The Director of the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange has announced the call for applications to participate in The Ulam Programme. This is an opportunity for a foreign PhD holder to pursue postdoctoral research for 6-24 months in Poland. Scholars from the fields of law and/or criminology interested especially in Comparative Criminal Procedure, European Criminal Procedure, and International Criminal Law are invited to explore contacts at the University of Wroclaw, or more generally in other Polish higher education institutions. The deadline to submit a formal application is 23 April 2019. Further details can be accessed here.

On Friday 26 January 2018 from 13:00-14:00 Warwick Alumnus Charles A. Adeogun-Phillips (class of 1986) will be giving an Alumni Talk at the Law School Student Hub (Ground Floor). Charles is an accomplished litigation practitioner and former international prosecutor. Between 1998 and 2010, Charles led with great success, teams of international lawyers in 12 separate precedent-setting, complex and pioneering international criminal trials. Subsequently, he founded Charles Anthony LLP and has expertise in advising governments, international organizations, and sovereign states. Charles will be meeting with the current students of the Warwick Law School to tell them about his time at Warwick and to talk about his career. To attend the event, please sign up: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/newsandevents/events/alumnitalk

CJC colleagues Professor Jackie Hodgson & Solange Mouthaan are this week collaborating with Monash University, teaching on their summer school programme in Prato, Italy. Jackie is leading sessions on European criminal justice and human rights, focusing on the development of procedural protections for criminal suspects. Solange is leading sessions on International criminal justice, focusing on gender and victims. Dr. Asher Flynn (Monash), who has worked with Jackie and other CJC colleagues on a number of projects, is coordinating the 'human rights in the criminal justice sphere' programme, which runs over several weeks.

The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) offers exciting internship opportunities for law graduates with an interest in international criminal law.

More details available at: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/research/centres/cjc/news/unakrt_call_for_applicants_ocij.pdf

The closing and oral statements in the trial of Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo are taking place this week at the International Criminal Court (ICC), where he is charged with crimes committed in the Central African Republic (CAR).

It is a judgement that has ground-breaking potential for more than one reason, says Solange Mouthaan, Associate Professor at The University of Warwick’s School of Law.

An expert on legal protection of minorities and the effective protection of individuals through the International Criminal Court, she said: “Most importantly, this is the first hearing before the ICC to place crimes of sexual violence against women, men and children, used as a “tool” to terrorise the civilian population, at the forefront of the case.

“As a consequence, the judgment could potentially become a landmark decision for the prosecution of gender-based crimes. The presence of an all-female bench is therefore also noteworthy, because it puts women at the forefront of decision-making in a trial focussed on gender-based offences.

“Finally, this is the first case before the ICC of a high level accused for command responsibility for crimes committed by subordinates. As military commander he had effective authority and control of the MLC troops and he failed to control or punish in order to prevent these crimes from taking place.”

The prosecution focuses on atrocities, in particular murder, pillage and rape, committed in the 2002-2003 coup in CAR by Bemba then vice-president of the DRC, but also the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Mouvement de Libération du Congo (MLC).

The ICC, the first permanent criminal tribunal to try international crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes has charged Bemba with two counts of crimes against humanity (murder and rape) and three counts of war crimes (murder, rape and pillaging).