Author Archives: Mark Kersten

About Mark Kersten

Mark Kersten is a consultant at the Wayamo Foundation, a Senior Researcher at the Munk School of Global Affairs, and a law student at McGill University Law School. He is also author of the book, 'Justice in Conflict - The Effects of the International Criminal Court's Interventions on Ending Wars and Building Peace' (Oxford University Press, 2016).

Ukraine can and should investigate its own military’s war crimes

Posted on December 19, 2022 by Mark Kersten

While nowhere near the scale of the Russian atrocities, there is mounting evidence that Ukrainian forces have committed war crimes over the course of the Ukraine-Russia war. The allegations, and the evidence supporting them, won’t go away. What matters now … Continue reading →

Posted in International Criminal Justice, Prisoners of War, Rome Statute, Russia, Ukraine, War crimes | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Should the International Criminal Court Meet with alleged War Criminals?

Posted on December 5, 2022 by Mark Kersten

Earlier this month, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan met with notorious warlord Khalifa Haftar, widely suspected of international crimes in Libya. The meeting raises the question: should the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor meet with perpetrators of mass atrocities? JiC readers … Continue reading →

Posted in ICC Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC), Libya, Libya and the ICC, Libyan National Army, Transnational Criminal Law | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Quest for Liberia: Decades Long Fight for War Crimes Accountability in Liberia Reaches the ECOWAS Court of Justice

Posted on December 1, 2022 by Mark Kersten

Sarah Gamble, Ela Matthews, and Nushin Sarkarati join JiC for this blog post on the ongoing fight for accountability for war crimes in Liberia. Sarah holds a J.D. from UC Davis School of Law and is a Legal Fellow at … Continue reading →

Posted in Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS), International Criminal Justice, Liberia, Truth and Reconciliation Commissions, War crimes | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Event 31 October: Where do you go when a corporation violates international human rights?

Posted on October 27, 2022 by Mark Kersten

Dear JiC readers, It is with great pleasure that I share information about an online panel that I have co-organized with the ActInCourts network, taking place next Monday, 31st of October (Halloween!) at 9am PST / 12pm EST / 5pm … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Universal Jurisdiction in Ukraine: States should commit to using their own courts to address Russian atrocities

Posted on October 17, 2022 by Mark Kersten

A version of the following article was originally written for the The Global Parliamentary Alliance Against Atrocity Crimes (GPAAAC), an international network of parliamentarians and experts working to ensure democracies act more forcefully in preventing and responding to mass atrocity … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, International Criminal Justice, Russia, Ukraine, Universal Jurisdiction, War crimes | Tagged , | 1 Comment

War Crimes in Ukraine: It’s time to move from counting crimes to results in court

Posted on October 3, 2022 by Mark Kersten

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February, the number of war crimes that prosecutors in Ukraine have investigated has risen exponentially. In late May, it was 14,000. By July it had gone up to 23,000. Now officials in Ukraine have … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime of Aggression, Crimes against humanity, European Union (EU), ICC Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC), Russia, Ukraine, War crimes | Leave a comment

Will Justice catch up with those responsible for Post-Election Violence in Kenya? After the election, it doesn’t look good.

Posted on September 1, 2022 by Mark Kersten

Justice was never really on the table during this month’s presidential elections in Kenya. For much – probably most – of the political class, the crimes against humanity committed in the wake of the 2007/08 post-election violence were a thing … Continue reading →

Posted in International and Organized Crimes Division of Kenya, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, Kenya, Kenya and the ICC, Raila Odinga, Uhuru Kenyatta, William Ruto | Leave a comment

Rebraiding Frayed Sweetgrass: The Spectacle of Residential School Exhumations and Invisible Anti-Indigenous Atrocity Violence in Canada 

Posted on August 29, 2022 by Mark Kersten

Alyssa Couchie and Randle DeFalco join JiC for this guest post on atrocity violence against Indigenous people and communities in Canada. Alyssa is a JD Candidate at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law and … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, International Criminal Justice, Residential Schools, Transitional Justice | Tagged , | Leave a comment

International justice for Ukraine shouldn’t distract from the ICC’s role in contributing to justice efforts in Africa

Posted on July 18, 2022 by Mark Kersten

The following post was written by Mark Kersten and Mohamed Othman Chande, Chairperson of the Africa Group for Justice and Accountability and former Chief Justice of Tanzania. A version of it was published for Al Jazeera, on International Justice Day, … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Africa Group for Justice and Accountability (AGJA), Boko Haram, Darfur, ICC Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, Libya, Libya and the ICC, Nigeria, Russia, Sudan, Ukraine | Tagged | 3 Comments

Russian Control? State Attribution for Internationally Wrongful Acts committed by Individuals in Georgia

Posted on July 7, 2022 by Mark Kersten

The following is a guest post by Ananya Mukherjee, a graduate of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata who currently works with the Indian Institute for Human Settlements on higher education policy in India. Ananya is also an incoming … Continue reading →

Posted in Georgia, Guest Posts, International Humanitarian Law, International Law, War crimes | Leave a comment