Programme

Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference
University of Nottingham, University Park Campus, Nottingham
14–15 July 2025

We are delighted to announce the programme for this upcoming event taking place on 14-15 July at the University of Nottingham. Details of our exciting speakers are shown below or you can download the programme here: Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference 2025.

Day One: Monday 14 July 2025

Session One: Critical Reflections on the Purposes, Rationales, and Subjects of International Criminal Justice 

• Rome Statute, Quo Vadis? Current Discussions on the Limits of (Criminal Liability in) a Human-Centric International Criminal Law System - Anna Lena Hörzer, University of Graz  

• The long-standing issue of the adequacy of criminal sanctions for international crimes: untying proportionality from retributive considerations - Geraldina Ester Di Natali, University of Catania 

• Reconciliation No More: The Disappearance of a Once Omnipresent Goal of International Justice - Iva Vukušić, Utrecht University 

Session Two: Contemporary Developments in Substantive Crimes

Chair: Caleb Wheeler, Cardiff University

• Apartheid as a crime against humanity: Recent developments - Victor Kattan, University of Nottingham 

•  Complexities behind ‘incitement’ to violence and ‘hate’ speech from a criminal justice perspective - Rachel Horan, The Averment Group, and Jolana Makraiová, International Nuremberg Principles Academy 

• Atrocious Images: Combatant-Produced Illicit Imagery as Hate Speech in International Criminal Law - Hemi Mistry, University of Nottingham 

• Challenges of Prosecuting Cyberattacks as Cyber-Enabled Crimes under the Rome Statute - Daryna Abbakumova, Geneva Graduate Institute 

• New challenges in prosecuting intentional destruction of cultural heritage - Francesco Cunsolo, Università di Bologna 

Session Three: Legal Complexities in Issues of Perpetration

• (Im)Proving Defences at the International Criminal Court - Michelle Coleman, Swansea University 

• Ongwen, The Adult Child Soldier: A Victim or A Villain? - Mary Waterman, Swansea University 

• Rethinking the Exclusion-Prosecution Nexus: How to Bridge the Accountability Gap for Vulnerable and Periphery Actors in Armed Conflicts Who Seek Refuge Abroad - Rory Sugrue, Tilburg University 

Session Four: Governance and Accountability at the ICC

• Governing the International Criminal Court: Tracing the Practice of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute - Ezequiel Jimenez Martinez, Amnesty International & CILRAP  

• Forgotten Spaces of International Criminal Justice: Dealing with Misconduct and Whistleblower Protection at International Criminal Courts and Tribunals - Kritika Sharma, Luxembourg Agency for Research Integrity 

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Day Two: Tuesday 15 July 2025

Session Five: Emotions and International Criminal Justice   

• Narratives of the Self: Professional Identity in the Autobiographies of International Criminal Lawyers - Ilaria Zavoli, University of Leeds (UK) and Alex Batesmith, University of Leeds (UK) 

• Invisible Labour, Visible Strain: The Unacknowledged Emotional Labour of International Criminal Lawyers - Alex Batesmith, University of Leeds (UK) 

Session Six: Protecting Victims and the Vulnerable

• The environment as victim in the International Criminal Court - Giovanna Frisso, University of Lincoln 

• International Criminal Law’s Blind Spots in relation to Violence against Women and Girls and the Way Froward - Elena Katselli, Newcastle University 

• Italy’s Failure to Cooperate: Is There a Judge Beyond The Hague? - Maria Crippa, University of Milan 

Session Seven: Evidence, Investigations, and Prosecutorial Policy

• Current Trends and Emerging Issues in Article 15 Communications - Natalie Hodgson, University of Nottingham / UNSW Sydney 

• Artificial Sanctions and the Non-Human: Implications of US Sanctions on the ICC’s use of Generative AI, Digital Evidence and Investigation Processes - Benjamin Thorne, University of Reading 

• Sufficient Gravity in Two Recent OTP's Draft Policy Papers - Marco Longobardo, Westminster Law School 

Session Eight: International Criminal Justice in Domestic Spheres

Chair: Mark Chadwick, Nottingham Trent University

• The Ljubljana-The Hague Convention: Transforming Prosecution of International Crimes? - Alison Bisset, University of Reading 

• Hybrid Justice for Syria: New Opportunities for Accountability in the Post-Assad Era - Selman Aksünger, Maastricht University & Istanbul University 

• The Emerging Regionalisation of International Criminal Law as a Consequence of the Crisis of Confidence in the International Criminal Justice System: The Case of the Resurgent African Union-ICC Jurisdictional Dispute Over Heads of States Immunity - Luke Eda, University of the West of England, Bristol 

Conference Organisers:

Professor Olympia Bekou, Head of the International Criminal Justice Unit, HRLC 

Dr Natalie Hodgson, Head of the Forced Migration Unit and Member of the International Criminal Justice Unit, HRLC

Dr Hemi Mistry, Member of the International Criminal Justice Unit, HRLC