A group of Nottingham law students feature in Human Rights Watch's latest campaign video on why the International Criminal Court matters. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Rome Statute, the founding document of the ICC. The students discuss the court's importance – despite the challenges and the criticisms it has faced. International criminal law and justice are cornerstones of the School of Law's research and teaching activities in public international law.
Watch the video
Mark Dawson (Final year, Law with New Zealand Law): "The ICC is so important because it's one of the only places in the world where anyone who has committed an atrocity or a crime against humanity can be prosecuted".
Jennifer Giblin (Phd candidate): "They've prosecuted warlords, or leaders of armed forces, rebel groups".
Keaton Tyrrell-Moloney (LLM in Human Rights Law): "Victims get their day in court, they get to participate in seeking justice".
Daniel Parkin (2nd year, LLB Law): "Even if their own government is the one persecuting them, there is still someone who is willing to stand by them and on their side, and help them".
Aleister Adamson (LLM in Human Rights Law): "It's a court of last resort".
Natasha Barigye (LLM in International Criminal Justice and Armed Conflict): "The court goes past the usual road blocks that domestic courts would have".
John Riddell (LLM in Human Rights Law): "Sometimes people criticise the ICC because it’s doing its job".
Robyn Kerrison (LLM in International Criminal Justice and Armed Conflict): "While you haven't got the certainty of a prosecution, you no longer have the certainty of impunity".
Ujjaini Chatterji (LLM in Human Rights Law): "Perhaps the ICC could have done more, but I'm glad the ICC did not do any less".
Joshua Idoko (LLM in International Law and Development): "I think a stronger ICC is better for the world".
Olympia Bekou, who facilitated the filming, is Professor of Public International Law and Head, International Criminal Justice Unit, University of Nottingham Human Rights Law Centre. A qualified lawyer, she specialises in international criminal law. Olympia has undertaken numerous capacity-building missions, including in post-conflict situations (such as Uganda, the DRC and Sierra Leone), has provided legislation drafting assistance to Samoa (with legislation enacted in November 2007) and Jamaica, and has been involved in training the Thai judiciary. She is Deputy Director of the Case Matrix Network and a member of the Advisory Board and Editor of the Forum of International Criminal and Humanitarian Law. She is also a member of the Board of Civitas Maxima.
Olympia is responsible for the National Implementing Legislation Database (NILD) of the ICC Legal Tools Project, the creator of the Cooperation and Judicial Assistance Database (CJAD), and has taught extensively worldwide. In 2014, she was awarded the University of Nottingham Knowledge Exchange and Innovation Award for Societal Impact in Social Sciences for her work and in 2015-2016 she was recognised as an Impact Leader as part of ESRC's impact leaders programme.
Hemi Mistry, who also supported the students is an Assistant Professor in the School of Law and member of the HRLC International Criminal Justice Unit. Her area of research expertise and lies in the field of international justice. Through her research she seeks to contribute to a clearer understanding of how international judges and international courts and tribunals go about their business of pursuing 'justice' and what that means, in order to identify how they can be made more effective.
Hemi's publications focus upon how aspects of judicial practice and procedure impact upon the quality of justice that international courts deliver, and in 2014 she was awarded the Antonio Cassese Initiative Prize for Innovative Perspectives on International Criminal Justice for her paper 'The Paradox of Dissent: Judicial Dissent and the Projects of International Criminal Justice'. She teaches international criminal law at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Posted on Wednesday 2nd May 2018