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.

The UN Library’s Most Checked-Out Book Doesn’t Bode Well for International Justice

The United Nations’ Dag Hammarskjöld Library has announced its most checked-out book of 2015. Maybe something on the UN, you say? Maybe a breezy read on climate change? Or perhaps the latest treatise on the refugee crisis? Okay, maybe diplomats … Continue reading

Posted in International Criminal Justice, United Nations | 3 Comments

An Institution within an Institution – An Interview with the ICC President

Just a few days after the International Criminal Court moved to its permanent premises, Shehzad Charania was honoured to be received as ICC President Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi’s first-ever visitor in her new office. On that unusually mild and sunny … Continue reading

Posted in ICC President, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Best, Worst, Weirdest, Funniest, and Most Frustrating of 2015 – Plus a Surprise for to 2016!

The Best Development of 2015 It has been yet another fascinating year in the realm of international criminal justice. After twenty years, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda finally closed its doors. By opening an investigation into Georgia, the International … Continue reading

Posted in JiC News | Leave a comment

The Rwanda Tribunal Closes — But Who Owns its ‘Legacy’?

The relationship between Kigali and the International Criminal Tribunal Rwanda (ICTR) has always been a sensitive balancing act. Ever since 1994, when the United Nations Security Council decided to establish the tribunal in order to investigate and prosecute senior perpetrators … Continue reading

Posted in Archives, International Criminal Justice, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Legacy, Rwanda, Rwandan Genocide | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Open for Business – An Interview with the ICC’s First-Ever Staff Members, Sam Muller and Phakiso Mochochoko

Imagine being in a team of just two and having the responsibility of opening the first-ever permanent international criminal court. That was the unique and challenging task that Sam Muller and Phakiso Mochochoko faced in 2002. Today, with the ICC … Continue reading

Posted in International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, Interview, Interviews | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Responsibility to Protect isn’t Dead, but its Proponents’ Hubris has Wounded it

It has been a decade since the international community endorsed the principle of “Responsibility to Protect.” But with hundreds of thousands dead in civil conflicts around the globe, it is clear that the expectations set by this doctrine are not … Continue reading

Posted in International Law, Libya, Responsibiltiy to Protect (R2P), Syria | 9 Comments

1990s Hollywood Film Covers Meet Anti-ICC Propaganda – A Lighter Moment from this Year’s ICC Conference

Last week, I reported at length about the trials and tribulations of this year’s Assembly of States Party’s conference. Most of the conference had a rather somber tone, due to frustrations and concerns over the Kenyan government’s attempts to subvert … Continue reading

Posted in Assembly of States Parties, Humour, Kenya, Kenya and the ICC | 1 Comment

Kenya Gambled and Lost at the ICC’s yearly Conference – But it’s not Game Over Yet

The African Group for Justice and Accountability (AGJA) had just been launched at one of the dozens of Assembly of States Parties (ASP) side events. There were a few minutes left and so, as the moderator of the event, I … Continue reading

Posted in Assembly of States Parties, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, Kenya, Kenya and the ICC | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The ICC, A Victims’ Court? It Could Happen

Stephen Smith Cody joins JiC for this post discussing a recently released, timely, and must-read report on victim’s expectations with, and engagement at, the ICC: The Victim’s Court – A Study of 622 Victim Participants at the International Criminal Court. Many victims … Continue reading

Posted in Guest Posts, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, Victim Participation | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Five Take-Aways from the ICC’s Latest Bombshell Report

This year’s Report on Preliminary Examination Activities from the International Criminal Court (ICC) carried within it a number of fascinating – and crucial – details into who and what is falling under the ICC’s microscope. Below are five important takeaways … Continue reading

Posted in Afghanistan, Africa, Complementarity, Georgia, Gravity, Honduras, ICC Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States | 5 Comments