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.

International Law and the Stories We Tell: Reflections on International Law(yers), Narratives and the Situation in Israel-Palestine, Part 4

Barrie Sander joins JiC for this four-part series on what the situation in Israel and Palestine tell us about how we understand, construct, and tell stories about international law. Barrie is Assistant Professor of International Justice at Leiden University – Faculty of Governance … Continue reading

Posted in Guest Posts, International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Law | Leave a comment

International Law and the Stories We Tell: Reflections on International Law(yers), Narratives and the Situation in Israel-Palestine, Part 3

Barrie Sander joins JiC for this four-part series on what the situation in Israel and Palestine tell us about how we understand, construct, and tell stories about international law. Barrie is Assistant Professor of International Justice at Leiden University – Faculty of Governance … Continue reading

Posted in Gaza, Guest Posts, ICC Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Law, Israel, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC | Leave a comment

International Law and the Stories We Tell: Reflections on International Law(yers), Narratives and the Situation in Israel-Palestine, Part 2

Barrie Sander joins JiC for this second article in a four-part series on what the situation in Israel and Palestine tell us about how we understand, construct, and tell stories about international law. Barrie is Assistant Professor of International Justice at Leiden University … Continue reading

Posted in Gaza, ICC Prosecutor, International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Criminal Court (ICC), International Law, Israel, Karim Khan, Palestine | Tagged | Leave a comment

International Law and the Stories We Tell: Reflections on International Law(yers), Narratives and the Situation in Israel-Palestine, Part One

Barrie Sander joins JiC for this four-part series on what the situation in Israel and Palestine tell us about how we understand, construct, and tell stories about international law. Barrie is Assistant Professor of International Justice at Leiden University – … Continue reading

Posted in Gaza, International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, International Law, Israel, Palestine | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Let the International Court of Justice Decide: It is Law, not History, that holds the Promise of Protecting Life in Gaza 

The following article was written by Amanda Ghahremani and Mark Kersten and originally appeared in the Toronto Star. Amanda is an international lawyer, research fellow at the Human Rights Center, UC Berkeley, and at the Simone de Beauvoir Institute, Concordia … Continue reading

Posted in Canada, Gaza, Genocide, International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Law, Israel, Palestine, South Africa | Tagged | 2 Comments

Genocide doesn’t “just happen” – Israel, Gaza and Genocide as a Process, not an Event

Israel has now responded to South Africa’s allegations of genocide in Gaza. In its submissions at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Israel’s lawyers relied on a combination of legal and political arguments insisting that is not committing genocide. This is not … Continue reading

Posted in Gaza, International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, Israel, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC, South Africa | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

“Let’s stop being fooled about Israel’s intentions in Gaza” – The Lasting Disaster of Ethnic Cleansing and the Risk of Complicity

The following is a guest post by Thomas Obel Hansen and Felix Vacas Fernández. Felix is an Assistant Professor in Public International Law and International Relations at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain). Thomas is the Maria Zambrano 2023-24 … Continue reading

Posted in Ethnic Cleansing, Guest Posts, Israel, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Double standards on accountability must be called out and resisted, no matter who pushes them

Victims and survivors of Hamas’ atrocities deserve justice. Victims and survivors of Israel’s atrocities deserve justice. They deserve more than just rhetoric or pleas to stop the violence. They deserve accountability for the litany of well-documented crimes already committed. These … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

The Currency of Diplomacy: A Speech Canada’s Commitment to International Law and Prosecuting International Crimes

This week, I had the opportunity to speak before the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development in Ottawa. I spoke Canada’s piecemeal commitment to international law and to the prosecution of international crimes. I appeared … Continue reading

Posted in Canada, Corruption, Gaza, Hybrid Courts, Hybrid Tribunals, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, Israel, Palestine, Transnational Organized Crime | Leave a comment

A Lifeline for Gaza: Lifting the Blockade and Securing a Humanitarian Sea Corridor

Food is running out. Surgeries and births are taking place without anaesthesia. Fuel shortages mean the only cancer hospital has closed. Without the basics needed to survive, the majority of Gazans are stuck while Israeli bombs fall and Hamas missiles are launched around … Continue reading

Posted in Cyprus, Gaza, ICC Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC), Israel, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC | Tagged , , | Leave a comment