Since 2003, the Siracusa Institute organizes an annual Specialization Course in International Criminal Law for Young Penalists. The course is sponsored by the Irish Centre for Human Rights, National University of Ireland Galway, the Middlesex University Department of Law (UK), and the International Association of Penal Law (AIDP).
Professor William A. Schabas, Professor of International Law at Middlesex University, chairs and coordinates the course, assuring the highest quality of education administered by some of the most erudite academics and researchers in the field of international criminal law.
The ICL course is attended on average by 40 young professionals from all over the world, who are recent law graduates, practitioners, academics or students, currently pursuing higher education or careers in the fields of international criminal law and international relations.
The course lasts 6 days; the daily sessions consist of keynote lectures, panel discussions and small-group exercises, which aim to stimulate interaction among participants.
The Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights will organize the 22nd Specialization Course in International Criminal Law for Young Penalists ‘M. Cherif Bassiouni’ on “75 Years: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and The Genocide Convention” between Monday, June 12, and Saturday, June 17, 2023. The course will take place in presence at the headquarters of the Siracusa Institute, located in Siracusa, Italy; online participation will also be allowed. The course will be sponsored by the Irish Centre for Human Rights, National University of Ireland Galway, the Middlesex University Department of Law (UK), and the International Association of Penal Law (AIDP).
To be eligible for the course, participants should have a university degree in law, or other relevant education and experience, and be 35 years of age or under. Auditors, who do not fulfil the eligibility criteria, may also be accepted into the course. Thanks to its sponsors, the Institute will offer a limited number of scholarships to applicants from Developing and Less Developed Countries.
To apply for the Course, please fill out the Application Form.
The deadline for submitting your application is May 14, 2023. All accepted participants will receive an acceptance letter in due course, with further information on technical details, methods of payment and relevant deadlines.
The Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights will organize the 22nd Specialization Course in International Criminal Law for Young Penalists ‘M. Cherif Bassiouni’ on ‘75 Years: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and The Genocide Convention’ between Monday, June 12, and Saturday, June 17, 2023. The course will take place in presence at the headquarters of the Siracusa Institute, located in Siracusa, Italy; online participation will also be allowed. The final examination for the Diploma will take place exclusively online on Wednesday, June 21 and Thursday, June 22.
The course will consist of 12 daily sessions spread over six days, for a total of 32 contact hours. The daily sessions will consist of keynote lectures, panel discussions and small-group exercises, which aim to stimulate interaction among participants.
The daily sessions will be programmed approximately between h. 9.30 and 17.30 CET. Each session will be broadcast live on a dedicated digital platform. In addition, during the course and for one week after the broadcast, participants will have access to
video recordings of all daily sessions.
In advance of the course, all registered participants must access the Institute’s e-learning platform, from which the faculty’s recommended course readings and other relevant documents can be downloaded. Each participant will have their own personal profile for accessing these materials. PowerPoint presentations and other course resources will be added to the platform at the beginning or end of each session.
Once the course is completed, participants will have to take an online examination to receive the Diploma of the Siracusa International Institute. The examination will have a written and an oral component. Successful participants will be among the Institute’s graduates and eligible for a prize to be awarded to the person who achieves the best examination result, and two
runners-up.
For participants in person, attendance is required at all live sessions: failure to attend more than two live sessions will disqualify participants from receiving the Diploma. For participants online, watching the recorded video of the sessions will qualify for attendance, but at least 5 sessions should be attended live; in any case, attendance of all live sessions is encouraged.
The Institute has a library containing over 25,000 volumes in International Criminal Law and Comparative International Law which are open to the use of participants in person throughout the course.
If you have any questions, please contact the Siracusa Institute at icl-course@siracusainstitute.org
Session 1 – General Introduction
Session 2 – Human rights, genocide and the protection of groups
Session 3 – New crimes, new treaties, new phenomena
Session 4 – Small Group Exercise I
Session 5 – Decolonising the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Session 6 – Investigating international crimes
Session 7 – Cinema and International Justice: The Nuremberg Trial
Session 8 – Assessing the Genocide Convention
Session 9 – The International Criminal Court: Contributions and Challenges
Session 10 – Small Group Exercise II
Session 11 – Reforming the Institutions
Session 12 – The Future of International Justice
Professor of International Law, Middlesex University, School of Law, UK; Professor Emeritus of International Criminal Law and Human Rights, Leiden University, The Netherlands; Honorary Chairman, Irish Centre for Human Rights, National University of Ireland, Galway.
Professor William A. Schabas is professor of international law at Middlesex University in London. He is also professor emeritus of international criminal law and human rights at Leiden University and honorary chairman of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the National University of Ireland, Galway.
Prof. Schabas is a ‘door tenant’ at the chambers of 9 Bedford Row, in London. He is the author of Genocide in International Law and many journal articles dealing with the implementation of the Genocide Convention. He is a past president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars.
Professor Schabas has acted as counsel or as an expert witness in genocide litigation before the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and national courts. From 2002 to 2004 Professor Schabas served as one of three international members of the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Professor Schabas was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2006. He was elected a member of the Royal Irish Academy in 2007. He has been awarded the Vespasian V. Pella Medal for International Criminal Justice of the AIDP and the Gold Medal in the Social Sciences of the Royal Irish Academy.
Please see below the registration costs for the different categories of participants:
REGISTRATION COSTS
Participants in person € 800
Participants online € 600
The registration costs for all participants include the access to the course online platform, including academic material and video recordings of all session. The registration costs for participants in person include lunches on course days (6 lunches in total) and 1 social dinner.
The Institute will offer a limited number of scholarships to participants in person coming from developing and less developed countries. If awarded a scholarship, participants will be required to pay a reduced registration cost of € 200. The scholarship covers the access to the course online platform, including academic material and video recordings of all session, lunches on course days (6 lunches in total) and 1 social dinner (travel costs, accommodation and dinners are not included). No scholarships will be available for participants online.
All accepted participants, including auditors and scholarship recipients, are required to join the International Association of Penal Law (AIDP) as Young Penalists (€ 45). Membership information can be found on the AIDP website (www.penal.org).
All accepted participants will receive an acceptance letter in due course, with further information on technical details, methods of payment and relevant deadlines.
Eligibility
Cancellation Policy
Professor William A. Schabas (Canada/Ireland) – COURSE DIRECTOR
Professor of International Law, Middlesex University, School of Law, UK; Professor Emeritus of International Criminal Law and Human Rights, Leiden University, The Netherlands; Honorary Chairman, Irish Centre for Human Rights, National University of Ireland, Galway.
Judge Carmel Agius (Malta)
Former President of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT); former President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
Professor Diane Marie Amann (USA/Ireland)
Professor, Emily & Ernest Woodruff Chair in International Law, and Faculty Co-Director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center, University of Georgia School of Law, USA.
Ms. Amélie Becquart (France)
Magistrate; International Criminal Justice Special Advisor to the Director of Legal Affairs, Legal Affairs Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France.
Professor Olympia Bekou (Greece/UK)
Professor of Public International Law and Head of the School of Law, University of Nottingham, UK.
Professor Joshua Castellino (India)
Executive Co-Director, Minority Rights Group International, UK; Professor of International & Comparative Law, University of Derby, UK.
Professor Chile Eboe-Osuji (Nigeria/Canada)
Former President and Judge, International Criminal Court; Distinguished International Jurist, Lincoln Alexander School of Law and Advisor to the President’s Office, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada.
Professor Leila Sadat (USA)
Special Adviser on Crimes Against Humanity to the ICC Prosecutor; James Carr Professor of International Criminal Law, School of Law, Washington University in St Louis, USA; Fellow, Schell Center for Human Rights, Yale Law School, USA.
Professor Dire Tladi (South Africa)
Professor of International Law, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Mr. Philip Trewhitt (UK)
Executive Director, Institute for International Criminal Investigations (IICI), The Netherlands.
Dr. Sharon Weill (France)
Associate Professor of International Law, American University of Paris and Sciences Po, France.
The Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights | via Logoteta, 27 – Siracusa, Italy | Tax Code 80001810896
