EVENTS
The Center for International Law and Policy hosts a variety of events throughout the year in partnership with numerous organisations. Our events are aimed at highlighting and promoting African perspectives, contributions and scholarship in international law, policy, and justice, including through the provision of high-quality educational programs, seminars, workshops, training, symposia, and other similar activities. Should you have an interest in learning more, or participating in any of the events, we invite you to email us at [email protected] .
Upcoming Events
Universal Jurisdiction: Accelerating Progress on Justiceand Accountability for the War in Ukraine and Beyond
On 7 and 8 October 2024, the International Bar Association, the CEELI Institute, and the Center
for International Law and Policy in Africa (CILPA) will host a conference focused on the
principle of universal jurisdiction and how it has been used across the world to ensure justice and
accountability for international crimes, in Russia’s war on Ukraine and beyond.
The conference brings together leading legal minds, both practitioners and scholars, to identify
good practices for translating the theory of universal jurisdiction into practice – and successful
prosecutions – for international crimes.
Among others, participants will map the universal jurisdiction and other forms of expanded
jurisdiction responses to the war in Ukraine, including in countries that opened some form of
structural investigation.
The conference will examine three main areas to identify and memorialize international good
practices for universal jurisdiction:
– Domestic legislation incorporating principles of universal jurisdiction;
– Structural investigations; and
– Turning structural investigations into charges/indictments.
CILPA invited speakers include Prof. Hajer GUELDICH, Legal Counsel of the African Union Commission; Prof. Maximo LANGER, Price Professor of Law and Director of Transnational Program on Criminal Justice, UCLA Law School; Amb. Stephen J. RAPP, former US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice and CILPA Board Member; Prof. Pavel STURMA, Charles University Prague and former member and Chair of the International Law Commission; and Prof. Charles C. JALLOH, Founder and Executive Director of CILPA and Member/ Special Rapporteur of the International Law Commission.
Event Series
The ICC Colloquium
A series of online roundtable discussions, co-hosted by the American Society of International Law and the International Nuremberg Principles Academy, which seeks to highlight issues of particular relevance to the future success of the ICC, especially from an African perspective.
International Law Discussion Series
A series of hybrid virtual and in person panel discussions and/or workshops to allow for exchange of ideas, co-hosted by the University of Makenie, aimed at initiating dialogue to promote the dissemination and wider appreciation of international law and its implementation in Sierra Leone.
Past Events
Residual Special Court of Sierra Leone Legacy Conference
Wednesday, 27 February - 28 February 2024, Residual Special Court of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone
The Residual Special Court of Sierra Leone (RSCSL) in collaboration with multiple partners, including the Center for International Law and Policy in Africa (CILPA) hosted a Legacy Conference at their premises in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on the 27th and 28th of February 2024.
CILPA Office Grand Opening and ICC-Africa Paper Launch
Wednesday, 6 March 2024, 09:00 – 13:00 GMT, 1 Abib Drive, SS Camp, Freetown, Sierra Leone
Having operated internationally for three years, CILPA was proud to announce the official opening of its own offices in Freetown, Sierra Leone at 1 Abib Drive, SS Camp, Freetown. It was also an opportunity for the Consultants from CILPA's ICC-Africa project to present their papers.
African Perspectives on International Climate Change Law
Friday, 29 March 2024, 8:30 – 17:00 EST, Harvard Law School, Austin 111, Cambridge, USA
The Center for International Law & Policy in Africa (CILPA), along with the Human Rights Program (Harvard Law School) and the Dullah Omar Institute at the University of the Western Cape, co-organized an all-day academic symposium on “African Perspectives on International Climate Change Law” as part of Harvard Law School’s series of Climate Justice Events.
CILPA Occasional Papers Presentation: Bringing the African Perspective to the ICC Reform Discussion
December 6, 2023 New York City, USA
Consultants from CILPA’s ICC-Africa Project presented their papers at a side event to the twenty-second session of the Assembly of States Parties organized by CILPA, in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sierra Leone to the United Nations, with the aim of bringing African perspectives to the ongoing ICC reform discourse .
Necessary Voices, Missed Opportunities?
Strengthening the Engagement of Global South States with the Work of the International Law Commission
October 30, 2023 New York City, USA
CILPA in collaboration with the Permanent Missions of Mexico and Sierra Leone to the United Nations in New York hosted an interactive dialogue on Strengthening the Engagement of Global South States with the work of the International Law Commission on the margins of the International Law Week in New York.
The Current and Future work of the International Law Commission
November 4- 5, 2022 Miami, USA
The Florida International University College of Law (“FIU Law”), together with the CILPA convened a public symposium in Miami to discuss The Current and Future Work of the International Law Commission which was followed by a private workshop on upcoming ILC topics. Special Rapporteurs represented their work in discussion with panelists from practice and academia.
Role of Regional and International Codification Bodies in the Development of International Law
October 26, 2022 New York City, USA
CILPA in collaboration with the Office of Legal Counsel of the African Union Commission organized an interactive dialogue in New York for members from the AUCIL, CAHDI, and the ILC, along with representatives of States and academia, to engage in a preliminary dialogue with the view to determining what further collaboration might hold for the further codification and progressive development of regional and international law in Africa and internationally.
Universal Criminal Jurisdiction: A Key Tool in the Fight Against Impunity for Atrocity Crimes in Ukraine and Beyond?
October 25, 2022 New York City, USA
CILPA and the International Bar Association – hosted by Debevoise & Plimpton LLP – convened an interactive dialogue on Universal Criminal Jurisdiction: A Key Tool in the Fight for Atrocity Crimes in Ukraine and Beyond?, in New York, and online. The discussion reflected a range of perspectives from academia, State representatives, experts from the International Law Commission and global civil society.
Independent Expert Workshop: Bringing the African Perspective to the ICC Reform Discussion
October 7 - 8, 2022 Freetown, Sierra Leone
CILPA commissioned three independent consultants to conduct research into the experience of African States with the aim of identifying key concerns about the ICC reform process and proposing strategic recommendations to feed into the ongoing ICC reform discourse. Bringing together the consultants and invited legal experts, predominantly based in Africa, the Workshop was a working session with detailed examination of specific themes and provisions identified by the consultants.
Independent Expert Workshop: Draft Rules Of Procedure and the Elements of Crimes for the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights
May 13-14, 2022
The Hague, Netherlands
The Independent expert meeting brought together the legal experts who prepared the first drafts of the Rules of Procedure and the Elements of Crime documents in the ACRI Project , the consultant reviewer, and select expert practitioners with relevant experience in the African Court and issues of international dispute settlement.
SCSL 20th Anniversary - Commemoration and Formal Opening of the Peace Museum Memorial Garden
January 18, 2022 Freetown, Sierra Leone
On 16 January 2002, the United Nations and the Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone signed an historic agreement providing for the establishment of a Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). 16 January 2022 marked the twentieth anniversary of this signing and to celebrate this event CILPA and The Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone convened a commemoration.
SCSL LEGACY - The Legacy of the Special Court for Sierra Leone
December 17, 2020 Freetown, Sierra Leone
The purpose of this symposium was to examine, from a national perspective, whether the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), which was established jointly through an unprecedented bilateral treaty between the United Nations (UN) and the Government of Sierra Leone in January 2002 and completed its work in December 2013, left a legal legacy for the jurisprudence and practice for the nascent and still unsettled field of international criminal law.