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.

Diverging Trajectories: Social Media and #InternationalLaw

This week, Opinio Juris has organized a symposium on social media and international law in the wake of KONY2012. There are already a number of thought-provoking posts up, including this prescient piece by Charli Carpenter (see here too). The following … Continue reading

Posted in Activism, Advocacy, International Law, Social Media | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

A New Deal: an ICC “Supervised” Trial for Saif Gaddafi in Libya?

The debate on how and where Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, is tried has taken a new and rather unexpected turn. The BBC has reported that a “Western official” told their correspondent that a … Continue reading

Posted in International Criminal Court (ICC), Justice, Libya, Libya and the ICC, Mauritania | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Defendants on the Run — What’s a Court to do?

Gillian McCall, a London-based researcher in international criminal law, joins JiC with a fascinating guest post on the question of whether trials in absentia are legitimate and legal. Gillian offers a glimpse into how the various international tribunals have treated … Continue reading

Posted in European Court of Human Rights, Guest Posts, ICTY, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Lebanon, Special Court for SIerra Leone (SCSL), Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Trials in Absentia | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Wikileaks’ Death Knell for Invisible Children’s KONY2012?

The most remarkable thing about Invisible Children’s KONY2012 campaign is just how spectacularly it has shifted from one controversy to another. When the film was first released, it was ripped by virtually every scholar and observer of northern Uganda and … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), Peace Processes, Uganda | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Part 1: Saif Gaddafi, Libya and the ICC

Most readers will know by now that the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Court dismissed Libya’s ruling National Transition Council (NTC)’s application to try Saif al-Islam Gaddafi in Libya. Saif, of course, was indicted by the ICC in June 2011 … Continue reading

Posted in Human Rights, International Criminal Court (ICC), Justice, Libya, Libya and the ICC, Peacebuilding, The Tripoli Three (Tripoli3) | Tagged , | 3 Comments

The International Criminal Court and Deterrence – The ‘Lubanga Syndrome’

Niki Frencken joins JiC for this thoughtful post on deterrence in the wake of the Lubanga verdict. Niki is a freelance researcher, documentary maker and writer who has focused much of her work on conflict resolution and transitional justice in … Continue reading

Posted in Democratic Republic of Congo, Deterrence, ICC Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC) | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Justice in Libya? The Senussi Sweepstakes!

As many readers will already be aware, Abdullah al-Senussi was recently detained in Mauritania in a joint operation between French and Mauritanian intelligence forces. Senussi, variously called Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s “right hand man”, “eyes and ears” and the Gaddafi regime’s “black … Continue reading

Posted in Complementarity, International Criminal Court (ICC), Libya, Libya and the ICC, The Tripoli Three (Tripoli3) | 4 Comments

Lubanga and the Trouble with ICC Deterrence

This is piece was originally posted at Opinio Juris, which has organized a fascinating and thought-provoking virtual round-table on the Lubanga verdict and its legacy. Check out, inter alia, contributions from Mark Drumbl, Dov Jacobs, Jens Ohlin and Kevin Jon Heller. Drumbl’s … Continue reading

Posted in Child Soldiers, Democratic Republic of Congo, Deterrence, International Criminal Court (ICC), Justice, Outreach | Tagged | 3 Comments

Syria: Appeasement in Disguise?

Andrew Jillions joins JiC for another thought-provoking guest post on responses to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria. Enjoy! Kofi Annan was in New York yesterday to brief the Security Council on the mess that is Syria. But whatever (limited) … Continue reading

Posted in Humanitarian Intervention, Justice, Responsibiltiy to Protect (R2P), Syria, Turkey, UN Security Council, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Beyond ‘KONY2012’ – Judgement Day and the Lubanga Verdict

The ICC’s first-ever verdict is in. Any way you cut it, the guilty verdict issued today against Thomas Lubanga for his use of child soldiers is a landmark ruling. But will it have any effect on the conscription of child soldiers … Continue reading

Posted in Child Soldiers, Democratic Republic of Congo, Deterrence, ICC Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC), Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) | 5 Comments