Past Events 

On December 4, D.D. Caron, C. William Maxeiner Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Berkley and Hague Chair on the Rule of Law at HiiL, gave a lecture at the Grotius Centre on ICSID Annulment Committees. Read more.

On September 26-27, 2012, the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, with the support of the Open Society Justice Initiative and the MacArthur Foundation, hosted a two-day conference on "The Law and Practice of the International Criminal Court.” With the ICC a decade into its operations, the conference evaluated the Court’s institutional and jurisprudential developments to date, and sought to reflect upon the challenges the Court has faced in meeting its ambitious mandate. In addition to bringing together key academics and practitioners within the field of international criminal law, the conference featured presentations from organizations and individuals who are working within such ICC situation countries as Kenya, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. READ MORE.

On 31 May and 1 June 2012, the Jus post Bellum Project was proud to host its launch conference, "Jus - Post - Bellum': Mapping the normative foundations." It was held at the Peace Palace. The conference aimed to clarify the meaning and content of the concept, including contemporary understandings and criticisms and historical and modern approaches towards the definitions of key notions. The launch conference included five panels: Situating the Concept, Mapping the Normative Framework(s), the Politics and Practice of Jus Post Bellum, Temporal Dimensions of Jus Post Bellum, and The 'Jus' in 'Jus Post Bellum.' There was also a roundtable discussion on 'At War's End,' by Larry May. Read more.

To celebrate the start of the second semester, the Department of Public International Law and the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies invited their LL.M. students and staff to the Annual Winter Lecture. This year the lecture was delivered by Prof. Yoram Dinstein on the topic of Preventive and interceptive self-defense in international law.

Rethinking Human Security and Ethics in the spirit of Dag Hammarskjöld (1905-1961).This year HAC's annual conference in the series "From Peace to Justice" was held from 9 - 10 November 2011 at the Peace Palace in The Hague.

Read more.

On Monday 31 October 2011, Prof. dr. C. Stahn delivered his inaugural lecture on the occasion of the acceptance of his appointment as Professor of International Criminal Law and Global Justice. He will speak on the theme: Between ‘faith’ and ‘facts’: By what standards should we assess International Criminal Justice?

The lecture took place in the Academy Building of Leiden University.

Opening Lecture LL.M. Programmes 'International Law in the Age of Adjudication'

On 26 September 2011, Judge Christopher Greenwood gave the ‘Van Vollenhoven Lecture’, opening the LL.M. programmes in Public International Law.

Judge Greenwood addressed the theme of ‘International Law in the Age of Adjudication’. He reflected on major international legal developments since the 1970s, including the expansion of international litigation and the multiplication of international courts and tribunals with different jurisdictional regimes and growing case loads. He presented a vision of cautious optimism regarding the future of international dispute settlement, while recalling that ‘in law’, as in medicine, prevention may be ‘better than cure’. His lecture attracted a capacity audience, including Judges, members of the international community and students.

Book Launch Kalshoven & Zegveld: 'Constraints on the Waging of War' 

On 22 September 2011, the Grotius Centre together with the Kalshoven-Gieskes Forum on International Humanitarian Law hosted the book launch of the new edition of Leiden Professors Frits Kalshoven’s and Liesbeth Zegveld’s textbook on the "Constraints on the Waging of War”. After a welcome by the Academic Director of the Grotius Centre, Professor Nico Schrijver, in which he highlighted the achievements of both authors, and a short presentation of the book by Professor Zegveld, honorary guest Judge Alphonsus Orie from the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, gave an insight into the past and future challenges of the work of the Tribunal especially with regard to the enforcement of international humanitarian law (IHL). In the ensuing panel discussion, Professor Kalshoven highlighted some of the new developments we face in the area of IHL due to new technologies and new methods of warfare, and stressed the need for states and other parties to armed conflicts to implement the law and "to prevent violations, and where this failed, to cope with the violation.” Finally, Professor Horst Fischer raised the question in which way international criminal justice alone can ensure the enforcement of IHL, or whether we do not need other means of enforcement as well. The audience consisting of Judges, representatives from the ministries, the Red Cross, as well as academics and students, participated actively in the discussion.

Book launch The Tokyo War Crimes Trial Revisited

On 28 June, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers organised a reception to launch the 30th volume in the series: Beyond Victor's Justice? The Tokyo War Crimes Trial Revisited. The volume was presented to H.E Judge Kuniko Osaki, Judge at the International Criminal Court. The volume has been edited by Yuki Tanaka, Tim McCormack and Gerry Simpson.

Lecture on 21 June by Prof. Michael J. Scharf: Universal Jurisdiction and The Crime of Aggression

Michael Scharf is Professor of Law and Director of the Frederick K. Cox International Law Center at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. In 2004-05, Scharf served as a member of the international team of experts that provided training to the judges of the Iraqi High Tribunal, and in 2006 he led the first training session for the investigative judges and prosecutors of the newly established U.N. Cambodia Genocide Tribunal.

In February 2005, Scharf and the Public International Law and Policy Group, a Non-Governmental Organization he co-founded, were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by six governments and the Prosecutor of an International Criminal Tribunal for the work they have done to help in the prosecution of major war criminals, such as Slobodan Milosevic, Charles Taylor, and Saddam Hussein.

Conference/expert seminar on the 'Sources of International Investment Law'

Dr. Eric De Brabandere (Grotius Centre, Leiden University) and Dr. Tarcisio Gazzini (VU University Amsterdam) organised a Conference/expert seminar on the 'Sources of International Investment Law'.

The Conference/expert seminar took place at the Kammerlingh Onnes Building of the Law Faculty of Leiden University on 15 and 16 June 2011.

7th Annual Workshop of International Criminal Lawyers

On Friday, 17 June and Saturday, 18 June 2011, the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies hosted the annual meeting of approximately 100 German-speaking International Criminal Lawyers ("Arbeitskreis Völkerstrafrecht”) who discussed new developments in International Criminal Law, including topics such as "Terrorism as an International Crime”, the "Recent Jurisprudence of ICC, ICTY, and ICTR”, "International Criminal Law in the Practice of the UN Security Council” and "The conflicts in Libya and Cote d’Ivoire and the Idea of the Responsibility to Protect”.

Participants of the workshop were academics as well as practitioners, including Prof. Claus Kress, Prof. Kai Ambos, Judge Albin Eser, Judge Hans-Peter Kaul, and Judge Hans Henrik Brydensholt, as well as representatives from ministries, and staff members from the International Criminal Court and the International Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Ruanda.

Reparations before the International Criminal Court: Issues and challenges

On 12 May 2011, the Grotius Centre, in cooperation with Redress and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland held a conference on ‘Reparations before the International Criminal Court: Issues and challenges’ at the Peace Palace. The Conference explored the scope of reparations, the assessment of harm, implementation of reparation awards and cooperation of States.

The conference was organised by Carla Ferstman (Redress), Mariana Goetz (Redress), Miiia Aro-Sanchez (Hague Working Group facilitator for Victims issues and the Trust Fund) and Mia Swart (Grotius Centre). The conference was opened by ICC President Sang-Hyun Song who underlined the pioneering nature of the work of the Court in this field and the important contributions by civil society and academia. Speakers and chairs included: Fiona McKay (ICC), Paolina Massidda (ICC), Cynthia Chamberlain (ICC), Mia Swart (Grotius Centre), Mariana Goetz, Liesbeth Zegveld (Grotius Centre), Susanne Sehlbach (EVZ Legal Adviser), Silke Studzinsky (Defence ECCC), Pieter de Baan (ICC Trust Fund for Victims), Heike Niebergall (IOM), Laurence André (OHCHR), Ambassador Mary Whelan (Ireland), Miriam Spittler (ICC), Brendan Rook (ICC), Sandrine Giroud (TRIAL) and Gerard Dive (Ministry of Justice, Belgium). The conference was closed by ICC Registrar Silvia Arbia. The Conference was made possible by the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, the John D. and Catherine T. Mac Arthur Foundation and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Austria and Ireland. A report by Redress on the theme of reparations will soon be made available at www.redress.org

Project Launch Conference: Assessing the Impact of the ICC

PhD researchers Christian De Vos and Sara Kendall, with keynote speaker Professor Ruti Teitel and Professor Carsten Stahn, Program Director of the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies. The Grotius Centre hosted a two-day conference on 5 and 6 May to launch its Post-Conflict Justice and ‘Local Ownership’ project.

The conference, which was organized by PhD researchers Sara Kendall and Christian De Vos, is part of a four-year study funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research. The proceedings drew together practitioners, academics, and activists working in the field of international justice to explore the social, political, and legal impact of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) work on local populations and jurisdictions, as well as its effects on the field of transitional justice more broadly. Drawing insights from other international criminal tribunals, panels addressed the need to revisit the modalities and timing of ICC interventions in light of the priorities, interests, and expectations of local constituencies and actors.

Professor Carsten Stahn, Program Director of the Grotius Centre, gave the opening address and Ruti Teitel, Ernst C. Steifel Professor Law at New York Law School and Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science, delivered keynote remarks. Other speakers included Phil Clark (SOAS University of London; Oxford Transitional Justice Research), Pierre Hazan (Sciences Po), Jaya Ramji-Nogales (Temple University), Mark Freeman (International Crisis Group), Marieke Wierda (ICTJ), Fidelma Donlon (Special Court for Sierra Leone), Refik Hodzic (ICTJ), and Rod Rastan (ICC). A report of the conference proceedings will be made available shortly on the project website.

Second Hague Colloquium: Systematic Sexual Violence and Victims' Rights

On 7 and 8 April, the Grotius Centre co-organised and hosted the Second Interdisciplinary Hague Colloquium. The colloquium, which was organised by the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, the Centre on Law and Globalization, a project by the American Bar Foundation and the University of Illinois, the International Victimology Institute Tilburg (INTERVICT) and the Department of Criminal Law, Tilburg Law School, focussed on the causes of systematic sexual violence, institutionalized legal responses, and the rights and perspectives of victims. Elisabeth Rehn, the Finnish Minister of State and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims at the ICC, gave the opening speech. Other speakers included John Hagan, Terrence Halliday, Mariana Goetz, Kelly Askin, Justice Teresa Doherty, Renifa Madenga, Pieter de Baan, Rianne Letschert and from the Grotius Centre, Carsten Stahn, Liesbeth Zegveld, Mia Swart, and Christine Schwöbel. The conference reports will be published in due course.

Evening in Honour of Bert Röling

On 9 March the Grotius Centre and the Journal of International Criminal Justice hosted an evening in honour of Bert Röling. The event was inspired by a special edition of the Journal of Internationa Justice in honour of Bert Röling, a renowned criminal and international scholar and a judge on the Tokyo Tribunal. The event kicked off the spring semester of the Supranational Criminal Law series. The evening commenced with showing of a documentary on the Tokyo Tribunal made by the Japanese Public Broadcaster (NHK). Mr. Geert van Bremen, a freelance journalist with NHK, made introductory remarks about the documentary. Judge Antonio Cassese delivered the keynote address followed by reflections by Bert Roling's son, Dr. Hugo Röling, Prof. Harmen van der Wilt and Dr. Peter van Krieken. Prof. Nico Schrijver delivered the final lecture in which he shared his fond recollections of Bert Röling.

Lecture Knut Vollebaek

Lecture Bernhard Schlink

On 22 November 2010, the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies organised jointly with the Campus The Hague and the Dutch-German Association a lecture by Bernard Schlink. In his lecture, Schlink addressed the question: Can past atrocities ever be healed? He discussed this question based on his earlier work, including Der Vorleser (The Reader), Das Wochenende en Die Heimkehr. The lecture was introduced and chaired by ICC Vice-President Dr. jur. h.c. Hans-Peter Kaul. The lecture was followed by a debate with two prominent Dutch philosophers of law, profs. Soeteman and Mertens.

Training Course on Advocacy and Litigation before International Criminal Courts and Tribunals

The Grotius Centre held a successful advocacy training in the week of 8 to 12 November 2010. Eight lawyers from different parts of the world took part in the course. Read more

October 26th: Roundtable Reparation and Reconciliation

On Tuesday 26th October the Embassy of Colombia and the Grotius Centre held a roundtable on the work of the Colombian National Commission.                

The roundtable involved Mr. Eduardo Pizarro, President of the Colombian National Commission for Reparation and Reconciliation and member of the Trust Fund for Victims of the International Criminal Court, and members of the Commission. REPORT

Carsten Stahn receives prestigious NWO Vidi Grant for interdisciplinary research on 'Jus Post Bellum'

Prof. Carsten Stahn (Programme Director of the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, The Hague, and Chair of International Criminal Law and Global Justice at Leiden University) received a Vidi grant from The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) for a 5-year research project on the proper ending of conflict and the organisation of post-conflict peace.

The grant was awarded as part of the Innovational Research Incentives Scheme of NWO which is geared towards outstanding researchers who rank within the top 10 – 20 percent of their peer group. The project was selected among nine other proposalsin the first stage of the selection procedure out of pool of 99 applications submitted to the division of Social Sciences .
Drawing on classical writings in the ethics of warfare and the law of nations and experiences from contemporary peace settlements and case studies (Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan), the project investigates whether and how a contemporary jus post bellum may facilitate greater fairness and sustainability in conflict termination and peacemaking. It is designed to develop and test modern principles of peacemaking, and to clarify rules of conflict, guidelines and policy principles in a number of specific areas (e.g. ending of conflict, interplay between human rights and armed conflict, reconstruction, accountability techniques and property rights). The project will involve two PhD researchers and several expert workshops.
In its grant decision, the Committee noted that the project covers an area that is under-researched ‘theoretically and empirically’ and saw a major strength of the proposal in its ‘potential contribution to science as well as to society’.
Prof. Stahn said: ‘I am honored to receive this prestigious grant. It is my hope that this project will create a novel space for interdisciplinary dialogue on the ending of conflict and contribute to the formation of a modern strand of research on ‘just peace’ and right ‘exit’ from conflict in the ethics of warfare and international law’ .
The project builds on an initial work edited by Prof. Stahn ( Jus Post Bellum: Towards a law of transition from conflict to peace, T.M.C. Asser Press/Cambridge University Press, 2008 ) and findings of an interdisciplinary workshop, held by the Amsterdam Center for International Law and the Grotius Centre, in cooperation with the Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The research complements a research project led by Prof. Stahn and Dr. Larissa van den Herik on ‘Post-Conflict-Justice and Local Ownership’, which forms part of the thematic NWO research on ‘Conflict and Security’.

ICC Procedural Training 28 and 29 September 2010

On 28– 29 September 2010, the Grotius Centre held a Procedural Training for staff of ICC Chambers and Registry. The training focused on the adversarial system, including its implications for dissecting the Prosecution/Defence case, as well direct examination and cross-examination. The training was successfully delivered by Mr. Michael Karnavas, Former President of the ADC-ICTY, Defence Counsel before the ICTY.

Prof. Hugh Thirlway: John Dugard Lecture Series

On Monday 20th September, Prof Hugh Thirlway, former Principal Legal Secretary at the ICJ, gave the lecture 'Crossing the Firewall: Jurisdiction and Merits before the ICJ'. The lecture was part of the John Dugard Lecture Series and marked the official opening of the Advanced Masters programme in Public International Law at the Grotius Centre. The lecture will be published in the forthcoming 24-1 issue of the Leiden Journal of International Law.