1st Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference – 2024
8 to 9 July 2024
The field of international criminal justice is diverse and constantly evolving. International criminal justice continues to be viewed as an important aspect of any international or domestic response to mass violence and conflict.
The gaps in, and limits to, substantive criminal law and criminal justice processes remain key concerns. And yet, despite this, the norms of international justice – and the expectation of, and calls for, accountability – are stronger than ever. Situations of mass violence frequently evoke recourse to at least the language, if not also the institutions, of international criminal justice.
For better or worse, mass violence is increasingly understood through the conceptual framework of international crimes. At the same time, scholarship in the field of international criminal justice is increasing, with researchers increasingly employing novel and interdisciplinary approaches to answer the questions raised by international criminal law.
Against this backdrop, opportunities to take stock of current issues and recent developments in the field are more important than ever.
Conference organisers
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Professor Olympia Bekou, Head of the International Criminal Justice Unit, HRLC
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Dr Natalie Hodgson, Head of the Forced Migration Unit and Member of the International Criminal Justice Unit, HRLC
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Dr Hemi Mistry, Member of the International Criminal Justice Unit, HRLC
With this in mind, the School of Law in partnership with the International Criminal Justice Unit of the University of Nottingham Human Rights Law Centre organised the inaugural two-day Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference that brought together over 60 people working across the diverse field of international criminal justice.
At this interdisciplinary conference, we fostered connections between academics, practitioners and policymakers, as we heard about and discussed recent developments in research and practice, and explored, discussed and debated current issues in the field.
The Conference provided a supportive and informal environment for scholars and practitioners at all stages of their careers to share their current research in the field of international criminal justice.
Nottingham ICJ Conference poster & panel
Hosted on the University of Nottingham’s iconic University Park campus, the Conference highlighted the vibrancy of scholarship across fields and sub-disciplines related to international criminal justice and provided the forum for thoughtful, collegial, substantive and constructive discussion on contemporary issues in international criminal justice.
The School of Law has a vast network of alumni who have gone on to forge careers in international criminal justice as academics and practitioners. The School was delighted to welcome some of these alumni back to Nottingham for this conference, while also extending this network to include a wider community of academics and practitioners working in the space of international criminal justice.
When designing the conference, the organisers were driven by the desire to make it as inclusive as possible. With the generous contribution of the School of Law, we were able to subsidise the conference fee for all speakers. Importantly, we took the decision not to have any invited papers. All papers that were presented were the result of a competitive process, following an open call for papers.
As a result, we were flooded with applications from around the world, which put us in the unenviable position of having to choose amongst excellent abstracts. Such was the strength of the papers that made the themes develop organically, resulting in cohesive and coherent panels.
Participants at the Nottingham ICJ Conference
Panel: International Crimes - Current and Emerging Issues
The Conference was supported by a team of current School of Law students, who have produced for us an excellent series of blog posts summarising and reflecting upon each of the presentations and panels, which you can find in the sub-sections to this page.
The Conference organisers wish to thank all our participants for the time and commitment they invested in contributing to the Conference and its success, whether as speakers, chairs or conference participants. In addition to our team of student helpers – Oluwagbemisayo Akinsoye, James Chennells, Olivia Connan, Rasara Jayasuriya, Nima Nikkhah, and Emily Sainsbury – we would also like to thank the School of Law for providing the financial support to facilitate the conference and the immeasurable support we received from Agnes Flues, Anoojit Biswas, Zinat Jimada and Tom Welch to make this Conference happen.
The organisers are looking forward to next year’s Conference and welcoming back this year’s participants and extending the network of international criminal justice scholars further.