International Tribunals in a time of Global Crisis

This seminar examines the role of international courts in advancing justice for war crimes and the crime of aggression, with a particular focus on the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As both crises continue to present profound humanitarian and legal challenges, the international community faces renewed pressure to uphold accountability through established legal mechanisms.

Central to this discussion are the capacities and limitations of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in responding effectively to these challenges and resisting impunity for serious violations of international law.

In the case of Ukraine, the ICC has initiated investigations into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, while ongoing debates concern the establishment of a special tribunal to prosecute the crime of aggression and potential reforms to the ICC’s jurisdictional framework.

Concurrently, Ukraine has brought multiple proceedings before the ICJ, including challenges to Russia’s justification for its invasion and claims under the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the 1999 International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism , culminating in a 2024 judgement.

Proceedings under the 1948 Genocide Convention (Ukraine v. Russian Federation) also remain pending. These parallel legal tracks raise critical questions about the relationship between individual and state responsibility, enforcement mechanisms, and the politicisation of international justice.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict presents a distinct set of legal and political complexities. The ICC’s investigation into alleged crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories has encountered significant political resistance, while the ICJ is currently hearing South Africa’s case against Israel under the Genocide Convention. This seminar will explore how both courts navigate enforcement in politically charged contexts and assess their potential to contribute meaningfully to accountability, deterrence, and the broader pursuit of international justice.

External Contributors

Dr Marco Longobardo

Marco Longobardo (PhD) is a Reader in International Law at the University of Westminster. He is the author of The Use of Armed Force in Occupied Territory (Cambridge University Press 2018), for which he was awarded the 2021 Paul Reuter Prize by the International Committee of the Red Cross, and of a forthcoming monograph on Sufficient Gravity before the International Criminal Court (Edward Elgar 2026).

He is the co-editor of Justice for Atrocities: Dialogues and Encounters between Latin America and Europe (Routledge 2026). He sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, the International Community Law Review, and the Journal du Droit Transnational.

Dr Jasmin Johurun Nessa

Dr Jasmin Johurun Nessais a Research Associate in International Law at the University of Bristol. Jasmin teaches at the University of Liverpool and is also the General Co-Editor of the Journal on the Use of Force and International Law’s Digest of State Practice.

Jasmin has acted as a research assistant and assistant counsel in landmark cases before the International Court of Justice, and proceedings before the International Criminal Court

Dr Alonso Gurmendi-Dunkelberg

Alonso is an LSE Fellow in Human Rights in the dpartment of Sociology, London School of Economics. Alonso’s work focuses on the history of the international regulation of war and political violence, from a postcolonial perspective. His latest book, Conflicto Armado en el Perú: La Época del Terrorismo bajo el Derecho Internacional (University of the Pacific Press, 2019) explores the role of international humanitarian law in post-conflict political discourses in Peru.

Prior to joining LSE, Alonso worked at King’s College London, Oxford University, the University of Michigan, and the University of the Pacific.

He is a contributing editor for the international law blog Opinio Juris and a member of the International Law Association’s Committee on the Use of Force.