Author Archives: Mark Kersten

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About Mark Kersten

Mark Kersten is an Assistant Professor in the Criminology and Criminal Justice Department at the University of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia, Canada, and a Senior Consultant at the Wayamo Foundation in Berlin, Germany. Mark is the founder of the blog Justice in Conflict and author of the book, published by Oxford University Press, by the same name. He holds an MSc and PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics and a BA (Hons) from the University of Guelph. Mark has previously been a Research Associate at the Refugee Law Project in Uganda, and as researcher at Justice Africa and Lawyers for Justice in Libya in London. He has taught courses on genocide studies, the politics of international law, transitional justice, diplomacy, and conflict and peace studies at the London School of Economics, SOAS, and University of Toronto. Mark’s research has appeared in numerous academic fora as well as in media publications such as The Globe and Mail, Al Jazeera, BBC, Foreign Policy, the CBC, Toronto Star, and The Washington Post. He has a passion for gardening, reading, hockey (on ice), date nights, late nights, Lego, and creating time for loved ones.

Vindicating a “Justice Murder”: How a State Agent Wrongfully Convicted on Terrorism Charges won his case 

Kerstin Bree Carlson joins JiC for this guest-post on the remarkable story of Ahmed Samsam, who was convicted on terrorism charges in Spain, only to win his case after proving he was a Danish state agent. Kerstin’s current research examines terrorism … Continue reading

Posted in Denmark, Guest Posts, Islamic State, Spain, Syria, Terrorism | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Canada helped build the ICC. Now its silence is helping destroy it.

The response was swift, until it wasn’t. Reacting to U.S. sanctions against International Criminal Court (ICC) officials – including Canadian judge Kimberly Prost – Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations Bob Rae called the move “disgraceful”. He added that “attacks” on ICC staff “by … Continue reading

Posted in Afghanistan, Canada, Donald Trump, ICC Prosecutor, ICC Sanctions, International Criminal Court (ICC), Israel, Palestine and the ICC, United States | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Catching perpetrators to prosecute them abroad: could piecemeal justice contribute to comprehensive accountability for atrocities committed in Gaza?

They thought they’d enjoy the festival, maybe a waffle and a Hoegaarden. Instead, the two Israeli soldiers were detained and questioned by Belgian police after facing allegations of war crimes stemming from the Hind Rajab Foundation, an organization set up to track soldiers … Continue reading

Posted in Canada, Crimes against humanity, Gaza, Genocide, Israel, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC, Syria, Universal Jurisdiction, War crimes | Tagged | Leave a comment

Algorithms, Automation and Accountability: Imagining Responsibility for the Crimes of Machines

The following is a guest post by Masoud Zamani is a lecturer in international law and international relations at the University of British Columbia. His research focuses on the intersection of emerging technologies and international legal accountability. In recent years, … Continue reading

Posted in Drones, Guest Posts, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, lethal autonomous weapon systems, War crimes | Tagged | 1 Comment

To understand Genocide in Gaza and elsewhere, we need to talk about it as a process not an event

A growing consensus of international and Israeli human rights organizations, editorial boards, Israeli Holocaust historians and former Attorney Generals, as well as figures like Romeo Dallaire, have all come to the same conclusion: What is happening in Gaza is a genocide. But it is clear there remains … Continue reading

Posted in Canada, Darfur, Gaza, Genocide, Holocaust, Holodomor, Indigenous Peoples, International Criminal Court (ICC), Israel, Palestine, Rwandan Genocide, Sudan, Yazidi Genocide | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

How understanding atrocity perpetrators requires and benefits from a multi-angled approach – A response to commentaries and critiques 

The following article by Alette Smeulers is a response to the contributions to JiC’s recent symposium on Alette’s book, Perpetrators of Mass Atrocities Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?. Alette is a professor at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Her research … Continue reading

Posted in International Criminal Justice, International Law, Symposium Introduction - A JiC Symposium on Alette Smeulers'  "Perpetrators of Mass Atrocities Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?, Transitional Justice | Tagged | Leave a comment

Sifting through speculation: What we do and don’t know about Canada’s Structural Investigation into the Israel-Hamas War

In the wake of the recent revelation that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had opened a structural investigation into international crimes committed during the Israeli-Hamas conflict in early 2024, many have projected their gravest fears, and greatest hopes, on what an … Continue reading

Posted in Canada, Crimes against humanity, Gaza, Genocide, International Criminal Court (ICC), Israel, Palestine, RCMP Structural Investigation, Universal Jurisdiction, War crimes, West Bank | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Courts in Conversation: The International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and their mutual and respective roles in Addressing International Crimes

The following essay examines the relationship between the ICJ and the ICC, at a time when both courts have increasingly found themselves seized of the same situations of mass atrocity crimes, including in Gaza, Myanmar, Ukraine and Afghanistan. It was … Continue reading

Posted in Burma/Myanmar, Gaza, ICC Prosecutor, International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, International Law, Israel, Myanmar, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC, Rohingya, Russia, Ukraine | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

There must be consequences: Accountability for war crimes can help stop attacks on hospitals

The doctors assumed that a well-marked hospital would be safe, especially since the warring parties in the region were informed of its existence and its life-saving operations. But they were wrong, and the attacks came in waves. When it was … Continue reading

Posted in Gaza, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, International Humanitarian Law, Iran, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC, Russia, Sudan, Ukraine, War crimes | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Dynamics and Moral ambiguities of Perpetration: Exploring the Intersection of Individual Agency and Structural Factors in Atrocity Crimes

The following article, by Dr. Mina Rauschenbach, is part of JiC’s ongoing symposium on Alette Smeulers’ new book “Perpetrators of Mass Atrocities Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?”. Mina is Research Fellow at the Leuven Institute of Criminology (KU Leuven), an independent consultant, and a certified … Continue reading

Posted in International Criminal Justice, Symposium Introduction - A JiC Symposium on Alette Smeulers'  "Perpetrators of Mass Atrocities Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal? | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment