International Criminal Justice

Faculty: Máximo Langer

This course examines:

• international crimes (crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes and the crime of aggression);
• the principles of jurisdiction that may be used to prescribe, adjudicate and enforce these crimes;
• enforcement mechanisms of these crimes (including the International Criminal Court and transnational prosecutions);
• principles of international criminal responsibility regarding international crimes;
• the logistical and procedural challenges involved in the prosecution of these crimes (such as extradition, and abduction).

Faculty: Richard Steinberg

This seminar introduces students to international criminal law, focusing on contemporary issues facing the International Criminal Court (ICC). Topics covered include the scope of the Court’s jurisdiction, reparations, claims of bias against African countries, collection and use of cyberevidence, and the challenges of prosecuting sexual and gender-based violence. Students explore specific contemporary issues of interest posed by the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor in one or two term papers.

The ICC Forum website is a backbone of the class — student and expert opinions are published each semester on the site.

Faculty: Richard Dicker

Prosecutions of the most serious international crimes through international criminal tribunals and national courts have emerged as a visible, yet uneven, force on the global landscape. The course will examine some of the key lessons arising from the efforts of the International Criminal Court to render justice for crimes that shocked the conscience of humankind. 

Faculty: Kate Mackintosh

Through this program, students have the opportunity to experience a full-time, semester-long externship at an international court or tribunal in The Hague, The Netherlands. Alongside their externship, students take part in a course on the practice of international courts and tribunals. Students have described this course as “the best experience of my time in law school, hands down” and “the foundation of my career now.”

NB: The official academic year course catalog is not made available until the summer each year. Because students will need the spring months to coordinate logistics, travel, and documents, this fall semester course is independently advertised ahead of the others, in December. Do not wait until this course appears in the published catalog – that will be too late to participate.