War crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide harm people, disrupt societies, and endanger global peace and security. In the recent decade, the international community has expressed its clear desire to end such atrocities and to prosecute those responsible. But designing effective “real-world” response strategies and understanding the underlying human behavior remain extremely challenging. Only a multidisciplinary approach has any hope of success.

This course is the first of its kind to take up that gauntlet. It introduces students to the basics of international criminal law, critically assesses modes of investigation, reflects on why perpetrators commit atrocities, and discusses the value of alternative responses like truth commissions and amnesties. Together with a group of expert lawyers and criminologists, students explore what “doing justice” means in practice and identify and discuss the most pressing challenges. Naturally, in so doing, students make the most of the location just 30 minutes away from the legal capital of the world, The Hague. Over the last few years, the course included guest lectures by different distinguished speakers working at the ICC.

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