Criminal Court. He also
worked for several years in Chambers at the International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. He is admitted to the bar in
New York where he was formerly in private practice, and
has been a Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia Law School.
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL PROCEDURE:
INVESTIGATION AND EVIDENCE – This course
addresses various aspects of investigation and trial before
international criminal courts. These courts have faced
profound challenges in conducting criminal investigations
in places that are often chaotic, if not overtly hostile, to
international criminal justice. Efforts to effectively
overcome these obstacles must respect basic principles of
due process and fair procedure for the individuals
accused. The legitimacy of the pronouncements
emanating from these institutions – both specifically as to
the guilt of the accused but also more generally as to
historical events – is no greater than the integrity of the
procedures adopted. The main features of the collection,
presentation and evaluation of written and oral evidence
before various international criminal tribunals, including
the International Criminal Court, will be explored.
Jérôme DE HEMPTINNE
Après une licence en droit à l’Université
de Louvain (1992) et deux maîtrises en
droit international public à l’Université
de Cambridge (1994) et à l’Université
de New York (NYU) (1995), Jérôme
De Hemptinne a travaillé au Tribunal pénal international
pour l'ex-Yougoslavie pendant environ neuf années où il a
notamment été le Chef de cabinet du Président. En 2006, il
a rejoint le Bureau du Conseil juridique des Nations Unies à
New York. Depuis 2008, Jérôme De Hemptinne travaille au
Tribunal spécial pour le Liban comme conseiller juridique
senior et enseigne le droit international humanitaire à
l’Université de Louvain.
ÉTUDE DE CAS – DROIT INTERNATIONAL
PUBLIC : CLASSIFICATION DES CONFLICTS
ARMÉS –S’inscrivant dans le prolongement du cours
général de droit international humanitaire (DIH), ce cours
vise à étudier, de façon approfondie, une question
emblématique de la complexité du DIH et des défis qu’il
suscite : les catégories de conflits armés (CA). Ce cours
sera, dans un premier temps, consacré à l’analyse des
contours des différentes catégories de CA (par exemple,
des CA internationaux au sens strict du terme, des CA
non internationaux internationalisés, des guerres de
libération nationale, des guerres d’occupation, des CA
non internationaux de haute et de basse intensité) à
l’aulne de la distinction traditionnelle entre CA
internationaux et CA non internationaux et des
fondements qui la sous-tend. Il s’interrogera, dans un
second temps, sur la pertinence de maintenir cette
distinction à la lumière des exigences des CA
contemporains et du rôle accru joué par des acteurs
indépendants en leur sein. Ce cours tâchera de s’appuyer,
autant que possible, sur des exemples concrets qui
illustrent les catégories de CA et les polémiques qu’elles
soulèvent.
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Nicolas MICHEL – Professor,
PhD University of Fribourg
Professor Michel chairs the Board of
the Academy since 2008. He is
Professor at the Law Faculty of the
University of Geneva and Adjunct
Professor at the Graduate Institute since 2008, and has
previously been the Under-Secretary-General for Legal
Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel from 2004 to
2008. From 1998 to 2003, he acted as Director of the
International Law Directorate in the Swiss Federal
Department of Foreign Affairs, and served from 1998 to
2004 as Legal Adviser in the same Department. Professor
Michel was Professor of International Law and European
Law at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, from 1987
to 2004, and has also taught at the Universities of Geneva,
Lausanne (Law Faculty and Federal Polytechnic School),
Neuchatel and Paris II (at the Institut des Hautes Études
internationales).
INTERNATIONALCRIMINAL
JURISDICTIONS: THE EMERGENCE OF A
NEW CULTURE – The UN today aims at
bringing an end to the impunity of perpetrators of
international crimes. The creation of the
international criminal tribunals, as well as the
assistance given to the creation of mixed, and to the
establishment of the ICC clearly illustrate the central
role played by the UN in that process. The course
will take an institutional approach in providing
students with unique insights into the international
criminal justice system which has been developed to
bring an end to impunity for international crimes.
Students will travel to The Hague (NL), in order to
visit international criminal courts and tribunals, and
to meet and discuss the latest legal developments
with high-ranking international criminal judges,
prosecutors and defence lawyers. Participation in
the course will be determined on the basis of a
competitive selection process. Students will be
required to write a research paper for assessment
purposes.
William SCHABAS
Director of the Irish Centre for
Human Rights at the National
University of Ireland, Galway, where
he holds the chair in human rights
law. He is also an associate professor
at Middlesex University in London,
honorary professor at the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences, in Beijing, and professeur associé at the Université du
Québec à Montréal. Prof. Schabas is a ‘door tenant’ at the
chambers of 9 Bedford Row, in London. His most recent
book, The International Criminal Court: A Commentary on the
Rome Statute, was published by Oxford University Press in
2010. He is editor in chief of Criminal Law Forum. Professor
Schabas was a member of the Sierra Leone Truth and
Reconciliation Commission. He is the chairman of the
Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund
for Technical Cooperation in Human Rights. He is an
Officer of the Order of Canada, a member of the Royal
Irish Academy and he has been awarded the Vespasian V.
Pella Medal for International Criminal Justice of the
Association internationale de droit penal.
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURTS:
INTERNATIONAL
CRIMINAL
LAW
THROUGH THE ICC CASE LAW – The case
law of the International Criminal Court will be used
as a framework for the examination of major issues
in international criminal law, including those relating
to the definitions of crimes, procedure and justice
policy. Each week’s session will focus on a major
decision, with supplementary readings from the case
law of other international tribunals and from
academic commentary. By the end of the course,
students should acquire a general grasp of the
operation of the Court and a familiarity with the
main features of the Rome Statute.
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ACADEMY LECTURES
The Geneva Academy started a series of Lectures and
Conferences in 2008 focusing on various aspects of
international law in times of armed conflict – an area
of particular interest for the Academy. An expert for
each of the specific areas of law concerned delivers a
public Lecture in Geneva. The expert will then
develop his or her analysis in a chapter for the Oxford
Handbook due for publication in 2012. The Oxford
Handbook of International Law in Armed Conflict
will be published by Oxford University Press. This
series has already featured contributions from wellknown jurists including Professors Antonio Cassese,
Theodor Meron and Georges Abi-Saab.
Professor Theodor Meron
Several Academy Lectures are planned for the 2012-2013 academic year and they will be
announced through the Academy’s website in due course.
The Opening Lecture for the academic year 2011-2012 will be delivered by Professor AbiSaab on Monday 5 November at the Auditorium Jacques-Freymond.