The Policy Brief Series

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2026
Published on 23 June 2026.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-316-1.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/209-khan-ahmad/.
Topic: This brief discusses Pakistan's five-decades-long weaponization of law against Ahmadi Muslims, including through constitutional redefinitions, Ordinance XX, blasphemy laws, and electoral and citizenship restrictions. It argues that this state-sanctioned ‘religio-political apartheid’ violates the ICCPR and may constitute a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute, and proposes reforms to address the same.
Keywords: Pakistan; Ahmadi Muslims; Ahmadiyya Muslim Community; Ordinance XX (Sections 298-B and 298-C); Islám; freedom of religion; blasphemy; crimes against humanity; religious persecution; apartheid.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2026
Published on 5 June 2026.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-313-0.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/208-sandnes-karapinar/.
Topic: This brief examines the Wagner Group's conduct in Africa and Ukraine's Kharkiv region (2022–2023), juxtaposing victim testimony of torture, pillage and unlawful confinement with Yevgeny Prigozhin's public statements. It discusses the attribution of responsibility for certain conduct to the Russian state, specific incidents accruing individual criminal responsibility, and more broadly argues the existence of a military culture indifferent to international humanitarian law.
Keywords: Wagner Group; private military companies (PMCs); war crimes; Ukraine; Yevgeny Prigozhin; Vladimir Putin; command responsibility; torture; unlawful confinement.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2026
Published on 5 June 2026.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-312-3.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/207-ojewale/.
Topic: This brief analyses the proliferation of Islamic State franchises across Sub-Saharan Africa — from the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin to Mozambique and others. Linking their expansion to governance failure, socio-economic factors and porous borders, and drawing on 2015–2026 violence data, it argues governance alternatives and legitimacy narratives propagated by insurgents make military responses alone insufficient.
Keywords: Islamic State franchises; Africa; jihádíst insurgency; the Sahel; insurgent governance; Islámic legitimacy; state fragility and governance failure; violent extremism in Sub-Saharan Africa; counter-terrorism.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2026
Published on 5 June 2026.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-311-6.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/206-bhattacharyya/.
Topic: This brief identifies three distinct Indian policies toward Myanmar after the 2021 coup: (1) Manipur's anti-refugee stance, driven by Meitei–Kuki-Zo ethnic conflict; (2) Mizoram's pro-refugee approach, rooted in shared Kuki-Chin-Mizo ethnicity; and (3) New Delhi's multi-pronged strategy balancing border security, Act East connectivity, and countering Chinese influence through engagement with the Myanmar's ruling junta.
Keywords: India–Myanmar relations; Myanmar military coup; Manipur conflict; Myanmar refugees; India's Act East Policy; Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project; China–Myanmar relations; ethnic armed organizations; Myanmar Spring Revolution.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2026
Published on 29 May 2026.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-310-9.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/205-siegle/.
Topic: This brief examines the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine as an ad hoc response to the International Criminal Court's jurisdictional gap. It analyses the Tribunal's establishment, jurisdiction and structure, and argues its contested international or internationalized character, and resulting treatment of the immunities of State officials, will ultimately matter less than its substantive accountability output.
Keywords: Russia-Ukraine; Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression; International Criminal Court; personal immunity of State officials; troika; international criminal tribunal; Council of Europe; jus contra bellum; international criminal justice.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2026
Published on 29 May 2026.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-309-3.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/204-aslam/.
Topic: This brief examines the Kafala sponsorship system across Gulf and Middle Eastern states, drawing on the author's 2025 fieldwork in Saudi Arabia. It documents wage theft, passport confiscation, absconding charges, and gendered abuse of domestic workers, exposing the gap between recent labour reforms and reality, and proposes greater emphasis on binding international accountability mechanisms.
Keywords: Kafala system; migrant workers' rights; forced labour; modern slavery; passport confiscation; Saudi Arabia and GCC labour reforms; crimes against humanity; international accountability.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2026
Published on 21 April 2026.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-304-8.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/203-dahl/.
Topic: This brief surveys major international military manuals from San Remo (1994) to Woomera (2024), examines their methodology and legal authority, and assesses their role as subsidiary sources of law and practical field guidance. It concludes that, with the gradual decline of international humanitarian law treaty-making, international military manuals have emerged as the primary vehicle for developing and restating the law of armed conflict.
Keywords: International humanitarian law manuals; military manuals; customary international humanitarian law; subsidiary sources; military operations; rules of engagement; treaty-making.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2026
Published on 10 April 2026.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-303-1.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/202-jimenez/.
Topic: This brief critiques governance failures by the Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court during the 2024–2026 investigation of allegations of workplace harassment and sexual misconduct against the Prosecutor. By, among other things, improvising procedures and delegating to external bodies like the United Nations’ Office of Internal Oversight Services, the Bureau’s overall handling of the circumstances fell short of relevant standards. In response, the brief proposes structural reforms which may restore institutional legitimacy and calls for a greater research focus on issues of governance quality of international criminal tribunals.
Keywords: Assembly of States Parties governance; ICC Prosecutor; serious misconduct; sexual harassment allegations; integrity standard; abuse of power; quality control; quality assurance.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2026
Published on 26 March 2026.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-302-4.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/201-darboe/.
Topic: This brief exposes the contradiction between The Gambia’s celebrated ICJ case against Myanmar over Rohingya persecution and its failure to deliver domestic justice for Jammeh-era atrocities. It documents stalled transitional justice reforms, mismanagement of recovered assets, selective foreign-policy activism, and creeping institutional decay under President Adama Barrow’s administration, revealing tensions between global activism and internal political expediency.
Keywords: Gambia v. Myanmar; Organisation of Islamic Cooperation; Jammeh-era human rights violations; Gambian transitional justice.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2026
Published on 20 March 2026.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-301-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/199-sayapin/.
Topic: This policy brief analyses the International Criminal Court’s engagement with Afghanistan before and after the Taliban’s return to power, highlighting arrest warrants for gender-based persecution and the structural limits of international criminal justice. It argues that reliance on state co-operation, complementarity constraints, and geopolitical resistance significantly restrict the ICC’s capacity to ensure accountability.
Keywords: Afghanistan situation; gender persecution; crime against humanity; Taliban accountability; State co-operation; complementarity principle.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2026
Published on 11 March 2026.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-299-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/198-gupta/.
Topic: This policy brief examines the historical roots, the peace negotiations, and implementation challenges of the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro. It argues that despite progress toward autonomy and normalization in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, persistent impunity, weak transitional justice mechanisms, and stalled reforms undermine durable peace, highlighting the urgent need to prioritize accountability and rule of law.
Keywords: Bangsamoro peace process; Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro; Mindanao transitional justice; Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF); Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF); BARMM elections and normalization; International Monitoring Team.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2026
Published on 6 March 2026.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-298-0.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/197-gupta/.
Topic: This brief examines four decades of atrocities in Afghanistan – from Soviet counter-insurgency crimes through factional civil war, Taliban persecution, and post-2001 abuses – juxtaposed against near-total accountability failure. Analysing the 2009 Amnesty Law, the constrained International Criminal Court investigation, and the dissolved Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, the brief critiques peace-versus-justice trade-offs that have perpetuated impunity and undermined sustainable peace.
Keywords: Afghanistan impunity; Soviet war crimes; Hazara persecution; Taliban atrocities; 2009 Amnesty Law; International Criminal Court; transitional justice failure.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2026
Published on 17 February 2026.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-297-3.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/196-kosovo/.
Topic: This brief surveys two decades of international, hybrid, and domestic accountability mechanisms in Kosovo, from the ICTY through UNMIK, EULEX, and the Kosovo Specialist Chambers. While documenting significant prosecutorial achievements, the brief identifies recurring problems of legitimacy, limited local ownership, witness intimidation, and institutional fatigue, arguing that lasting accountability requires legitimacy shared with affected communities.
Keywords: Kosovo accountability; ICTY prosecutions; Kosovo Specialist Chambers; EULEX mission; KLA war crimes; witness intimidation; hybrid tribunals.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 1 December 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-293-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/195-central-asia/.
Topic: This brief documents serious human rights violations in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, including the Andijan massacre, persecution of religious minorities, forced labour, and enforced disappearances. Examining Central Asian states’ limited engagement with international criminal law and the influence of regional actors, the brief advocates for embracing international criminal law through diplomatic engagement, recognizing both Soviet legal legacies and modern reform imperatives.
Keywords: Central Asia; Uzbekistan repression; Turkmenistan authoritarianism; Andijan massacre; religious persecution; forced labour cotton; Rome Statute accession; post-Soviet justice.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 21 November 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-292-8.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/194-gebresilassie/.
Topic: This brief analyses the emerging tactical alliance between Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and al-Shabaab in the Horn of Africa and Red Sea, examining weapons transfers, maritime attacks, and shared anti-Western objectives. The brief critiques Western counter-terrorism strategies as overly militarized and disconnected from local realities, recommending comprehensive approaches addressing governance, economic development, and community resilience.
Keywords: Houthi-Shabaab alliance; Iran proxy networks; Red Sea security; Bab al-Mandab; maritime terrorism; piracy; Horn of Africa; counter-terrorism; regional reconciliation.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 21 November 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-291-1.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/193-gupta/.
Topic: This brief examines the Maldives’ transitional justice experience, tracing decades of authoritarian abuses from the Gayoom era through democratic regression. It analyses the 2020 Transitional Justice Act and the Ombudsperson’s Office, whose dissolution in 2023 left its mandate unfinished. The brief draws lessons for Muslim-majority states navigating justice, reconciliation, and political pragmatism within Islámic legal traditions.
Keywords: Maldives transitional justice; Ombudsperson Office; Maafushi prison killings; Islámic justice principles; political will; institutional independence.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 15 October 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-290-4.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/192-barbour-wiley/.
Topic: This brief details the Islamic State’s systematic genocide and enslavement of Yazidis, supported by bureaucratic IS documentation establishing command responsibility. The brief surveys accountability achievements through universal jurisdiction prosecutions in Europe – including landmark genocide convictions – while noting that high-level perpetrators remain unprosecuted, and argues for an internationalized court of pooled jurisdiction.
Keywords: Yazidi genocide; Islamic State crimes; universal jurisdiction; CIJA documentation; sexual slavery; cumulative prosecution; foreign terrorist fighters.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 7 October 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-286-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/191-stern/.
Topic: This brief examines patterns of international crimes committed by al-Shabaab in Somalia, including indiscriminate attacks, sexual violence, child recruitment, and famine weaponization. It evaluates Somalia’s fragmented accountability measures – defectors’ programmes, military courts, and high-value deals – and identifies obstacles including weak institutions, outdated laws, and clan dynamics, recommending victim-centred reforms and a coherent national accountability framework.
Keywords: Al-Shabaab; Somalia conflict; defectors programme; victim-centred justice; child recruitment; xeer customary justice; counter-terrorism prosecutions; transitional justice.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 7 October 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-285-0.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/190-sukiasyan/.
Topic: This brief surveys Azerbaijan’s atrocities against Armenians from Soviet-era pogroms through the 2023 forced displacement from Nagorno-Karabakh, including torture, cultural destruction, and the Lachin blockade. Examining state-sponsored anti-Armenian hatred and impunity reinforced by European Court of Human Rights cases, the brief argues for international sanctions, universal jurisdiction prosecutions, and robust accountability mechanisms.
Keywords: Nagorno-Karabakh; Armenian genocide claims; Azerbaijan impunity; Lachin Corridor blockade; cultural heritage destruction; state-sponsored hatred.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 3 October 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-284-3.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/189-ayyash/.
Topic: This brief examines Qatar’s constitutional architecture for freedom of religion and belief, analysing how qualified guarantees, penal speech offences (notably Article 256), and centralized worship-recognition models interact in practice. Focusing on recent enforcement against the Bahá’í community, the brief proposes calibrated, low-friction reforms achievable within the existing constitutional framework and aligned with ICCPR standards.
Keywords: Qatar; freedom of religion; Bahá’í persecution; Mesaimeer Religious Complex; ICCPR; Gulf religious policy; Rabat Plan of Action.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 3 October 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-283-6.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/188-gupta/.
Topic: This brief analyses the United Arab Emirates’ multifaceted role in Sudan’s ongoing armed conflict, examining military support to the Rapid Support Forces, control of conflict-gold trade through Dubai, and political legitimization of warring factions. It evaluates the dismissed Sudan v. UAE genocide case at the International Court of Justice and explores alternative accountability pathways for state complicity.
Keywords: Sudan conflict; Darfur atrocities; United Arab Emirates; state complicity; Rapid Support Forces; conflict gold; ICJ jurisdiction; Genocide Convention reservations.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 26 September 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-280-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/187-jimenez-salomon/.
Topic: This brief examines Argentina’s pioneering universal jurisdiction case concerning crimes against the Rohingya in Myanmar, tracing its constitutional and statutory foundations. While the February 2025 arrest warrants represent a landmark Global South contribution to accountability, the brief analyses structural limitations of distance, resources, evidence-gathering, and enforcement, recommending complementarity-based co-operation with the International Criminal Court to maximize impact.
Keywords: Argentina; universal jurisdiction; Rohingya; Myanmar accountability; crimes against humanity; ICC complementarity.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 18 September 2025. The Spanish edition was published on 5 December 2025; the French on 4 May 2026; the Chinese on 8 May 2026.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-279-9.
ISBN Spanish: 978-82-8348-294-2.
ISBN French: 978-82-8348-307-9.
ISBN Chinese: 978-82-8348-308-6.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/186-lamb/.
PURL Spanish: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/186-spanish/.
PURL French: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/186-french/.
PURL Chinese: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/186-chinese/.
Topic: This brief outlines key features of the draft Statute for a proposed International Anti-Corruption Court (IACC) to address grand corruption that current frameworks fail to combat. It describes the IACC’s complementary role, jurisdiction over natural and legal persons, innovative Assets Division for asset recovery, victim participation provisions, and approach to head of state immunity.
Keywords: International Anti-Corruption Court (IACC); grand corruption; United Nations Convention against Corruption; kleptocracy accountability; asset recovery; corporate criminal liability; complementarity.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 10 September 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-277-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/185-dahl/.
Topic: This brief examines customary international humanitarian law on protecting civilians during armed conflict, focusing on the Gaza situation. It explores active and passive precautions, proportionality, location of military objectives, removal of civilians from combat zones, the prohibition on human shields, and attacks on hospitals, assessing the obligations of both attacking parties and those expecting attack.
Keywords: Protection of civilians; international humanitarian law; Gaza conflict; Additional Protocol I; human shields; passive precautions; proportionality principle; attacks on medical units.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 10 September 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-278-2.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/184-gebresilassie/.
Topic: This brief analyses Djibouti’s role as a critical transit hub on the Eastern Migration Route between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, examining trafficking and smuggling networks dominated by Ethiopian Afar smugglers. Despite legal frameworks aligned with the Palermo Protocol, weak enforcement and absent convictions persist, requiring reform, victim protection, and regional co-operation.
Keywords: Djibouti migrant smuggling; Eastern Migration Route; Palermo Protocol; human trafficking; Horn of Africa; UNODC anti-trafficking co-operation.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 10 September 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-276-8.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/183-azer/.
Topic: This brief examines constitutional and legal restrictions on religious freedom in Egypt, where Article 64 of the 2014 Constitution limits protection to Islám, Christianity, and Judaism. It documents challenges facing Copts, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Bahá’ís, Jews, and atheists, including personal status laws, blasphemy prosecutions, church construction restrictions, and discriminatory civil society regulations, recommending constitutional reform.
Keywords: Religious minorities in Egypt; freedom of religion or belief; Coptic personal status law; Bahá’í Faith; blasphemy law.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 3 September 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-274-4.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/182-oluwole/.
Topic: This brief explores Senegal’s resilience against violent extremism amid Sahelian instability, examining its counter-terrorism laws, intelligence coordination, community-based prevention through Sufi brotherhoods and social cohesion, and landmark prosecution of Hissène Habré through the Extraordinary African Chambers. It offers Senegal’s experience as a regional model combining legal accountability with cultural and religious moderation.
Keywords: Senegal counter-terrorism; Hissène Habré trial; Extraordinary African Chambers; JNIM and Sahel security; Sufi brotherhoods and religious moderation; community resilience to extremism; Senegalese anti-terrorism legislation; cross-border prosecution.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 3 September 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-273-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/181-baragwanath/.
Topic: This brief reflects on the legacy of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon for Muslim-majority states. It emphasizes the centrality of equality before law, Muslim-state support for transitional criminal justice, applying international criminal law to non-state actors like Hezbollah and indiscriminate weapons, and the value of the STL’s Arabic-language knowledge repository.
Keywords: Special Tribunal for Lebanon; Rafiq Hariri assassination; trial in absentia; Hezbollah accountability; terrorism as international crime; corporate criminal liability; ICC Legal Tools Database.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 3 November 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-272-0.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/180-damojipurapu/.
Topic: This brief examines two under-studied cases of alleged violations of the international law prohibition against transferring civilians into occupied territory: Morocco’s settlement of Western Sahara and Turkey’s settlement of Northern Cyprus. It contrasts the limited international attention to these cases with the extensive engagement on Israeli settlements, calling for more even-handed application of international law.
Keywords: Transfer prohibition; Geneva Convention IV; Western Sahara occupation; Northern Cyprus settlements; Sahrawi self-determination.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 31 July 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-271-3.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/179-rapp-bangura/.
Topic: This brief draws lessons from the Special Court for Sierra Leone’s hybrid model and parallel Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Muslim-majority countries facing atrocity crimes. It highlights SCSL achievements – jurisprudential innovations, capacity-building, and outreach – while exploring how the hybrid approach respecting both international and Islámic legal traditions could address accountability gaps following Arab Spring conflicts and ISIS atrocities.
Keywords: SCSL Charles Taylor prosecution; Islámic law; international criminal law; transitional justice in Muslim-majority countries; forced marriage as crime against humanity; outreach and reconciliation.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 31 July 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-270-6.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/178-hien/.
Topic: This brief analyses how Muslim-majority West African states – Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and Niger – perceive and engage with the International Criminal Court. Examining the Gbagbo and Mali cases, tensions between Islámic legal references and complementarity, and the rise of military regimes pursuing alternative jurisdictions like the proposed Sahel Court, it discusses questions concerning the universal legitimacy of international criminal justice.
Keywords: ICC and Africa; Sahel States Alliance (AES); complementarity principle; Islámic law and ICC; Sahel Criminal Court.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 31 July 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-269-0.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/177-darboe/.
Topic: This brief assesses The Gambia’s transitional justice process following Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year dictatorship and the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission’s findings. It identifies key obstacles – inadequate funding, political compromises with Jammeh’s APRC party, weak prosecution, and stalled reparations – while highlighting successful universal jurisdiction trials abroad and recommending domestic political reform and asset recovery.
Keywords: Gambia transitional justice; Yahya Jammeh accountability; Junglers; universal jurisdiction; victim reparations.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 29 July 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-267-6.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/176-gebresilassie/.
Topic: This brief examines transitional justice in Ethiopia following the Tigray conflict and the 2022 Pretoria Agreement, analysing patterns of core international crimes. It critiques Ethiopia’s government-led transitional justice process for lacking inclusivity, independence, and international co-operation, warning of ‘quasi-compliance’ and calling for robust international monitoring and survivor-centred accountability mechanisms.
Keywords: Tigray conflict; Ethiopian transitional justice; African Union Transitional Justice Policy; Pretoria Agreement; ICHREE; Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 29 July 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-268-3.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/175-shaltout/.
Topic: This brief traces how the Ottoman millet system’s legacy persists in Egypt, examining the evolving church-state alliance from Nasser through El-Sisi. It argues that the Coptic Orthodox Church’s dual role as spiritual authority and political intermediary entrenches communal governance at the expense of equal citizenship, leaving Copts vulnerable while reinforcing authoritarian power structures and limiting civil rights.
Keywords: Coptic minority; millet system; Egypt church-state relations; Coptic personal status law; religious minority rights.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 22 July 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-265-2.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/174-anoya-nassar/.
Topic: This brief assesses accountability prospects for ISIL crimes against Iraq’s religious minorities – Yazidis, Christians, Shabak, Kaka’í and others. With UNITAD’s mandate concluded, it examines Iraq’s overreliance on counter-terrorism laws, the absence of international crimes legislation, weak reparations implementation under Law No. 8 of 2021, and the need for legislative reform, judicial capacity-building and survivor-centred justice.
Keywords: ISIL crimes; Iraq accountability; Yazidi genocide; religious minorities; counter-terrorism laws; Yazidi Female Survivors Law; reparations; universal jurisdiction.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 7 May 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-264-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/173-gupta/.
Topic: This brief maps the principal actors in Yemen’s complex proxy conflict: the Houthis, the internationally recognized government, the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and Iran. It traces shifting alliances, regional interventions, Red Sea maritime attacks, and the evolving Iran-Houthi relationship, illustrating how layered facilitators have transformed Yemen into an intractable humanitarian disaster.
Keywords: Yemen war; Houthis; Saudi-led coalition; Southern Transitional Council; al-Qaeda; Iran proxy; Red Sea shipping attacks; Bab al-Mandab.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 7 May 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-263-8.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/172-chatinakrob/.
Topic: This brief analyses Thailand’s legal response to the protracted violence in its southern border provinces since 2004. It examines tensions between national security legislation – the Martial Law Act, Emergency Decree and Internal Security Act – and Thailand’s international human rights obligations, while exploring questions of legal classification, immunity provisions, and pathways for strengthening accountability and victim protection.
Keywords: Southern Thailand; Pattani Yala Narathiwat; Barisan Revolusi Nasional; emergency legislation; Malay-Muslim insurgency; ICCPR; CAT; counter-terrorism accountability.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 7 May 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-262-1.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/171-osasona/.
Topic: This brief examines accountability challenges for Boko Haram’s atrocities and Nigerian security force abuses across the Lake Chad Basin. Analysing mass killings, sexual violence, feminized suicide bombings and displacement, it critiques flawed mass trials, military immunity, and victim neglect, recommending a regional specialized court, forensic capacity-building, security sector accountability, and victim-centred frameworks.
Keywords: Boko Haram; Nigeria; Lake Chad Basin; counter-terrorism; ISWAP; mass trials; security force accountability; ICC complementarity; victim reparations.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 7 May 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-261-4.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/170-bellezit/.
Topic: This brief analyses the International Court of Justice’s ‘Official Gifts and Donations Booklet’ as a cross-cultural depiction of international law. Examining state and judges’ gifts – from Persian carpets to busts and Buddhist scriptures – it explores how the ICJ’s art collection reflects diverse legal traditions, builds international community, and embodies the ‘wise judge’ archetype across civilizations.
Keywords: International Court of Justice; Peace Palace; legal aesthetics; cross-cultural legal studies; diplomatic gifts; international community; TWAIL; legal symbolism; comparative legal traditions.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 11 March 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-257-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/169-tonkin/.
Topic: This brief critically examines the February 2025 Argentine court ruling issuing arrest warrants against 25 Myanmar citizens, including Aung San Suu Kyi and former President Htin Kyaw, for alleged crimes against the Rohingya. It challenges the petition’s historical and factual claims, questions the inclusion of civilian leaders, and assesses implications for INTERPOL action and inter-community reconciliation.
Keywords: Argentina; universal jurisdiction; Aung San Suu Kyi; Rohingya; Myanmar; BROUK petition; INTERPOL Red Notices; ICC Bangladesh-Myanmar situation; judicial overreach.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 11 March 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-258-4.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/168-pollak/.
Topic: This brief commemorates Torkel Opsahl’s leadership of the 1992–1993 Opsahl Commission, a citizens’ inquiry that helped seed the Northern Ireland peace process. Drawing on submissions from ordinary citizens across communities, the Commission anticipated key elements of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, including parity of esteem, Sinn Féin’s political involvement, and a Bill of Rights.
Keywords: Northern Ireland Troubles; Torkel Opsahl; Good Friday Agreement; citizens’ inquiry; peace process; reconciliation; civil society; sectarianism; Brexit.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 27 February 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-256-0.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/167-leontiev/.
Topic: This brief explores the rise of universal criminal justice amid a fragmenting international legal order. It examines tensions between the International Criminal Court, ad hoc tribunals and national exercises of universal jurisdiction, focusing on debates over immunities of state officials – particularly the French Court of Appeal’s al-Assad ruling and the International Law Commission’s Draft Article 7 exceptions to functional immunity.
Keywords: Universal jurisdiction; international criminal law; immunity of state officials; functional immunity; ILC Draft Articles; jus cogens; political backlash; state sovereignty.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 27 February 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-254-6.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/166-kwok/.
Topic: This brief examines the residual functions of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia as an innovative model extending beyond traditional administrative closure of international criminal tribunals. Through outreach activities including the ECCC Bus, digital media engagement, educational campaigns and accessible archives, the ECCC embeds itself in Cambodian society as a ‘wayfinding’ civic actor, fostering post-memory, reconciliation and legacy-building.
Keywords: Cambodia; ECCC; residual functions; Khmer Rouge tribunal; international criminal tribunal legacy; outreach programs; post-memory; reconciliation; transitional justice; hybrid tribunal.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 25 February 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-253-9.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/165-jimenez/.
Topic: This brief analyses the principle of integrity as legally binding on States Parties of the International Criminal Court and examines challenges facing the Independent Oversight Mechanism (IOM). It scrutinizes the recent appointment of the IOM’s Head from within the Office of the Prosecutor, recommending reforms including barring staff transfers between the Court and IOM, and adopting more transparent recruitment processes.
Keywords: International Criminal Court; Independent Oversight Mechanism; Assembly of States Parties; integrity principle; ICC governance; conflict of interest; institutional independence.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 20 February 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-252-2.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/164-leider/.
Topic: This brief explores the political, historical and imagined geographies that shape contrasting Buddhist and Muslim territorial perceptions of Arakan/Rakhine State. It traces Arakan’s shifting borders, the rise of Arakanese nationalism and the Arakan Army, and the layered Rohingya spatial identities, arguing that hidden territorial conflicts continue to undermine political co-operation among Rakhine’s diverse communities.
Keywords: Arakan; Rakhine State; Myanmar; Rohingya; historical geography; ethno-nationalism; Bangladesh-Myanmar border; Buddhist-Muslim relations.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 30 January 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-251-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/163-indonesia/.
Topic: This brief examines Indonesia’s entrenched culture of impunity since the 1998 reformasi era, analysing the dissonance between apparent legal progress and persistent accountability failures. It assesses the new 2023 Criminal Code’s treatment of international crimes, the contested jurisdiction of Indonesia’s human rights courts, the absence of war crimes provisions amid the Papua conflict, and Indonesia’s selective international engagement on accountability.
Keywords: Indonesia; impunity; gross human rights violations; Papua conflict; Rome Statute ratification; universal jurisdiction; Aceh Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2025
Published on 30 January 2025.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-250-8.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/162-iliopoulos/.
Topic: This brief documents the United States’ second genocide determination against the Rapid Support Forces, 20 years after the first Darfur genocide, amid widespread atrocities by both warring parties. The brief examines failures of civilian protection following withdrawal of the United Nations – African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), foreign actors fuelling the conflict (especially the UAE), and recommends expanded ICC jurisdiction, regional protection forces, targeted sanctions, and enforcement of the Genocide Convention.
Keywords: Darfur; genocide; Sudan war; Rapid Support Forces; Sudanese Armed Forces; UAE arms support; UNAMID withdrawal; Masalit ethnic cleansing.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2024
Published on 20 December 2024.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-249-2.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/161-song/.
Topic: This brief argues that case selection at the International Criminal Court is largely constrained by the availability of suspects and evidence rather than principled criteria. Using the Al Hassan case from Mali, the brief examines how the Office of the Prosecutor rationalizes opportunity-driven prosecutions through gravity, incremental ‘building upwards’ strategies, and thematic prosecution, risking proxy prosecution and motivated reasoning that serve institutional interests.
Keywords: ICC case selection; Al Hassan case; Mali situation; prosecutorial discretion; gravity threshold; thematic prosecution; gender-based crimes; institutional agency.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2024
Published on 20 December 2024.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-248-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/160-hosain/.
Topic: This brief evaluates Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal across two phases: its 2009 activation to prosecute 1971 liberation war atrocities, and its 2024 restructuring following the July–August uprising. The author analyses recent amendments expanding jurisdiction and enhancing fair-trial guarantees, while identifying remaining concerns including the death penalty, in absentia trials, and constitutional rights protections requiring further reform.
Keywords: International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh; 1971 Liberation War; 2024 Bangladesh uprising; Sheikh Hasina prosecution; ICT-BD Act amendments; domestic war crimes tribunals; fair trial standards.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2024
Published on 2 December 2024.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-246-1.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/159-dellavalle/.
Topic: This brief defines cosmopolitan law as comprising supra-state and global law that binds states beyond their consent, tracing its philosophical evolution from Stoic universalism through Kant to Kelsen. The brief argues that a communicative paradigm of social order – reconciling pluralism with universalism – provides the best foundation for cosmopolitan law, with implications for sovereignty, refugee rights, and international criminal law.
Keywords: Cosmopolitan law; social order; supra-state law; communicative paradigm; Kant perpetual peace; Hans Kelsen; legal pluralism; international constitutionalism.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2024
Published on 14 November 2024.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-245-4.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/158-savelsberg/.
Topic: This brief compares the 2003–2004 Darfur genocide with the current Sudanese crisis, drawing lessons from conflicting international responses across criminal justice, diplomacy, humanitarian aid, and military intervention. The brief argues that UNAMID’s premature withdrawal enabled renewed violence and proposes nine concrete measures, including pressuring the UAE, deploying a successor peacekeeping mission, and reviving ICC accountability efforts.
Keywords: Darfur genocide; Sudan civil war; Rapid Support Forces; Janjaweed; UNAMID withdrawal; Omar al-Bashir; humanitarian intervention.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2024
Published on 14 November 2024.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-244-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/157-bertram/.
Topic: This brief traces the historical evolution of ecocide from Galston’s 1970s coinage to Vanuatu, Samoa and Fiji’s September 2024 joint proposal to amend the ICC Statute. The brief examines definitional conundrums around wrongfulness thresholds, mens rea, and modes of liability, outlines procedural pathways at the ICC Assembly of States Parties, and emphasizes the political stakes for environmental and climate justice.
Keywords: Ecocide; environmental crimes; Rome Statute amendment; Independent Expert Panel definition; Vanuatu proposal; climate justice.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2024
Published on 14 November 2024.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-243-0.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/156-lile/.
Topic: This brief examines three Norwegian Supreme Court cases affecting Sámi indigenous rights: the Jovsset Ánte Sara reindeer herding case, the Fosen windfarm case, and the Karasjok land ownership case. The brief critiques the Court’s collective paternalism, the government’s failure to implement the Fosen judgment, and the recognition of traditional Sámi lands as state property, highlighting tensions with international indigenous rights law.
Keywords: Sámi rights; indigenous peoples Norway; Fosen wind farm case; Karasjok land ownership; ILO Convention 169; UNDRIP; Norwegian Supreme Court.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2024
Published on 23 October 2024.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-242-3.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/155-iliopoulos/.
Topic: This brief, drawing on the author’s work with the UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission, documents systematic crimes against humanity and war crimes in Libya, including the Tarhuna mass graves, torture in Mitiga prison, and abuses against migrants. The brief critiques the closure of the Fact-Finding Mission, examines obstacles to domestic and ICC accountability, and recommends new monitoring mechanisms, expanded ICC investigations, and international support.
Keywords: Libya accountability; Tarhuna mass graves; al-Kaniyat militia; Mitiga detention facility; migrant detention crimes; Independent Fact-Finding Mission; International Criminal Court.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2024
Published on 23 October 2024.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-241-6.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/154-abdeh-hauch/.
Topic: This brief documents Iran’s dual role as both facilitator and direct perpetrator of core international crimes in Syria, where the Assad regime and Iranian allies account for nearly 87 per cent of civilian deaths. The brief traces Iran’s military, political, and ideological embedding in Syria since 2011, arguing that comprehensive documentation of IRGC-affiliated militias and command structures is essential for future transitional justice.
Keywords: Iran–Syria intervention; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps; Bashar Assad regime; Axis of Resistance; Syrian civil war crimes; Hezbollah; transitional justice; Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2024
Published on 2 August 2024.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-240-9.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/153-klamberg/.
Topic: This brief analyses Sweden’s 2024 release of convicted war criminal Hamid Nouri in exchange for Iranian-held hostages, the first conviction of an Iranian official for post-1979 atrocity crimes. Examining how hostage-taking threatens universal jurisdiction, the brief proposes counter-strategies including travel advisories, burden-sharing among states, human rights litigation, collective bargaining, and prioritizing international tribunals over domestic proceedings.
Keywords: Universal jurisdiction; Hamid Nouri case; hostage diplomacy; Iran 1988 mass executions; Sweden international criminal law; consular assistance; war crimes prosecution; transnational accountability.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2024
Published on 21 June 2024.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-236-2.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/152-gupta/.
Topic: This brief distinguishes between Hinduism as a pluralistic religious tradition and Hindutva as an exclusivist political ideology, documenting how Hindutva leaders appropriate Hindu symbols to propagate hate speech against minorities, particularly Muslims, in contemporary India. The brief argues that influential Hindu religious leaders should use informal sanctions and public disapproval to counter divisive rhetoric and restore inclusive values.
Keywords: India; Hinduism; Hindutva; hate speech; religious pluralism; informal sanctions; Hindu nationalism; Ram Mandir; communal violence.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2024
Published on 21 June 2024.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-235-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/151-mubiala/.
Topic: This brief examines dispute-settlement frameworks for transboundary hydropower projects in Africa, comparing the 2015 Khartoum Declaration on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam with the 2020 ECCAS Convention on shared water resources. The brief argues that the ECCAS Convention offers a more institutionalized, binding framework that should guide the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Grand Inga project, advancing the ‘African Solutions for African Problems’ doctrine in international water law.
Keywords: Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam; Grand Inga Project; ECCAS Convention; Khartoum Declaration of Principles; international water law; Nile Basin; Congo Basin dispute settlement.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2024
Published on 21 June 2024.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-234-8.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/150-arnold/.
Topic: This brief documents systematic military violence against civilians in Myanmar’s Sagaing Region following the February 2021 coup. Drawing on data from nearly 40,000 conflict incidents, the brief shows that approximately 80 per cent of State Administrative Council attacks target civilian populations through arson, displacement, and airstrikes, while armed resistance forces demonstrate comparative discipline in targeting military rather than civilians.
Keywords: Myanmar; Sagaing Region; military coup; State Administrative Council; People’s Defence Forces; civilian targeting; armed resistance; mass displacement.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2024
Published on 23 May 2024.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-233-1.
ISBN Arabic: 978-82-8348-237-9.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/149-bergsmo/.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/149-bergsmo-arabic/.
Topic: This brief examines how religious prejudice and hatred obstructs peace-making and reconciliation diplomacy, focusing on Norwegian mediation involving Iran, Hamas, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The brief argues diplomats from secular societies must better understand religious actors, recognize practices of dissimulation (taqíyyih), resist inadvertent regime-prolongation, and confront atrocity denial. Genuine reconciliation demands deep country-expertise and regimes reconciling with their own populations.
Keywords: Peace diplomacy; religious hatred; reconciliation; dissimulation; genocide denial; Norway; Iran; Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2024
Published on 30 April 2024.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-232-4.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/148-donat-cattin/.
Topic: This brief reports on the United Nations’ Sixth Committee debate in April 2024 on the International Law Commission’s Draft Articles on Crimes Against Humanity, identifying four groups of states with varying positions. The brief analyses the status of crimes against humanity in international law and advocates moving from discussion to treaty negotiation, identifying opportunities to strengthen definitions on persecution, enforced disappearance, sexual violence, and gender apartheid.
Keywords: Crimes against humanity; International Law Commission; UN Sixth Committee; treaty negotiation; Rome Statute; gender apartheid; persecution.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2024
Published on 11 April 2024.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-231-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/147-tonkin/.
Topic: This brief critically examines the United Nations Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar’s March 2024 report on anti-Rohingya hate speech on Facebook. While supporting accountability efforts, the brief challenges historical and legal assertions about Rohingya identity, the 1982 Citizenship Law, and the ‘national races’ framework, arguing the report contains factual flaws and lacks balanced engagement with conflicting scholarly views.
Keywords: IIMM; Myanmar; Rohingya; hate speech; citizenship law; national races; Bengali designation; historical analysis.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2023
Published on 7 December 2023.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-222-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/146-governance/.
Topic: Building on the 2020 Independent Expert Review report, this brief critiques the governance practices of the International Criminal Court’s Assembly of States Parties. The brief identifies concerns regarding double standards and secondments in the Ukraine investigation, complementarity, capacity-building, information technology decisions, and the election and removal of high officials. It proposes including domestic judicial and prosecutorial administrators in State Party delegations to provide continuity, expertise, and lasting guardianship of the Rome Statute.
Keywords: International Criminal Court; Assembly of States Parties; Independent Expert Review; governance; complementarity; Ukraine investigation; judicial administration; integrity; quality control.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2023
Published on 16 August 2023.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-224-9.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/145-razavi/.
Topic: This brief examines Marx’s critique that religion alienates humans from their species-essence, building on Feuerbach. It identifies a doxastic weakness in this argument: rational epistemic agency requires internal justification of beliefs, which entails reflection on – and thereby recognition of – one’s species-essence. This challenges the claim that religion necessarily mediates and blocks such recognition.
Keywords: Karl Marx; religion; alienation; species-essence; Feuerbach; epistemic agency; doxastic voluntarism; hate speech.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2023
Published on 22 May 2023.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-223-2.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/144-leider/.
Topic: This brief examines the rise of the Arakan Army and United League of Arakan in Myanmar’s Rakhine State between 2020 and 2022, analysing their consolidation of territorial control, parallel administration, and complex relations with the National Unity Government, China, India, and Bangladesh. The brief assesses challenges including Rohingya repatriation, regional geopolitics, and the AA and ULA’s evolving role.
Keywords: Arakan Army; Rakhine State; Myanmar; Rohingya; ethnic armed organizations; China-India geopolitics; Kaladan Project; ethno-nationalism.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2022
Published on 16 December 2022.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-221-8.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/143-kyaw-tin/.
Topic: This brief argues that Buddhist teachings on ethical precepts, karma, remorse, and forgiveness could play a meaningful role in healing Myanmar’s fractured communities. Drawing on interviews with combatants and Buddhist traditions of conflict resolution, the brief proposes that alternative justice mechanisms grounded in Buddhist principles – alongside formal criminal proceedings – may better facilitate truth-telling, reconciliation, and community restoration.
Keywords: Myanmar; Buddhism; transitional justice; reconciliation; remorse; forgiveness; ethical precepts; combatants.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2022
Published on 16 December 2022.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-220-1.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/142-baul-tyagi/.
Topic: This brief analyses the Khalilur Rahman judgment, the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh’s first acquittal, where the accused’s young age (12 years old in 1971) was given decisive weight. The brief examines the Tribunal’s sentencing trends and argues this precedent demonstrates judicial willingness to protect minors from prosecution for international crimes, reflecting both domestic and international juvenile justice principles.
Keywords: International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh; juvenile justice; sentencing; minors; Liberation War; mens rea; war crimes.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2022
Published on 18 November 2022.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-219-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/141-cheah/.
Topic: This brief examines ASEAN states’ positions on universal jurisdiction, arguing that their sovereignty-related concerns reflect legitimate rule-of-law issues about the principle’s scope and implementation. The brief calls for ASEAN states to participate more actively in domestic, regional, and international discussions, clarifying universal jurisdiction through inclusive, legally-grounded engagement rather than dismissing such concerns.
Keywords: Universal jurisdiction; ASEAN; rule of law; state sovereignty; international criminal law; functional immunity; complementarity; Sixth Committee.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2022
Published on 9 November 2022.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-218-8.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/140-castellino/.
Topic: This brief proposes codifying an international crime of unjust enrichment to address colonial environmental destruction and ongoing climate harm. Shifting focus from victims’ loss to perpetrators’ gain, the author argues this approach – drawing from private law origins – could trace wealth extracted through colonial crimes and corporate exploitation, generating finance for climate justice and structural reparation.
Keywords: Unjust enrichment; colonial crime; environmental destruction; structural discrimination; reparations; indigenous peoples; climate justice; extractive economy.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2022
Published on 9 November 2022.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-217-1.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/139-mubiala/.
Topic: This brief argues that the failure to criminalize ecocide internationally has created an accountability gap for mass deforestation, particularly in the Amazon and Congo basins. Pending criminalization, the brief proposes adapting transitional justice principles – including truth, reparation, and restoration commissions – to address widespread human rights abuses affecting local and global victims of climate-related ecocide.
Keywords: Ecocide; mass deforestation; transitional justice; climate change; Congo basin; Amazon rainforest; international criminal law; victim-centric approach.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2022
Published on 7 October 2022.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-215-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/138-lokur-damojipurapu/.
Topic: This brief analyses the Supreme Court of India’s jurisprudence on hate speech and sedition, highlighting the absence of a clear definition of hate speech and the misuse of sedition laws to target dissent. The brief examines key judgments, distinguishes hate speech from sedition, and proposes introducing absolute liability for hate speech to ensure effective prosecution.
Keywords: India; Supreme Court of India; hate speech; sedition; free speech; Indian Penal Code, Section 124A.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2022
Published on 7 October 2022.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-216-4.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/137-aye/.
Topic: This brief traces the origins of Buddhism in Myanmar and examines the rise of Buddhist ultra-nationalism, particularly the Ma Ba Tha movement and anti-Muslim sentiment. Documenting the historical presence of Muslims in Rakhine, the brief highlights the role of religious leaders in mitigating hatred through inter-faith dialogue, education, and adherence to authentic religious teachings of peace and tolerance.
Keywords: Myanmar; Buddhist nationalism; Ma Ba Tha; Rohingya; anti-Muslim sentiment; Rakhine State; inter-faith dialogue; religious leaders.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2022
Published on 6 October 2022.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-214-0.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/136-gupta/.
Topic: This brief examines how international justice institutions – the United Nations, International Court of Justice, and International Criminal Court – have inadvertently undermined democratic forces in Myanmar following the February 2021 military coup. The brief critiques the deferral of credentials decisions in the UN, the ICJ’s continued engagement with the Tatmadaw, and the ICC’s delayed response to the National Unity Government’s Article 12(3) declaration.
Keywords: Myanmar coup; National Unity Government; Tatmadaw; International Court of Justice; International Criminal Court; UN credentials; democratic forces; Article 12(3) declaration.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2022
Published on 23 September 2022.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-210-2.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/135-goel/.
Topic: This brief maps the topography of power in international criminal justice, examining how diplomats, States Parties, and informal trans-governmental networks, including NGOs, wield influence over institutions like the International Criminal Court. Drawing on Indian experiences with international justice, this brief argues that unmasking power, especially through sociology of law analyses, is essential to strengthening institutional integrity and legitimacy.
Keywords: Power in international justice; Assembly of States Parties; NGO influence; India and ICC; ICC elections; trans-governmental networks; sociology of law.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2022
Published on 31 August 2022.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-149-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/134-gupta/.
Topic: Reflecting on the anthology ‘Colonial Wrongs and Access to International Law’, this brief examines how international law has failed to address colonial grievances, contributing to alienation of former colonies. The brief calls for reform of TWAIL pedagogy, reclamation of Third World agency in international law-making, and conflict-sensitive approaches to contemporary atrocities rooted in colonial legacies.
Keywords: Colonial wrongs; international law; Third World approaches (TWAIL); transitional justice; universal jurisdiction; legal pedagogy; decolonization.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2022
Published on 19 August 2022.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-146-4.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/133-gupta/.
Topic: Reflecting on CILRAP’s Integrity Project and the anthology ‘Integrity in International Justice’, this brief examines moral challenges facing international criminal institutions. Drawing parallels with Indian Supreme Court jurisprudence and Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy, the brief explores integrity in recruitment, whistleblowing, and institutional culture, urging the third ICC Prosecutor to uphold the legally-binding integrity standard.
Keywords: International Criminal Court; Moreno-Ocampo; whistleblowing; ICC Prosecutor; Mahatma Gandhi; institutional culture; legally-binding integrity standard.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2022
Published on 19 July 2022.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-144-0.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/132-damojipurapu/.
Topic: This brief analyses the alarming rise of hate speech and violence against Muslims in India in the name of Hinduism. It traces historical roots of Hindu nationalism, examines contemporary themes – including ‘othering’ of Muslims, jihád-suffixed labels, calls for genocide, and ghar wapsi programmes – and proposes engaging de facto religious leaders for self-regulation.
Keywords: Hate speech; India; Hindu nationalism; Muslim minorities; Hindutva; jihád; communal violence; religious leaders.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2022
Published on 1 July 2022.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-145-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/131-stahn/.
Topic: This brief argues that international criminal justice must transcend institutional silos to form an ‘invisible community of courts’ united in diversity. It examines institutional lesson-learning, adjudicative culture, and procedural innovation, advocating for collaborative practices, transparency, engagement with non-legal experts, and meaningful integration of domestic courts to strengthen the international justice project.
Keywords: International criminal justice; invisible community of courts; institutional learning; adjudicative culture; Kosovo Specialist Chambers; tribunalism; procedural innovation; judicial co-operation.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2022
Published on 1 July 2022.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-143-3.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/130-tonkin/.
Topic: This brief critically assesses the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s exhibition ‘Burma’s Path to Genocide’, challenging Secretary Anthony Blinken’s March 2022 genocide determination and the exhibition’s historical narrative. The brief disputes claims regarding Rohingya history, Operation Naga Min, the 1982 Citizenship Law, and U Nu’s recognition, urging revision to eliminate historical revisionism and facilitate reconciliation.
Keywords: Rohingya; Myanmar; genocide determination; Holocaust Memorial Museum; Burma citizenship law; historical narrative; Arakan history.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2022
Published on 16 March 2022.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-147-1.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/129-einarsen-rikhof/.
Topic: This brief argues that the ICC Prosecutor can effectively prosecute Russian leadership, including President Vladimir Putin, for the crime of aggression against Ukraine through an indirect gateway. By incorporating aggression into the ‘gravity context’ of war crimes and crimes against humanity charges, the Court can attribute leadership responsibility through co-perpetration and common purpose doctrines.
Keywords: Crime of aggression; Russia-Ukraine war; International Criminal Court; Vladimir Putin; war crimes; crimes against humanity; co-perpetration; Rome Statute.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2022
Published on 4 March 2022.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-148-8.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/128-leider/.
Topic: This brief examines the rise of the Arakan Army and its political branch, the United League of Arakan, as the dominant force in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. It traces the AA’s military growth, ideological foundations rooted in anti-Burmanization sentiment, nation-building efforts, and the challenges it faces from internal divisions and international recognition.
Keywords: Arakan Army; Rakhine State; Myanmar; ethnic armed organization; Burmanization; Arakanese nationalism; Rohingya; ethnic conflict.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2022
Published on 21 January 2022.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-165-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/127-mubiala/.
Topic: This brief examines climate change and mass deforestation in the Congo Basin, arguing that a human and peoples’ rights-based approach to international co-operation can reconcile forest conservation with development. Mubiala analyses regional mechanisms (COMIFAC, CAFI), the role of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and proposes ‘transformative deforestation’ and criminalization of ecocide to address impunity.
Keywords: Congo Basin; mass deforestation; climate change; rights-based approach; REDD+; ecocide; carbon emissions trading.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2021
Published on 28 October 2021.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-163-1.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/126-seroussi-leibovici/.
Topic: This brief explores how art and social sciences can expand legal officers’ methodological repertoire at the International Criminal Court. Drawing on the Katanga and Ngudjolo trial, the brief describes prototype devices like muzungu that re-arrange evidence visually, enabling judges to contextualize crimes, uncover latent content in documents, and foster cultural exchanges with affected communities.
Keywords: International Criminal Court; documentary investigation; visual arts and law; Katanga case; evidence analysis; analogue tools; ICC Legal Tools Database.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2021
Published on 27 September 2021.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-164-8.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/125-subasic/.
Topic: This brief examines how Republika Srpska authorities have systematically denied justice to non-Serb victims of 1992–1995 atrocities, including Srebrenica and Prijedor, through interlocking political, ideological, and moral denial. It advocates grounding redress policies in humanistic human rights foundations and the United Nations Basic Principles and Guidelines on reparation.
Keywords: Srebrenica genocide denial; Prijedor ethnic cleansing; Bosnia Herzegovina transitional justice; right to reparation; human dignity.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 9 December 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-162-4.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/124-saha/.
Topic: Drawing on cases from the Ayeyarwady Delta around 1900, this brief argues that corruption in colonial Myanmar was not an aberration but intrinsic to the legal system itself. Through examples of headmen’s land grabs, falsified records, and Inspector Fakir Pakiri’s fabrications, it suggests reframing anti-corruption policy toward managed coexistence.
Keywords: Colonial Burma corruption; Ayeyarwady Delta land grabbing; village headmen misconduct; police bribery; legal history; anti-corruption policy.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 9 December 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-161-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/123-leider/.
Topic: This brief examines the foundational period of Rohingya political and cultural identity (c.1947–1964) in North Arakan, tracing the Jamiat ul-Ulema’s 1948 welcome address, the Mujahid rebellion, lobbying for autonomy, Ba Tha’s historicizing narratives, and the short-lived Mayu Frontier Administration, showing how territorialization and self-identification emerged amid contestation.
Keywords: Rohingya identity; Rohingya territorialization; Ba Tha Roewengyas; U Nu Arakan State; post-independence Burma Muslims.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 9 November 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-160-0.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/122-brett-kyh/.
Topic: This brief contextualizes Myanmar’s 1982 Citizenship Law as a post-colonial nation-building response to colonial-era migration anxieties, without excusing its discriminatory effects. It analyses Ne Win’s rationale, the three-tier citizenship system, the rise of taing-yin-tha, and recommends three pragmatic reforms to dismantle institutionalized discrimination and statelessness while addressing emotional resistance.
Keywords: Myanmar; 1982 Burma Citizenship Law; statelessness; national races; nation-building; associate naturalized citizens; colonial-era immigration; citizenship law reform.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 9 November 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-159-4.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/121-mohammad/.
Topic: This brief outlines how the 2017 Rohingya influx into Bangladesh has triggered severe environmental degradation in Cox’s Bazar, destroying 4,818 acres of reserved forest and threatening biodiversity in Teknaf and Ukhiya. It further examines deforestation impacts, evaluates UNHCR’s Environment Guidelines, invokes the Convention on Biological Diversity, and urges Myanmar–Bangladesh co-operation to mitigate environmental harm.
Keywords: Rohingya refugees; Cox’s Bazar; deforestation; refugee environmental impact; host government; biodiversity loss.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 9 November 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-158-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/120-song/.
Topic: Amid external accountability initiatives against the Tatmadaw, this brief argues that self-accountability for war crimes serves Myanmar military’s own interests. It identifies nine self-interests spanning internal order, operational advantage, professionalization, justice-system capacity, command responsibility, pre-empting international scrutiny, legitimacy, counter-insurgency success, and peace, while cautioning against cover-up temptations.
Keywords: Myanmar; military self-accountability; Tatmadaw war crimes; military justice system; ICC complementarity; courts-martial; superior responsibility; counter-insurgency legitimacy.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 16 July 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-157-0.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/119-munir/.
Topic: From a Bangladesh perspective, this brief explores Rakhine’s geopolitical significance, identifying opportunities for connectivity through proposed roads and railways linking to Yunnan, the BCIM Economic Corridor, the Matarbari and Kyaukphyu ports, energy access, contract farming, and security co-operation. It emphasizes that resolving the Rohingya crisis is prerequisite to unlocking regional economic potential.
Keywords: Bangladesh-Myanmar relations; Rakhine geopolitics; BCIM Economic Corridor; Matarbari Port; Kyaukphyu Port; Bangladesh-Myanmar Friendship Line; Rohingya repatriation; blue economy.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 11 July 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-156-3.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/118-jacobs/.
Topic: This brief critiques heavy reliance on human rights fact-finding reports in international criminal proceedings concerning Myanmar, identifying methodological flaws including limited access to evidence, fact-finder bias, unverifiable anonymous hearsay, and questionable legal determinations. It warns that uncritical use of such reports risks producing oversimplified narratives unfit for criminal accountability.
Keywords: Fact-finding reports; criminal proceedings methodology; Myanmar ICC investigation; human rights commissions; evidence reliability; anonymous hearsay; UN Fact-Finding Mission.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 2 August 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-155-6.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/117-bais/.
Topic: This brief examines factors shaping India’s response to the Rohingya crisis, including historical migration patterns, the National Register of Citizens controversy in Assam, domestic political dynamics, and geopolitical interests vis-à-vis Myanmar, Bangladesh, and China. It outlines India’s three-pronged strategy: deterring Rohingya entry, supporting Bangladesh’s hosting, and incentivizing Rakhine peace and development.
Keywords: India; Rohingya; National Register of Citizens; Assam Accords; Bangladeshi immigrants; India-Myanmar relations; Act East Policy; Rakhine State Development Programme; refugee deportation.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 3 August 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-154-9.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/116-chan/.
Topic: Using the Myanmar case before the International Court of Justice as a reference, this brief identifies a ‘compassion gap’ in international justice that risks entrenching ‘us-versus-them’ dichotomies between victims and alleged victimizers. It advocates a ‘compassionate mindset’ – grounded in reason rather than mere empathy – that honours all parties’ grievances, supports positive complementarity, and resists oversimplified narratives.
Keywords: Compassion international justice; Gambia v. Myanmar; genocide ICJ; victims–perpetrators; positive complementarity; us-versus-them; ICC; new jus gentium.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 15 July 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-153-2.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/115-stahn/.
Topic: A decade after the 2010 Kampala stocktaking, this brief critiques the International Criminal Court’s strict ‘same person, same conduct’ admissibility test as overly state-restrictive and proposes reforms including contextual interpretation and ‘qualified deference’ to national jurisdictions. It also proposes an Assembly of States Parties Task Force on Complementarity to facilitate dialogue, completion strategies, and constructive engagement.
Keywords: ICC complementarity; admissibility challenges; Kampala stocktaking; qualified deference; same conduct test; Assembly of States Parties; positive complementarity; non-State Parties.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 29 July 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-151-8.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/114-bergsmo/.
Topic: Drawing on Richard Susskind’s insights into technology and the legal profession, this brief argues for sharing legal expertise in the public commons. It traces the ICC Legal Tools Database, Lexsitus, and the Case Law Database, advocating decomposition of legal work-processes to enable knowledge engineering, positive complementarity, and improved access to international criminal law.
Keywords: ICC Legal Tools Database; Lexsitus; legal technology; free access to law; knowledge management law; legal commons; digital public goods.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 2 July 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-152-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/113-angotti/.
Topic: This brief explores how the concept of genocide is uniquely embedded in Bangladesh’s national history, criminal law, civil society, and constitutionalism following the 1971 Liberation War. Examining the International Crimes Tribunals, the Liberation War Museum, and Bangladesh’s leading role in the Rohingya case at the International Court of Justice, it cautions against international instrumentalization of Bangladeshi genocide sentiment.
Keywords: Bangladesh; Pakistan; 1971 Liberation War; International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh; Liberation War Museum; genocide definition; Rohingya genocide; Gambia v. Myanmar; OIC; Operation Searchlight.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 18 June 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-094-8.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/112-liang/.
Topic: This brief explores how culture, ideology and politics shape China’s conception of international humanitarian law. Confucian just-war thought and the ‘Army of Benevolence and Justice’, Marxist proletarian internationalism, and political concerns over sovereignty and international reputation together explain China’s strong humanitarian commitments alongside conservative positions on non-international armed conflict and war crimes.
Keywords: China; international humanitarian law; Confucianism; just war theory; Marxist proletarian internationalism; People’s Liberation Army; State sovereignty; non-international armed conflict.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 16 June 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-095-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/111-leider/.
Topic: This brief examines five cyclical mass departures of Muslims from northern Rakhine to Bangladesh between 1942 and 1992, demonstrating recurring patterns of violence, displacement, and contested repatriation. It situates the 2017 exodus within a longer transnational history shaped by borderland mobility, demographic change, state militarization, ethnicization of politics, and chronic failure of durable solutions.
Keywords: Rohingya mass departures; Rakhine-Bangladesh border; Arakan; Mujahid rebellion; Operation Nagamin 1978; 1991-1992 exodus; cyclical displacement; transnational migration history.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 19 June 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-140-2.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/110-benestad/.
Topic: Ahead of the first United Nations General Assembly Special Session on corruption, this brief argues for recognizing ‘grand corruption’ as a distinct global priority. It traces evolving international consensus, evaluates whether prosecutions could occur at the International Criminal Court, and proposes concrete measures including potentially an International Anti-Corruption Court to address impunity for kleptocracy.
Keywords: Grand corruption; UN Convention against Corruption; UNGASS 2021; International Anti-Corruption Court; kleptocracy; Sustainable Development Goals; Lima Statement; Oslo Statement.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 10 June 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-139-6.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/109-sun-yun/.
Topic: This brief analyses Rakhine State’s pivotal role in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, particularly through the Sino-Myanmar oil and gas pipelines and the Kyaukphyu deep-sea port project. It examines China’s strategic interest in Indian Ocean access, the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, security concerns regarding Rohingya refugees, and Chinese responses to the Rakhine crisis.
Keywords: China-Myanmar Economic Corridor; Kyaukphyu Port; Belt and Road Initiative; Sino-Myanmar pipelines; Malacca Dilemma; Yunnan-Rakhine; Indian Ocean strategy; Rohingya.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 4 June 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-093-1.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/108-mubiala/.
Topic: This brief assesses the African Union’s co-ordinated response to Covid-19 through the Africa Centres for Disease Control, examining its alignment with AU goals, role as a continental co-operation forum, and operationalization of the 2012 African Solidarity Initiative (‘Africa Helping Africa’). It argues these efforts demonstrate good practice and crystallize an emerging ‘Responsibility to Assist’ principle.
Keywords: African Union; Covid-19 Pandemic; Africa CDC; African Solidarity Initiative; Responsibility to Assist (R2A); pandemic governance; African human rights; regional health co-operation.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 22 May 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-092-4.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/107-nakanishi-angotti/.
Topic: This brief introduces the Arakan Army, a Buddhist-led ethnic armed organization founded in 2009 that has become one of Myanmar’s most formidable insurgent groups. It analyses its origins in Rakhine nationalism, organizational structure, funding, weaponry, military tactics, political aspirations of confederation, and complex relations with both the Myanmar military and Rohingya militants.
Keywords: Myanmar; Arakan Army; Rakhine nationalism; ethnic armed organizations; Arakan Dream; United Wa State Army; Kachin Independence Organisation; Rakhine insurgency.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 19 May 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-091-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/106-bhaumik/.
Topic: This brief traces the origins, design, and challenges of India’s USD 484 million Kaladan Multi-Modal Transport Project, linking Kolkata to India’s Northeast via Myanmar’s Sittwe Port. It examines geopolitical motivations vis-à-vis China’s Belt and Road Initiative, project delays, environmental concerns, and disruptions caused by the Arakan Army insurgency in Rakhine.
Keywords: Northeast India; Kaladan Project; India-Myanmar connectivity; Sittwe Port; Act East Policy; Siliguri Corridor; Arakan Army; Belt and Road initiative.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 8 May 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-090-0.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/105-sometaya/.
Topic: Drawing on extensive on-the-ground reporting, this brief exposes intra-community violence and oppression within Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, including ARSA intimidation of Hindus and Muslims wanting to repatriate, killings, drug trafficking, prostitution, and educational deprivation. It complicates simplified narratives, illustrating how militant groups, governmental policies, and lawlessness compound refugee suffering.
Keywords: Cox’s Bazar refugee camps; Myanmar; ARSA; Rohingya refugees; intra-community violence; Hindu refugees; drug trafficking; repatriation obstacles.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 2 May 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-089-4.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/104-song/.
Topic: Applying responsive regulation theory to international criminal law, this brief proposes a pyramid model for ‘positive complementarity’ starting with dialogue and capacity-building before escalation. Focusing on Myanmar’s emerging domestic accountability steps following ICC investigation authorization, it urges the ICC Prosecutor to acknowledge positive developments and offer constructive support rather than silence or premature externalization.
Keywords: Positive complementarity; Myanmar; responsive regulation; Rakhine accountability; ICC Office of the Prosecutor; ICOE; non-State Parties ICC; restorative justice pyramid.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 25 April 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-088-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/103-tandon/.
Topic: Using the 2012 Delhi gang rape (‘Nirbhaya’) case, this brief exposes how India’s post-conviction remedies – review petitions, curative petitions, mercy petitions, and judicial review – were abused by convicts to delay execution for years. It calls for streamlined timelines, consolidated procedural codes, and enhanced quality control to prevent vexatious litigation undermining timely justice.
Keywords: India; Nirbhaya case; Delhi gang rape; post-conviction remedies; death penalty; curative petition; mercy petition; quality control; criminal justice.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 10 April 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-087-0.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/102-tonkin/.
Topic: This brief critiques the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar for exceeding its mandate, engaging the Security Council without authority, and producing reports marred by historical bias and factual inaccuracies. Comparing it with Myanmar’s Independent Commission of Enquiry, the brief argues misplaced reliance on the Mission undermines genuine prospects for peace and Rohingya repatriation.
Keywords: United Nations; Fact-Finding Mission Myanmar; Rohingya crisis; mission creep; Security Council; Independent Commission of Enquiry; Marzuki Darusman; U Thein Sein; fact-finding methodology.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 7 April 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-086-3.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/101-leider/.
Topic: This brief examines the 1942–1943 communal violence in Arakan, when collapsing British rule and Japanese invasion triggered mutual mass killings between Buddhists and Muslims. It traces demographic, economic, and political roots, shows how Japanese and British military authorities condoned persecution for strategic ends, and argues this unexamined legacy shaped modern Rakhine ethnic identities and hostilities.
Keywords: Arakan 1942 riots; Rakhine history; Burma Independence Army; Chittagonian migration; Rohingya; World War II; Burma; communal violence; Bengal borderlands.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 12 February 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-166-2.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/100-vasconcelos/.
Topic: This brief discusses how Brazil remains the only South American country whose dictatorship-era (1964–1985) agents have escaped accountability, shielded by a 1979 amnesty law. It examines the failures of truth, justice, and reconciliation efforts, links current authoritarian resurgence to unprocessed past atrocities, and proposes naming-and-shaming strategies and international pressure to compel meaningful transitional justice.
Keywords: Brazil dictatorship; transitional justice; amnesty law; National Truth Commission (CNV); Inter-American Court of Human Rights; Bolsonaro; crimes against humanity; reconciliation.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 12 February 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-167-9.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/99-deforestation/.
Topic: Amid burning rainforests in the Amazon and South East Asia, this brief examines international law’s role in preventing mass deforestation. Drawing on sic utere, the no-harm rule, customary transboundary harm doctrine and the precautionary principle, it argues States owe duties to neighbours and the international community, justifying countermeasures, sanctions and targeting elite enablers.
Keywords: Mass deforestation; Amazon rainforest; transboundary environmental harm; sic utere tuo ut alienum non laedas; precautionary principle; State sovereignty; climate change; international environmental law.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2020
Published on 19 February 2020.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-084-9.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/98-jancso-butler/.
Topic: Building on peacebuilding and trauma scholarship, this brief argues that lyric poetry possesses generically specific resources – melos, opsis, triangulated address and brevity – for confronting atrocity without instrumentalizing victims. Through close reading of Michael Longley’s ‘The Ice-Cream Man’, it shows how lyric poetry integrates the aesthetic and ethical to facilitate reconciliation.
Keywords: Reconciliation; lyric poetry; trauma; peacebuilding; Northern Ireland; arts; transitional justice; aesthetics; ethics.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2019
Published on 1 May 2019.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-083-2.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/97-jean-baptiste/.
Topic: Drawing on a three-year study including field research in the Central African Republic, this brief argues that the ICC has not realized its deterrent potential against mass atrocity. It urges significantly improved outreach – by the Court, civil society, humanitarian organizations and the United Nations – including engagement during preliminary examinations and with armed groups.
Keywords: International Criminal Court; deterrence; mass atrocity; Central African Republic; Séléka; Anti-Balaka; outreach strategy; civil society.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2019
Published on 14 May 2019.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-080-1.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/96-kaleck-schueller/.
Topic: This brief depicts the increasing exercise of universal jurisdiction, especially regarding Syria, by drawing on German structural investigations under the Code of Crimes Against International Law and the work of ECCHR and Syrian partners. It contrasts the ‘no safe haven’ and ‘global enforcer’ approaches, urging legislative reform, complementary preparedness and equal application across so-called powerful and weak states.
Keywords: Universal jurisdiction; Syria; Germany; Code of Crimes Against International Law; structural investigations; ECCHR; complementary preparedness; global enforcer approach.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2019
Published on 6 April 2019.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-082-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/95-dubey-rai/.
Topic: This brief traces India’s evolving stance on the United Nations’ collective security mandate and the veto power. As a founding UN member and emerging power, India has consistently advocated curtailing or equitably extending the veto, Security Council reform, peaceful dispute settlement, and full realization of Article 43 through a permanent UN force.
Keywords: India; collective security; veto power; Security Council reform; G4 nations; responsibility to protect; permanent UN force.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2019
Published on 31 January 2019.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-081-8.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/94-bergsmo/.
Topic: Introducing CILRAP’s Quality Control in Criminal Investigation Project after the Gbagbo acquittal, this brief identifies seven systemic bottlenecks in fact-rich criminal investigations – including loss of evidence overview, weak factual analysis, vague responsibility formulation, cumulative charging, evidence overload and disclosure burdens – and invites multidisciplinary work on improved investigative work-processes.
Keywords: Quality control; criminal investigations; core international crimes; ICC Office of the Prosecutor; investigation plans; evidence review; case preparation; prosecutorial work-processes.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2018
Published on 6 August 2018.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-079-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/93-bergsmo/.
Topic: Introducing the CILRAP–Nuremberg Academy Integrity Project, this brief revisits the statutory requirements of ‘integrity’ and ‘high moral character’ for officials of international courts. It examines the responsibilities of ICC States Parties, institutional safeguards, individual professional standards, and the relationship between integrity and independence, urging renewed emphasis amid growing scrutiny.
Keywords: Integrity; high moral character; international criminal justice; ethics; International Criminal Court; States Parties; independence; international civil service.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2018
Published on 6 April 2018.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-078-8.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/92-bell/.
Topic: This brief reviews why progress on prosecutions is lagging a decade after Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted its 2008 National War Crimes Strategy, discussing case overview, prioritization, sexual violence prosecutions, political interference and outreach, and recommending strategy revision, thematic prosecution of sexual violence and the introduction of abbreviated criminal procedures.
Keywords: Bosnia and Herzegovina; National War Crimes Strategy; case backlog; prioritization criteria; thematic prosecution; sexual violence; outreach; abbreviated criminal procedures.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2018
Published on 28 March 2018.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-077-1.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/91-angotti/.
Topic: Mass atrocity prosecutions often produce caseload backlogs that risk de facto impunity. This brief outlines the aims and features of human rights-compliant abbreviated criminal procedures for core international crimes, drawing on Italy’s giudizio abbreviato and comparative examples from England, France, Germany and Spain, and argues for their wider adoption.
Keywords: Abbreviated criminal procedures; core international crimes; judicial economy; comparative criminal procedure; rights of the accused; case backlogs; fair trial.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2018
Published on 25 March 2018.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-071-9.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/90-lu/.
Topic: Analysing China’s statements in United Nations Security Council meetings on Kosovo, Libya, and Syria, this brief examines China’s application of the Charter’s collective security system. It argues that, as a permanent member and responsible major country, China should actively avoid counterproductive authorizations of force and more vigorously exploit the pacific settlement potential of Chapter VI.
Keywords: Collective security; UN Security Council; China; use of force authorization; Chapter VII; humanitarian intervention; pacific settlement of disputes.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2018
Published on 20 March 2018.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-072-6.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/89-goransky/.
Topic: This brief reflects on Argentina’s prosecutions of dictatorship-era crimes since 1983, arguing that ‘reconciliation’ between perpetrators and victims has neither been embraced nor achieved. Yet the trials have produced a broader structural reconciliation, subjecting the armed forces to civilian-constitutional authority and consolidating the rule of law in democratic Argentina.
Keywords: Argentina; dictatorship trials; transitional justice; reconciliation; crimes against humanity; amnesty laws; civilian-military relations.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2018
Published on 6 February 2018.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-075-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/88-ferencz/.
Topic: This brief recounts the December 2017 activation of the ICC’s jurisdiction over the crime of aggression, achieved after Kampala compromises and last-minute negotiations that narrowed jurisdictional reach. It criticizes Britain and France for resisting ratification and urges civil society to work towards closing remaining loopholes to ensure powerful leaders cannot escape accountability.
Keywords: Crime of aggression; International Criminal Court; Kampala amendments; Rome Statute; Nuremberg legacy; ICC Assembly of States Parties.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2018
Published on 17 January 2018.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-076-4.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/87-udayachandran/.
Topic: This brief argues that India, though an outlier outside the Non-Proliferation Treaty, has acted as a responsible nuclear state through a ‘no-first-use’ posture and a moratorium on testing. It urges India to lead global nuclear disarmament by ratifying the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty, supporting fissile material cut-off, and de-legitimizing nuclear weapons.
Keywords: Nuclear weapons; India; non-proliferation; disarmament; Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty; no-first-use; Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2017
Published on 22 November 2017.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-073-3.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/86-four-directors/.
Topic: Reflecting on the ICC’s founding promise in Rome, this brief details troubling revelations about first Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, including post-tenure conflicts of interest and a culture of intimidation within the Office. It urges States Parties to honour the Statute’s integrity requirement and call for a credible inquiry to restore trust.
Keywords: International Criminal Court; Office of the Prosecutor; Luis Moreno-Ocampo; integrity; Rome Statute; Independent Oversight Mechanism; institutional accountability.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2017
Published on 28 December 2017.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-074-0.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/85-nortje/.
Topic: This brief examines South Africa’s 2015 failure to arrest Sudan’s Omar Al-Bashir and the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber’s subsequent rulings on Head of State immunity under Articles 27(2) and 98(1) of the Rome Statute. It warns that South Africa’s renewed withdrawal threat would seriously damage international criminal justice in Africa.
Keywords: Omar Al-Bashir; South Africa; Head of State immunity; Rome Statute; ICC withdrawal; Africa and the ICC; genocide.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2017
Published on 12 November 2017.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-069-6.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/84-sabeti/.
Topic: This brief documents Iran’s nearly four-decade systematic exclusion of Bahá’ís from higher education, embedded in the Constitution and implemented through dismissals, expulsions, religious-affiliation application forms, and covert administrative filtering. It describes the resilient underground Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education and calls on Iranians and the international community to end this persecution.
Keywords: Bahá’í community; Iran; higher education; religious minorities; systemic discrimination; cultural cleansing.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2017
Published on 8 November 2017.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-070-2.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/83-obel-hansen/.
Topic: This brief analyses dilemmas facing the ICC Prosecutor in the Iraq–United Kingdom preliminary examination: the scope of crimes scrutinized, application of the ‘reasonable basis to believe’ threshold, and complementarity assessment of UK proceedings. It warns that institutional caution and British resistance – including IHAT’s closure – risk undermining accountability for crimes by major powers.
Keywords: International Criminal Court; preliminary examination; Iraq war crimes; United Kingdom; complementarity; major power accountability.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2017
Published on 19 May 2017.
ISBN English: 978-82-8348-067-2.
ISBN Chinese: 978-82-8348-068-9.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/82-brichambaut/.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/82-brichambaut-cn/.
Topic: Drawing on the EU’s regional integration experiment, this brief maps five domains – global norms, markets, peace and security, the human dimension, and global commons – where China and Europe can jointly shape the international legal order. It argues that, despite divergences over sovereignty and human rights, sustained Sino-European co-operation is indispensable to managing globalization’s legal challenges.
Keywords: China-EU co-operation; international legal order; globalization; multilateralism; global commons; WTO and FTAs; Paris Agreement.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2017
Published on 22 May 2017.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-066-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/81-singh/.
Topic: This brief traces United Nations efforts to suppress terrorism from the League of Nations through sectoral conventions, regional treaties, and post-9/11 instruments. It examines reasons for the stalled negotiations on the draft Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism – particularly definitional disputes, self-determination carve-outs, and the question of state terrorism – urging compromise to complete the global counter-terrorism legal framework.
Keywords: International terrorism; counter-terrorism; Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism; definition of terrorism; state terrorism; self-determination; prosecute or extradite.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2017
Published on 13 May 2017.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-065-8.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/80-greve/.
Topic: This brief argues that core international crimes carry destructive consequences requiring criminal justice responses grounded in the rule of law; thus, impunity, compensation alone, or truth and reconciliation mechanisms cannot substitute for prosecution. It maintains that, where overwhelming caseloads follow armed conflict, abbreviated criminal procedures offer an indispensable tool for accountability.
Keywords: Rule of law; core international crimes; abbreviated criminal procedures; impunity; right to remedy; fair trial; post-conflict accountability; primum non nocere.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2017
Published on 25 March 2017.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-108-2.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/79-kotecha/.
Topic: This brief explores reconciliation’s conceptual complexity – its thin versus thick definitions, locations (individual, political, societal), and relationship to transitional justice. It examines claims that international criminal trials contribute to reconciliation, critiquing both restorative approaches (apology, plea agreements) and retributive ones, emphasizing the need for conceptual clarity and culturally embedded legitimacy.
Keywords: Reconciliation; international criminal trials; transitional justice; ICTY; ICC; Plavšić case; restorative versus retributive justice.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2017
Published on 9 May 2017.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-110-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/78-kerr/.
Topic: This brief argues for reconceptualizing reconciliation’s ‘impact’ as ‘engagement’, opening space for art and cultural practices as creative pathways to social repair. Examining cases from Asia and Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, it explores how artistic interventions foster dialogue and accommodate paradox, while acknowledging tensions with transitional justice’s evidentiary demands.
Keywords: Reconciliation; art and transitional justice; Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission; creative peacebuilding; dialogue and engagement; social repair; cultural interventions; trauma and healing.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2017
Published on 22 May 2017.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-177-8.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/77-lohne/.
Topic: Through global ethnography of NGOs advocating for the International Criminal Court, this brief examines the materialities and imaginaries of international criminal justice-making. It reveals tensions between ‘global’ rhetoric and situated practices dominated by Western professionals, and contextualizes the ICC’s legitimacy crisis within geopolitical shifts from unipolar universalism toward multipolar contestation.
Keywords: Human rights NGOs; global civil society; Coalition for the ICC; cosmopolitan penal imaginary; legitimacy crisis; global ethnography; victim representation.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2017
Published on 25 March 2017.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-049-8.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/76-chao/.
Topic: This brief argues that the internal relocation principle, conventionally tied to refugee status inclusion under Article 1(A)(2) of the 1951 Refugee Convention, should also apply to cessation under Article 1(C)(5)–(6). Its legitimacy derives from the surrogate nature of international refugee protection, governing both inclusion and cessation consistently.
Keywords: Internal relocation principle; 1951 Refugee Convention; cessation of refugee status; surrogate protection; UNHCR Guidelines; internal flight alternative; non-refoulement; reasonableness test.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 24 October 2016.
ISBN English: 978-82-8348-060-3.
ISBN Arabic: 978-82-8348-063-4.
ISBN Chinese: 978-82-8348-064-1.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/75-allott.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/75-allott-arabic.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/75-allott-chinese.
Topic: This brief reflects on the human condition, arguing that humanity creates its world through the activity of the mind. It addresses contemporary fatalism, the disappearing individual self, the functions of education and society, and calls for a New Enlightenment to revitalize philosophy, law, and humanity’s self-conscious betterment.
Keywords: Philosophy of law; human condition; social idealism; New Enlightenment; international society; self-consciousness; autonomic social systems; humanities and education.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 16 November 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-059-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/74-mubiala.
Topic: This brief analyses the Habré case and the emergence of an African ‘regional jurisdiction’ over international crimes. It highlights how, through the African Extraordinary Chambers, the Malabo Protocol, and the African Union’s transitional justice framework, the AU may be developing a regional alternative to universal jurisdiction that may effectively complement but also challenge the ICC.
Keywords: Hissène Habré case; African Union; regional jurisdiction; universal jurisdiction; African Extraordinary Chambers; Malabo Protocol; ICC and Africa; head-of-state immunity.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 29 August 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-058-0.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/73-mirzaagha.
Topic: This brief explores the meaning of reconciliation within and beyond legal frameworks, tracing its religious, philosophical, and political roots. While reconciliation enjoys legitimacy in academic and legal discourse, it lacks a binding international legal definition. The brief calls for further research and consideration of related concepts like unity for post-conflict societies.
Keywords: Reconciliation; transitional justice; post-conflict societies; restitutio in integrum; international peace and security; truth commissions; Hegelian philosophy; restorative justice.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 16 November 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-061-0.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/72-qiao.
Topic: This brief examines China’s evolving position toward the International Criminal Court. While China maintains reservations rooted in State sovereignty, non-conditionality, and concerns over selective enforcement in Africa, emerging trends – pragmatic diplomacy, economic interests in Africa, and domestic judicial reform – suggest growing compatibility and potential for deeper co-operation with the ICC.
Keywords: China and the ICC; State sovereignty; non-conditionality principle; Chinese foreign policy; Africa-China relations; Rome Statute negotiations; selective enforcement.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 29 August 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-057-3.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/71-ng.
Topic: This brief examines the growth of open access tools in international criminal law, from the ICC Legal Tools Database to newer initiatives like the Singapore War Crimes Trials Web Portal. It argues that such resources democratize legal knowledge and historical heritage, enabling broader public education and engagement beyond specialist audiences.
Keywords: Open access tools; international criminal law; ICC Legal Tools Database; Singapore War Crimes Trials; public legal education; legal heritage; intellectual commons; digital democratization of knowledge.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 16 November 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-062-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/70-nakhjavani.
Topic: Drawing on South Africa’s transitional experience, this brief introduces ‘constitutional coherence’ as a process norm and examines Iran’s Constitution through its treatment of the Bahá’í community. It shows how constitutional provisions legitimize systematic persecution, exposing a fundamental incoherence between aspirational text and lived reality for Iran’s largest religious minority.
Keywords: Iran; constitutional coherence; Iranian Constitution; Bahá’í community; religious minorities; persecution; rule of law; freedom of religion.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 29 August 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-048-1.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/69-deng.
Topic: This brief examines how international human rights law has advanced the right to a fair trial in China through both legislative reform – particularly the 2012 Criminal Procedure Law amendments incorporating presumption of innocence – and law enforcement improvements including illegal evidence exclusion, judicial transparency, and state compensation, despite China’s non-ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Keywords: China; right to a fair trial; criminal procedure law; presumption of innocence; China and ICCPR; exclusion of illegal evidence; international human rights law; Chinese criminal justice.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 27 June 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-047-4.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/68-liu.
Topic: Distinguishing between ‘intrinsic dignity’ achieved through social and political practice and ‘extrinsic dignity’ as an abstract attribute, this brief critiques the modern human rights movement’s reliance on the latter. The brief argues that recovering intrinsic dignity – rooted in active citizenship and community participation – offers a richer foundation for international human rights protection.
Keywords: Human dignity; international human rights; intrinsic dignity; extrinsic dignity; Hannah Arendt; foundation of human rights; political philosophy; Confucian thought rights.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 27 June 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-046-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/67-tian.
Topic: This brief analyses the ICC’s inconsistent practice on communication of evidence to Pre-Trial Chambers under Rule 121(2)(c), comparing the restrictive Lubanga approach (evidence parties intend to rely upon) with the comprehensive Bemba approach (all disclosed evidence). The brief calls for a unified approach through amendment of Regulation 55 to enhance consistency.
Keywords: Pre-Trial Chamber; confirmation of charges; communication of evidence; Rule 121(2)(c); Regulation 55; Lubanga case; Bemba case; disclosure of evidence; adversarial versus inquisitorial.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 27 June 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-045-0.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/66-sperfeldt-palmer.
Topic: This brief argues that promoting international criminal accountability in Southeast Asia requires looking beyond Rome Statute ratification to leverage existing regional experiences and capacities. It advocates intra-regional dialogue, capacity-building, and engagement with diverse stakeholders – legislators, judiciaries, military, NHRIs, and civil society – drawing on lessons from Cambodia, Timor Leste, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Keywords: Southeast Asia; Rome Statute ratification; ASEAN human rights; international crimes prosecution; regional capacity building; ECCC; Indonesia; complementarity.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 27 June 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-044-3.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/65-fan.
Topic: This brief reconceptualizes the European Court of Human Rights’ ‘living instrument approach’ to interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights. Distinguishing the Convention’s nature as a frozen instrument from the interpretive goal of evolution, the brief proposes a balanced system reconciling human rights protection with international law coherence, addressing legitimacy concerns about the Court’s interpretive practice.
Keywords: European Court of Human Rights; ECHR interpretation; living instrument; VCLT; treaty interpretation; evolutive interpretation; international rule of law.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 27 June 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-043-6.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/64-bais-kopariha.
Topic: This brief examines India’s distinctive human rights litigation framework, highlighting the relaxation of locus standi, public interest litigation, and judicial activism that has expanded constitutional fundamental rights protection. While acknowledging shortcomings – including the absence of effective human rights legislation and district-level courts – it presents the Indian model as a resource for other Asian States.
Keywords: Indian Constitution; human rights litigation; public interest litigation; fundamental rights; locus standi; judicial activism; Supreme Court of India; Asian human rights.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 27 June 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-042-9.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/63-zhang.
Topic: This brief compares legal facts documented in the Tokyo Tribunal Judgment with contemporary Chinese public perceptions of Japanese wartime atrocities. The brief argues that the Judgment captures a broader spectrum of victimization than commonly perceived and could serve as an instrument of trauma healing through documentation, despite limitations regarding interpretation and victors’ justice critiques.
Keywords: International Military Tribunal for the Far East; Japanese war crimes; Sino-Japanese relations; historical memory; war crimes trials; Nanjing massacre; trauma healing.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 27 June 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-041-2.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/62-sun.
Topic: This brief examines how international human rights law, particularly the right to a fair trial under the ICCPR and ECHR, has shaped public administration professionalization across jurisdictions through constitutional incorporation, legislative reform, and judicial interpretation. It then analyses prospects for similar advancement in China upon ICCPR ratification, addressing constitutional, statutory, and judicial improvements.
Keywords: Right to a fair trial; international human rights law; ICCPR; public administration in China; judicial reform; bills of rights; ECHR jurisprudence; presumption of conformity.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 27 June 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-040-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/61-yang.
Topic: Critiquing a 2015 Global Times editorial defending al-Bashir’s visit to China, this brief argues that politicized narratives risk damaging China’s stance on international criminal law. The brief advocates for more prudent Chinese discourse acknowledging the Tokyo and Nuremberg legacy, recognizing China’s long-term interest in a strengthened international legal order.
Keywords: China; international criminal justice; al-Bashir China visit; Darfur, Sudan; Chinese non-intervention; Tokyo Trial legacy; African Union and ICC; rule of international law.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 27 June 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-039-9.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/60-ursu.
Topic: Drawing parallels with China’s evolving engagement in United Nations peacekeeping operations, this brief argues that China will eventually ratify the Rome Statute. The brief contends that ratification offers China opportunities to project power as a norm-maker rather than norm-taker, despite traditional non-intervention concerns, requiring prior ratification of the ICCPR and domestic criminal law reform.
Keywords: China Rome Statute ratification; International Criminal Court; non-intervention principle; UN peacekeeping; Chinese foreign policy; ICCPR ratification; sovereignty; rising powers.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 27 June 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-038-2.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/59-kim.
Topic: Challenging the conventional characterization of genocide as a ‘crime of mens rea’, this brief argues that genocide has a two-layered structure comprising both ‘conduct level’ and ‘context level’. The brief contends that collective genocidal intent at the context level renders genocide a criminal enterprise and leadership crime, requiring substantial destruction beyond individual acts.
Keywords: Genocide; mens rea; genocidal intent; collective intent; substantiality requirement; crime of crimes; Genocide Convention; leadership crime.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 27 June 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-037-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/58-mahony.
Topic: This brief proposes a case selection independence framework for evaluating international criminal justice processes. Identifying seven jurisdictional and eight functional elements, the brief argues that quality, not quantity, of prosecutions indicates norm strength. The framework helps detect how self-interested actors shape investigations, prioritizing inclusivity and sustainable peace over discriminatory retribution.
Keywords: Case selection independence; international criminal justice; jurisdictional constraints; functional constraints; transitional justice; victor’s justice; aiding and abetting; prosecutorial independence.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 27 June 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-036-8.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/57-bai.
Topic: This brief traces the development of Chinese women’s NGOs since the 1995 Beijing World Women’s Conference, examining their role in legislation, women’s rights protection, and CEDAW review processes. It analyses current challenges including restrictive government policies, foreign funding concerns, and the implications of China’s law on overseas NGOs for women’s rights advocacy.
Keywords: Chinese women’s NGOs; Beijing World Women’s Conference; All-China Women’s Federation; CEDAW review; women’s rights in China; Chinese civil society; gender equality.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 8 April 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-035-1.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/56-tadesse-graeske.
Topic: This brief outlines a 2014 anthology titled ‘Africa and the International Criminal Court’, examining the deteriorating relationship triggered by the Al Bashir and Kenyan cases. The brief analyses claims of ICC bias against Africa, the AU’s resolutions on non-cooperation, and Al Bashir’s 2015 departure from South Africa, and argues that the perception of Africans towards the Court portrayed by AU and African political elites does not necessarily reflect the view of ordinary Africans, who are the primary beneficiaries of ICC justice and remain supportive of the Court.
Keywords: African Union; International Criminal Court; Al Bashir case; Kenyatta case; ICC selectivity; African states co-operation; ICC legitimacy.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 8 April 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-034-4.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/55-guo.
Topic: This brief examines Regulation 55 of the ICC Regulations of the Court, which permits Trial Chambers to recharacterize the legal qualification of facts. Reviewing its practice, criticisms, and merits – preventing impunity gaps and avoiding cumulative charges – the brief argues against abolition, advocating instead for restrictive use as an exceptional device that balances common and civil law traditions.
Keywords: Regulation 55; International Criminal Court; legal recharacterization of facts; cumulative charges; impunity gap; common law versus civil law; ICC procedure.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 8 April 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-033-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/54-bais.
Topic: This brief analyses India’s abstention from adopting the Rome Statute, identifying three primary concerns: powers granted to the United Nations Security Council, non-inclusion of terrorism and nuclear weapons, and threats to the primacy of national jurisdictions. It concludes India is unlikely to ratify soon, suggesting discourse should instead focus on potential Article 12(3) declarations, particularly concerning acts of terrorism.
Keywords: India; International Criminal Court; Rome Statute; UN Security Council; terrorism; complementarity; national jurisdiction; Article 12(3) declaration.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 8 April 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-032-0.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/53-bakshi.
Topic: This brief examines sexual violence against women in Indian conflict zones, including Kashmir, the North-East and Naxal-affected areas, where extra-ordinary laws and militarization have created conditions of impunity. It argues that current State responses inadequately protect women and proposes policy reforms encompassing international law implementation, accountability mechanisms, gender-sensitization training, and holistic rehabilitation for victims.
Keywords: Sexual violence; conflict zones; India; AFSPA; Kashmir; militarization; state of exception; women’s rights; CEDAW.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 8 April 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-031-3.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/52-chhibbar.
Topic: This brief critiques India’s continued legal exemption of marital rape from criminal sanction under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code. Despite recommendations from the Law Commission and Justice Verma Committee, the 2013 Criminal Law Amendment retained the exemption. It argues this gap entrenches gender discrimination and violates women’s constitutional rights to dignity and equality.
Keywords: Marital rape; India; sexual violence; Indian Penal Code; gender discrimination; Justice Verma Committee; Domestic Violence Act; women’s rights.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 27 June 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-030-6.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/51-tandon-luthra.
Topic: This brief offers a feminist critique of Indian rape law, tracing the offence’s conceptualization from Vedic-era violation of women’s dignity, through medieval and colonial framings as injury to male property and chastity, to the post-2013 expanded statutory definition. While welcoming reforms, the brief criticizes the continued marital rape exemption and other provisions that prioritize chastity over women’s dignity and sexual autonomy.
Keywords: Indian rape law; feminist critique; criminal law; marital rape; Section 375 IPC; chastity versus dignity; gender-based violence; women’s sexual autonomy.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 8 April 2016.
ISBN English: 978-82-8348-029-0.
ISBN Chinese: 978-82-8348-178-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/50-gong.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/50-gong-chinese.
Topic: This brief argues that no country historically possessed a tradition of respecting human rights, including Western nations, where universal recognition emerged only after the Second World War in response to mass atrocities. While traditional cultures contain humanitarian elements compatible with human rights, they cannot substitute for the modern concept grounded in human dignity, which represents shared values of contemporary humanity.
Keywords: Human rights; traditional culture; human dignity; universality; Confucianism; cultural relativism; post-WWII international law; Asian values.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 8 April 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-028-3.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/49-slydal.
Topic: This brief argues that 2012–2013 ICTY acquittals of senior Croat and Serb officials, combined with the disqualification of Judge Harhoff and apparent disunity among judges, have severely damaged the Tribunal’s credibility. It maintains that perceived bias on the part of President Meron persists among informed observers, with serious implications for victims’ trust and the legacy of international justice.
Keywords: ICTY; credibility; acquittals; joint criminal enterprise; specific direction; Theodor Meron; Frederik Harhoff; judicial impartiality.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 8 April 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-027-6.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/48-bogoeva.
Topic: This brief scrutinizes WikiLeaks cables and judicial conduct suggesting ICTY President Theodor Meron functioned as a ‘preeminent supporter’ of US government interests, particularly regarding completion strategy and acquittals under raised liability standards. It contends this case raises unresolved questions about judicial independence, ethical accountability, and the credibility of international criminal justice institutions.
Keywords: Theodor Meron; ICTY; judicial independence; WikiLeaks cables; specific direction; Gotovina; Perišić; aiding and abetting.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 8 April 2016.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-026-9.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/47-harhoff.
Topic: In this brief, Frederik Harhoff recounts his disqualification from the Šešelj trial following a leaked private e-mail criticizing ICTY Appeals Chamber acquittals of Gotovina, Markač and Perišić. The brief challenges the procedural fairness and reasoning of the disqualification decision, arguing it conflated criticism of judicial trends with bias against the accused, and reflects on the unresolved questions about external pressures on international courts.
Keywords: ICTY; judicial impartiality; specific direction; aiding and abetting; Šešelj; disqualification; Perišić; Gotovina.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2015
Published on 31 August 2015.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-021-4.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/46-chao.
Topic: This brief identifies three roles played by international criminal law in shaping the global legal order: introducing the notion of international criminal justice through individual criminal responsibility, systemizing and progressively developing rules governing core international crimes, and promoting fundamental community values by complementing jus cogens and obligations erga omnes against State paralysis.
Keywords: International criminal law; global legal order; individual criminal responsibility; jus cogens; obligations erga omnes; crime of aggression; UN Security Council; general principles of law.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 8 April 2016.
ISBN English: 978-82-8348-019-1.
ISBN Spanish: 978-82-8348-020-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/45-guevara.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/45-guevara-spanish.
Topic: This brief argues the International Criminal Court should open a preliminary examination into Mexico based on evidence of widespread and systematic torture committed by State security forces during the ‘War on Drugs’. Drawing on patterns documented by national institutions, the Special Rapporteur and NGOs, it contends the consistent practice across joint military-police operations meets the threshold of crimes against humanity.
Keywords: International Criminal Court; Mexico; preliminary examination; torture; crimes against humanity; War on Drugs; joint operations; positive complementarity.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2016
Published on 8 April 2016.
ISBN English: 978-82-8348-018-4.
ISBN French: 978-82-8348-050-4.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/44-urwodhi-amundala.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/44-urwodhi-amundala-french.
Topic: The brief analyses material, legal and political obstacles undermining the Democratic Republic of Congo’s repression of core international crimes. Despite ICC ratification, inadequate funding, constitutional immunities blocking Rome Statute implementation, and political networks shielding perpetrators sustain impunity. Civil society lobbying, particularly through organizations like La Ligue pour la Paix, les Droits de l’Homme et la Justice, offers a key strategy for advancing accountability.
Keywords: Democratic Republic of Congo; core international crimes; impunity; Rome Statute implementation; positive complementarity; constitutional immunities; civil society; LIPADHOJ.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2015
Published on 21 July 2015.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-013-9.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/43-villarreal.
Topic: This brief examines Mexican initiatives to document victims since the 2006 ‘War on Drugs’, focusing on the Executive Commission of Attention to Victims and its National Registry. Critiquing purely statistical approaches, it argues that capturing victims’ qualitative narratives and contextual information is vital for understanding patterns of victimization, designing responsive policies, and preserving collective memory.
Keywords: Mexico; War on Drugs; victim documentation; National Registry of Victims; CEAV; General Law for Victims; enforced disappearance; I-DOC.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2015
Published on 30 June 2015.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-012-2.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/42-bogoeva.
Topic: This brief argues that credible international criminal prosecution is essential and irreplaceable for post-conflict reconciliation, providing the truth and justice foundation on which trust can be built. Rejecting the peace-versus-justice dichotomy, it contends that reconciliation should become a tailored state policy with war crimes prosecutions at its centre, supported by direct public access to proceedings.
Keywords: Reconciliation policy; ICTY; former Yugoslavia; truth and justice; war crimes prosecution; trust-building; outreach; Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2015
Published on 30 June 2015.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-011-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/41-bope.
Topic: This brief analyses the International Criminal Court’s potential role in reconciliation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where most of its early cases originated. Although the Rome Statute does not mandate reconciliation, the brief argues the Court contributes de facto through establishing judicial truth, identifying victims and perpetrators, and ordering collective reparations that can bring formerly antagonistic communities closer together.
Keywords: International Criminal Court; Democratic Republic of Congo; reconciliation; Ituri conflict; collective reparations; Lubanga; Katanga; positive complementarity.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2015
Published on 30 June 2015.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-010-8.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/40-kavran.
Topic: This brief examines how international(ized) criminal jurisdictions have redefined the meaning of ‘public’ proceedings through comprehensive outreach programmes. Tracing the evolution from ICTY’s pioneering public information section to active public relations across tribunals, the brief argues that transparent proceedings effectively communicated to affected communities constitute the most meaningful contribution criminal justice can make to reconciliation.
Keywords: Outreach programmes; ICTY; public proceedings; reconciliation; transparency; international criminal tribunals; affected communities; media communication.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2015
Published on 29 May 2015.
ISBN English: 978-82-8348-008-5.
ISBN Spanish: 978-82-8348-009-2.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/39-citroni.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/39-citroni-spanish.
Topic: This brief assesses Mexico’s progress and shortcomings in addressing enforced disappearance, from the ‘Dirty War’ to recent cases including the 2014 Ayotzinapa disappearances. Drawing on the Radilla Pacheco judgment, UN Working Group visits, treaty body recommendations, and the Committee on Enforced Disappearances’ first review, it identifies legislative, investigative, and registry reforms needed for Mexico to meet its international obligations.
Keywords: Mexico; enforced disappearance; Ayotzinapa students; Inter-American Court; Mexican Dirty War; Committee on Enforced Disappearances; missing migrants; crimes against humanity.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2015
Published on 29 May 2015.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-007-8.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/38-aksenova-bergsmo.
Topic: This brief surveys the diverse landscape of international fact-finding commissions, analysing their purposes, authorizing bodies (United Nations Security Council, General Assembly, Human Rights Council, High Commissioner), scope of mandates, and outcomes. It distinguishes fact-finding for criminal trials from broader fact-finding mandates and offers recommendations regarding realistic objectives, procedural fairness, composition, resources, and rigorous methodology.
Keywords: International fact-finding commissions; commissions of inquiry; UN Human Rights Council mandates; fact-finding methodology; standard of proof inquiry; procedural fairness; evidence collection; non-criminal accountability mechanisms.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2015
Published on 29 May 2015.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-006-1.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/37-kaleck.
Topic: This brief critically examines double standards in international criminal justice, surveying impunity for Western crimes from colonial wars and Vietnam through to Iraq and Guantánamo. It assesses the ICTY, ICTR, hybrid tribunals, universal jurisdiction cases, corporate accountability, and ICC practice, arguing that addressing horizontal and vertical selectivity is essential to protect international criminal justice from erosion of legitimacy.
Keywords: Double standards; international criminal law; universal jurisdiction; Western impunity; victor’s justice; ICC Africa selectivity; corporate accountability; Pinochet case; political selectivity.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2015
Published on 29 May 2015.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-005-4.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/36-stahn.
Topic: This brief challenges the assumption that restorative justice approaches are inherently better suited to reconciliation than retributive mechanisms. It argues that international criminal proceedings contribute to reconciliation through their structural features – recognizing victims and perpetrators as rights-holders, tolerating multiple truths, and combining retributive and restorative elements as exemplified by the ICC’s reparations regime.
Keywords: Retributive versus restorative justice; reconciliation; international criminal law; rehumanization perpetrators; guilty pleas; ICC reparations; victim participation; criminal trial as social repair.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2015
Published on 29 May 2015.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-004-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/35-wiley.
Topic: This brief highlights the Iraqi High Tribunal’s failures as both a due process exercise and a reconciliation mechanism. The IHT Statute’s narrow focus on Baathist criminality and the prosecution’s selection of predominantly Sunni Arab defendants reinforced false sectarian narratives. The brief urges chief prosecutors to develop investigative and prosecutorial strategies cognisant of post-conflict social cleavages and false collective narratives.
Keywords: Iraqi High Tribunal; Saddam Hussein trial; 1991 Uprising cases; Baathist regime; case selection strategy; sectarian narratives; victor’s justice; prosecutorial discretion.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2015
Published on 29 May 2015.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-003-0.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/34-lamb.
Topic: This brief evaluates the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia’s contribution to reconciliation. While acknowledging the ECCC’s design flaws, parallel administrative structures, and supermajority complications, it identifies positive contributions: accountability for Khmer Rouge crimes, capacity-development and mentorship, victim participation, outreach, and catalysing complementary initiatives including school curricula and women’s hearings on sexual violence.
Keywords: Extraordinary Chambers Cambodia; Khmer Rouge trials; Case 002; victim participation; reparations; supermajority rule; Cambodian judiciary capacity; transitional justice.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2015
Published on 29 May 2015.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-002-3.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/33-mahony.
Topic: This brief examines the political underpinnings of the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It argues that the SCSL’s design – driven by a US-UK regime change strategy against Charles Taylor – produced victor’s justice and selective prosecutions, undermining reconciliation. Sierra Leone illustrates how externally-imposed justice processes can entrench rather than resolve underlying structural grievances.
Keywords: Special Court for Sierra Leone; Sierra Leone TRC; Charles Taylor; Lomé Peace Agreement; victor’s justice; case selection; RUF prosecution; structural conflict drivers.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2015
Published on 29 May 2015.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-001-6.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/32-re.
Topic: This brief argues that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon can contribute to national reconciliation through its unique features: hybrid procedures applying Lebanese law, neutrality, victim participation, witness protection, capacity-development, outreach, and memorialization. The STL provides tools and models transferable to Lebanese specialized units or truth and reconciliation mechanisms.
Keywords: Special Tribunal for Lebanon; Lebanese civil war; Hariri assassination; hybrid tribunal; Ta’if Agreement; victim participation; truth and reconciliation; targeted assassinations.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2015
Published on 29 May 2015.
ISBN: 978-82-8348-000-9.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/31-klarin.
Topic: This brief examines the ICTY’s complex relationship with reconciliation in the former Yugoslavia. It demonstrates that ICTY indictments aided rather than obstructed peace processes, but argues that reconciliation has remained elusive due to nationalist manipulation, the Tribunal’s failure to communicate effectively with local audiences, and post-conflict political regression in Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Keywords: ICTY; former Yugoslavia; justice versus peace; Karadžić; Mladić; Milošević; Balkans reconciliation; nationalist denial; Tribunal outreach; ethnic reconciliation post-conflict.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2015
Published on 30 June 2015.
ISBN: 978-82-93081-85-2.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/30-moese.
Topic: This brief assesses the ICTR’s contribution to reconciliation in Rwanda. It examines parallel justice mechanisms (ordinary and gacaca courts), the outreach programme, and judicial practices including acquittals, partial acquittals, and guilty pleas. Despite measurement difficulties, the brief concludes the ICTR meaningfully contributed to establishing facts, countering genocide denial, and reducing societal tensions.
Keywords: ICTR; Rwanda; reconciliation; gacaca courts; ICTR outreach programme; genocide denial; guilty pleas; judicial truth; Rwandan transitional justice.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2014
Published on 13 October 2014.
ISBN: 978-82-93081-36-4.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/29-zhang.
Topic: This brief reviews post-WWII trials addressing Japanese atrocities in China, including the Tokyo IMTFE, Kuomintang national trials, Hong Kong British military courts, and the 1956 PRC trials. It highlights inherent limitations of criminal justice for mass atrocities, examines China’s 1956 reform-oriented approach as early transitional justice practice, and calls for greater research and public awareness.
Keywords: China; Tokyo Trials IMTFE; WWII atrocities; Japanese war criminals; Nanking Military Tribunal; Hong Kong war crimes trials; 1956 PRC trials; Chukiren; transitional justice.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2014
Published on 12 October 2014.
ISBN: 978-82-93081-32-6.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/28-zhu.
Topic: This brief identifies external actors whose activities risk politicizing the ICC, examining the United Nations Security Council’s selective referrals and deferrals, the Assembly of States Parties’ amendment of Rule 134 under African Union pressure, and States Parties’ compromises. It argues that ICC States Parties, rather than defending the Court, have become part of the politicization problem, undermining the Court’s independence and legitimacy.
Keywords: ICC politicization; UN Security Council referrals; Assembly of States Parties; Rule 134 amendment; African Union and ICC; Kenyatta Ruto case; ICC independence; civil society and ICC.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2014
Published on 12 October 2014.
ISBN: 978-82-93081-30-2.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/27-xue.
Topic: This brief analyses China’s positions on the International Criminal Court through its United Nations Security Council conduct regarding Darfur, Libya, Syria, and Kenya referrals and deferrals. It identifies State sovereignty as the principal driver of Chinese concerns over ICC jurisdiction over non-States Parties, complementarity, and prosecutorial powers, concluding that the Court’s professionalism will shape future China–ICC relations.
Keywords: China and ICC; UN Security Council; ICC referral and deferral; State sovereignty; principle of complementarity; non-States Parties jurisdiction.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Beijing, 2014
Published on 17 July 2014.
ISBN: 978-82-93081-98-2.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/26-zhang.
Topic: This brief argues that economic and social rights (ESCRs) risk becoming irrelevant in national development narratives when subordinated to civil and political rights. Drawing on China’s experience and Article 2(1) of the ICESCR, it contends that recognizing States Parties’ discretion to prioritize and sequence rights realization could increase willingness to engage international ESCR norms in development policy.
Keywords: Economic and social rights; ICESCR; implementation discretion; progressive realization; margin of appreciation; hierarchy of human rights; China and human rights.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2014
Published on 30 September 2014.
ISBN: 978-82-93081-97-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/25-zhu.
Topic: This brief examines how Hong Kong and Macao have fulfilled their ICCPR reporting obligations since reverting to Chinese sovereignty. While the reporting process has worked reasonably well procedurally, Human Rights Committee recommendations on universal suffrage and Basic Law interpretation have proven contentious and difficult to implement, offering valuable lessons for Mainland China’s potential ratification of the ICCPR.
Keywords: ICCPR reporting procedure; Hong Kong; Macao; Human Rights Committee; universal suffrage; China ICCPR ratification.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2014
Published on 12 October 2014.
ISBN: 978-82-93081-99-9.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/24-wang.
Topic: Noting the absence of Chinese peacekeepers from United Nations sexual exploitation and abuse scandals, this brief proposes a research agenda exploring contributing factors: UN and Chinese regulations, traditional Chinese concepts of benevolence and propriety, PLA political and ideological training, selection processes, and peacekeepers’ motivation to serve country and enhance national image.
Keywords: Chinese peacekeepers; UN peacekeeping operations; sexual exploitation and abuse; military discipline; People’s Liberation Army training; Confucian propriety; soft power.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Brussels, 2014
Published on 12 October 2014.
ISBN: 978-82-93081-34-0.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/23-liu.
Topic: This brief urges China’s 2015 anti-fascist war memorialization to look beyond victimization psychology and embrace the international law principles – particularly individual criminal responsibility born of the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials – that emerged from the Second World War. It argues that consistent Chinese support for international criminal justice serves both Chinese national interests and global peace through justice.
Keywords: Anti-fascist war memorialization; Tokyo Trial; Nuremberg legacy; China and international criminal law; peace through justice; individual criminal responsibility; victimization psychology.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Beijing, 2014
Published on 17 July 2014.
ISBN: 978-82-93081-94-4.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/22-shi.
Topic: Marking the seventieth anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, this brief argues that the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons violates the peremptory norm of the right to life and may constitute crimes against humanity. It calls for State leadership, an effective international organization, and concerted NGO action to prohibit nuclear weapons.
Keywords: Nuclear weapons prohibition; right to life; jus cogens; crimes against humanity; Hiroshima and Nagasaki; disarmament; weapons of mass destruction; OPCW model.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Beijing, 2014
Published on 25 June 2014.
ISBN: 978-82-93081-93-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/21-chen.
Topic: This brief traces the evolution of ‘dignity’ as the foundation of international human rights from Cicero through Judeo-Christianity to Kant, and argues that contemporary Western grounding is incomplete. It proposes Confucian perspectives emphasizing the relationship between individuals, duties, and community to strengthen the universal legitimacy and deeper rooting of human rights.
Keywords: Human dignity; international human rights; Confucianism and human rights; Kantian ethics; Universal Declaration of Human Rights; individual and community; rights and duties; cross-cultural grounding.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Beijing, 2014
Published on 23 June 2014.
ISBN: 978-82-93081-92-0.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/20-zhong.
Topic: This brief examines the availability of immunities of State officials for core international crimes, distinguishing between international and national courts and between functional and personal immunity. It argues that functional immunity cannot shield core international crimes and that international courts acting as organs of the international community may also pierce personal immunity.
Keywords: State official immunity; functional immunity; personal immunity; core international crimes; ICC; Head of State; jus cogens; international criminal jurisdiction.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Florence, 2014
Published on 10 June 2014.
ISBN: 978-82-93081-91-3.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/19-bogoeva.
Topic: This brief traces how Slobodan Milošević transformed Serbian nationalism into state policy by exploiting communist-era institutional control, media dominance, and the politics of victimhood. It shows how the trajectory from manipulation and propaganda to war and atrocity destroyed Yugoslavia and Serbian society, presenting nationalism as a fundamentally violent and self-destructive process.
Keywords: Slobodan Milošević; Serbian nationalism; former Yugoslavia; communism to nationalism; propaganda and media; war crimes; Greater Serbia; ethnic cleansing.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Beijing, 2014
Published on 9 June 2014.
ISBN: 978-82-93081-90-6.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/18-song.
Topic: This brief traces ‘conspiracy to commit genocide’ from the 1948 Genocide Convention through ICTY and ICTR jurisprudence and analyses its exclusion from the ICC’s Rome Statute. It argues that the absence will not leave a conspicuous gap given ex post facto trials and existing modes of liability, while urging States implementing the Genocide Convention to consider implications carefully.
Keywords: Conspiracy to commit genocide; Genocide Convention; ICC Statute; inchoate crimes; joint criminal enterprise; cumulative convictions; modes of liability.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Florence, 2014
Published on 29 May 2014.
ISBN English: 978-82-93081-88-3.
ISBN Russian: 978-82-93081-89-0.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/17-aksenova.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/17-aksenova-russian.
Topic: This brief advocates renewed attention to complicity as a mode of liability for core international crimes. It analyses the balancing of conduct and fault requirements, criticizes the ‘specific direction’ requirement for aiding and abetting, and argues against treating complicity as a ‘lesser’ form of responsibility compared with joint criminal enterprise or co-perpetration.
Keywords: Complicity; aiding and abetting; specific direction; joint criminal enterprise; modes of liability; core international crimes; co-perpetration.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Florence, 2013
Published on 17 July 2013.
ISBN English: 978-82-93081-70-8.
ISBN Spanish: 978-82-93081-71-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/16-hunter-tanck-pique.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/16-hunter-tanck-pique-spanish.
Topic: This brief reviews Latin American accountability mechanisms – Inter-American human rights jurisprudence, universal jurisdiction, and territoriality-based prosecutions – against impunity for atrocity. It explains how technology-driven tools such as the ICC Legal Tools Database, Case Matrix, and Database of Open Case Files can support national criminal justice actors in applying international criminal law effectively.
Keywords: Latin America; Inter-American human rights system; nunca más; enforced disappearance; universal jurisdiction; positive complementarity; ICC Legal Tools Database; case prioritization.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Florence, 2013
Published on 17 July 2013.
ISBN English: 978-82-93081-68-5.
ISBN Arabic: 978-82-93081-69-2.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/15-hunter-galand.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/15-hunter-galand-arabic.
Topic: This brief surveys accountability options for atrocities in Arab countries – declarations of acceptance, Security Council referrals, ad hoc tribunals, national measures, and universal jurisdiction – and introduces technology-driven resources including the ICC Legal Tools Database, Case Matrix, and Digests (which are now available in Arabic) to support national criminal justice efforts in the region.
Keywords: Arab Spring accountability; ICC Legal Tools Database; Case Matrix; Middle East and North Africa; positive complementarity; transitional justice; impunity; capacity-building technology.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Stanford, 2013
Published on 17 July 2013.
ISBN English: 978-82-93081-74-6.
ISBN Arabic: 978-82-93081-75-3.
ISBN French: 978-82-93081-76-0.
ISBN Spanish: 978-82-93081-77-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/14-bergsmo-dahl-sousa.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/14-bergsmo-dahl-sousa-french.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/14-bergsmo-dahl-sousa-spanish.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/14-bergsmo-dahl-sousa-arabic.
Topic: This brief argues that armed forces have a long-term self-interest in genuine accountability for core international crimes committed by their members. Effective discipline, mission legitimacy, troop morale, and military reputation depend on credible prosecution – preferably near the site of the crime – balanced against civilian oversight and the rights of the accused.
Keywords: Military justice; core international crimes; war crimes accountability; civilian oversight; military discipline; counter-insurgency legitimacy; jurisdiction; military self-interest.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Beijing, 2013
Published on 17 July 2013.
ISBN: 978-82-93081-73-9.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/13-xiao-zhang.
Topic: This brief explains China’s reserved attitude toward the International Criminal Court by analysing legal, political, and cultural concerns, including jurisdiction over non-States Parties, the crime of aggression, and issues related to Taiwan, Tibet and Eastern Turkestan. It argues that until the ICC demonstrates professional, responsible performance over successive years, Chinese accession remains unrealistic.
Keywords: China and ICC; Rome Statute; state sovereignty; preliminary examination; crime of aggression; politicization of international justice; universal jurisdiction; UN Security Council referral.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Beijing, 2013
Published on 17 July 2013.
ISBN: 978-82-93081-72-2.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/12-yi.
Topic: This brief distils a Japanese-language monograph examining how late nineteenth and early twentieth century Japanese international lawyers conceptualized ‘just war’. It identifies three theoretical categories – the extralegal, adjudicating, and implementing factions – and shows how their ambiguous standards collapsed in practice during the Russo-Japanese War, offering lessons for contemporary debates on the use of force.
Keywords: Just war theory; Japanese international law; prohibition of use of force; Russo-Japanese War; jus ad bellum; indiscriminate war; right to self-defence.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Oslo, 2013
Published on 24 January 2013.
ISBN: 978-82-93081-65-4.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/11-chan.
Topic: Drawing on the Palestine Declaration, this brief argues that Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is vulnerable to political abuse by both the Office of the Prosecutor and non-States Parties due to a lack of judicial scrutiny. It proposes amending the Statute to require preliminary Pre-Trial Division oversight of all Article 12(3) declarations.
Keywords: ICC; Rome Statute; Article 12(3); Palestine Declaration; judicial oversight; politicization of the ICC; prosecutorial discretion; ad hoc jurisdiction; Pre-Trial Chamber; non-State Party declarations.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Oslo, 2013
Published on 24 January 2013.
ISBN: 978-82-93081-64-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/10-bergsmo-skre-cheah-wood.
Topic: This brief examines thematic prosecution of international sex crimes, calling for critical scrutiny of its justifications and decision-making frameworks. It challenges assumptions that such crimes are inherently harder to prove than other core international crimes, urges development of effective investigatory tools, and proposes guidelines for strengthening national capacity to investigate and prosecute these crimes.
Keywords: Thematic prosecution; international sex crimes; sexual violence in conflict; positive complementarity; capacity development; evidentiary challenges; prosecutorial decision-making; core international crimes.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Oslo, 2012
Published on 19 November 2012.
The Serbian version was made available on 24 January 2013.
ISBN English: 978-82-93081-62-3.
ISBN Serbian: 978-82-93081-63-0.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/9-majic-ignjatovic.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/9-majic-ignjatovic-serbian.
Topic: This brief distils ten practical lessons from Serbia’s decade-long experience prosecuting war crimes domestically while co-operating with the ICTY. It emphasizes political will, international and regional co-operation, capacity building, adequate resources, specialized institutions, reliance on others’ jurisprudence, and public support, offering guidance for post-conflict societies establishing accountability mechanisms.
Keywords: Serbia; ICTY co-operation; war crimes prosecution; post-conflict justice; regional co-operation; transitional justice; capacity building; specialized war crimes chamber.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Oslo, 2011
Published on 9 December 2011.
ISBN: 978-82-93081-57-9.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/8-bergsmo.
Topic: This brief examines the contraction of international criminal justice and the imperative shift toward national capacity building under positive complementarity. It argues for legal empowerment of territorial state actors through democratized access to legal information, rather than donor-driven dependencies, highlighting the ICC Legal Tools Project as a model for equal and empowering knowledge-transfer.
Keywords: Positive complementarity; national capacity building; legal empowerment; ICC Legal Tools Database; Kampala Review Conference; territorial state jurisdiction; knowledge transfer.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Oslo, 2011
Published on 4 November 2011.
ISBN: 978-82-93081-54-8.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/7-bergsmo.
Topic: This brief critiques the International Expert Framework’s recommendations on prosecutorial discretion in international criminal procedure. It argues that case selection challenges are increasingly national rather than international, questioning whether structural institutional reforms or professional tools such as prioritization criteria better serve justice, and highlights the migration of principles from national to international jurisdictions.
Keywords: Prosecutorial discretion; case selection; prioritization criteria; international criminal procedure; ICC Office of the Prosecutor; gravity; complementarity; national war crimes prosecution.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Oslo, 2011
Published on 17 October 2011.
ISBN English: 978-82-93081-52-4.
ISBN Bengali: 978-82-93081-53-1.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/6-bergsmo.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/6-bergsmo-bengali.
Topic: This brief addresses the technical challenges of using old evidence in core international crimes prosecutions decades after events occurred. Drawing on seminar contributions concerning Bangladesh, Cambodia, Kosovo, and Indonesia, it examines witness memory and trauma, document preservation, chains of custody, and the professional standards required for credible justice when significant time has passed.
Keywords: Old evidence; core international crimes; witness memory; trauma and testimony; International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh; Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia; documentary evidence; delayed prosecutions.

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Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Oslo, 2011
Published on 18 August 2011.
ISBN: 978-82-93081-48-7.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/5-nystuen.
Topic: This brief critically analyses draft Protocol VI to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, arguing it establishes substantially lower standards than the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions. It examines weakened definitions, deferral periods, and victim assistance provisions, and questions whether CCM States Parties’ participation in the negotiations conflicts with their existing treaty obligations.
Keywords: Cluster munitions; CCW Protocol VI; Convention on Cluster Munitions; humanitarian disarmament; unexploded ordnance; treaty obligations; weapons law; pacta sunt servanda.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Oslo, 2011
The English version was published on 14 March 2011. The Spanish and Portuguese translations were published on 22 June 2011. The French translation was published on 18 August 2011.
ISBN English: 978-82-93081-45-6.
ISBN Spanish: 978-82-93081-46-3.
ISBN Portuguese: 978-82-93081-47-0.
ISBN French: 978-82-93081-49-4.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/4-bergsmo.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/4-bergsmo-spanish.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/4-bergsmo-portuguese.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/4-bergsmo-french.
Topic: This brief distils expert seminar discussions on the thematic investigation and prosecution of international sex crimes. It considers philosophical justifications, prioritization criteria, specialized institutional capacity, and risks of politicization, while examining whether dedicated focus on sexual violence adequately captures broader victimization contexts and how criminal justice actors can legitimately navigate selection decisions.
Keywords: International sex crimes; thematic prosecution; case selection; gender competence; sexual violence in conflict; prosecutorial discretion; victim participation; ICC Office of the Prosecutor.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Oslo, 2011
Published on 10 February 2011.
ISBN: 978-82-93081-44-9.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/3-bergsmo.
Topic: This brief reproduces Morten Bergsmo’s keynote address reflecting on the normalization of criminal justice for atrocities. It examines tensions between common and civil law traditions, introduces the notion of ‘constituencies of interpretation’ influencing judicial reasoning, and calls for informed critical discourse on the real challenges to judicial independence in international criminal justice.
Keywords: International criminal justice; judicial independence; ICC; complementarity; common law versus civil law; constituencies of interpretation; normalization of atrocity justice.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Oslo, 2011
Published on 8 February 2011.
ISBN: 978-82-93081-43-2.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/2-kaul-liu.
Topic: This brief examines the implications of the 2010 Kampala amendments criminalizing aggression under the Rome Statute. It presents Judge Kaul’s seven recommendations for advancing this historic step alongside Judge Liu’s critique of the State requirement, the United Nations Security Council’s role, and the convoluted jurisdictional conditions that may shield aggressor states from accountability.
Keywords: Crime of aggression; Kampala amendments; Rome Statute; ICC jurisdiction; UN Security Council; jus ad bellum; Nuremberg Principles; criminalization of war.

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher
Oslo, 2010
Published on 9 November 2010.
ISBN: 978-82-93081-42-5.
PURL: https://www.toaep.org/pbs-pdf/1-jones-skre.
Topic: This brief examines the historic shift from military to civilian justice for core international crimes prosecuted nationally. It presents statistics on national prosecutions since 2000, debates the role of military expertise in war crimes adjudication, and weighs concerns about independence, impartiality, and specialization against the operational competence required for credible accountability.
Keywords: Military justice; civilian courts; core international crimes; universal jurisdiction; war crimes prosecution; ICC complementarity; specialized investigative units; national jurisdictions.