The Geneva Academy of international Humanitarian Law and Human Rights (French: Académie de droit international humanitaire et de droits humains à Genève) provides post-graduate education, conducts academic legal research and policy studies, and organizes training courses and expert meetings. It concentrates on branches of international law that relate to situations of armed conflict, protracted violence, and protection of human rights.
Established in 2007 by the Faculty of Law of the University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, the Geneva Academy has acquired a global reputation for excellent teaching and research, and it attracts students of high quality to its master's and training programmes. Its graduates are employed around the world, promoting and protecting International humanitarian law (IHL) and human rights (HR) in governments, NGOs, international organizations and academic institutions. The Geneva Academy thus contributes to the dissemination of legal knowledge in these crucial sectors.
Its scientific research focuses on clarifying international humanitarian law, strengthening human rights protection, and developing the areas of complementary between international humanitarian law and international human rights law. In these areas, the Geneva Academy makes a specific contribution to policy development and debate, in government and among scholars and practitioners.
The Geneva Academy is a cosmopolitan community located in the heart of Geneva, an international city and humanitarian hub. Through close interaction with international organizations, NGOs, experts, and governments, we actively participate in global discussions of International Humanitarian Law, Human Rights, international criminal law, and transitional justice.
The Geneva Academy is located in the Villa Moynier building that was originally built in 1847 and owned by Gustave Moynier, co-founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Video Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights
History
The University Center for International Humanitarian Law (CUDIH), founded in 2002 by the Law Faculty of the University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute of International Studies (now Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID), conducted trainings and promoted scientific research in international humanitarian law and other branches of international law relating to situations of armed conflict and states of emergency. The centre was directed by Professor Louise Doswald-Beck from 2002 to 2007.
In 2007, the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights replaced the CUDIH and was directed by Professor Andrew Clapham and Professor Paola Gaeta.
In August 2014, Professor Robert Roth was appointed Director of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.
Maps Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights
Degree programmes
LLM in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights
The LLM is a full-time one-year postgraduate degree course that provides advanced, comprehensive and practical training in international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL), as well as the interplay between them.
Students gain access to a world-renowned faculty, benefit from direct connections with leading actors in the field like the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and share ideas with other participants from an array of different legal backgrounds and perspectives.
This programme allows students to tailor their studies according to their particular interests. Core courses provide a firm grounding in public international law, International Humanitarian Law, International Human Rights Law, international refugee law and international criminal law. Optional courses allow students to deepen their expertise in a particular issue such as the protection of children in armed conflict and post-conflict, counter-terrorism, armed non-state actors, transitional justice, the rules governing the conduct of hostilities or the work of international courts and tribunals.
Master of Advanced Studies in Transitional Justice, Human Rights and the Rule of Law
This full-time one year post-graduate degree course (60 ECTS) is an innovative programme that combines high-level academic education and real-world practice. One of the very few courses on this subject in Europe, it focuses on an expanding field where there is a strong need for well-trained professionals.
The programme allows students to gain comprehensive theoretical expertise and practical perspectives in the fields of transitional justice, human rights and the rule of law. Courses, structured in five modules, provide solid legal basis in transitional justice, human rights and the rule of law. They also address contemporary issues and challenges such as gender in transitional justice, the legal protection of children in post-conflict societies, constitution making or the theory and functions of criminal justice in transitional contexts.
The Master in Transitional Justice, Human Rights and the Rule of Law also focuses on developing practical skills through a year of clinical work made of research internships with leading transitional justice actors, seminars on specific topics with leading experts and practitioners, and participation in moot courts.
Students gain access to a world-renowned faculty, benefit from direct connections with leading actors in the field like the International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), Swiss Peace, the International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), TRIAL International, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) or the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and share ideas with other participants from an array of different legal backgrounds and perspectives.
Executive Master in International Law in Armed Conflict
Based in Geneva, this executive programme runs for nine months and admits 15 to 20 practitioners annually. Six to nine additional months are needed to complete a master's thesis and defend it before a jury.
Courses cover the law of armed conflict, international human rights law and international criminal law. They also address current issues and challenges, including the repression of terrorism, peacekeeping and international refugee law.
Taught by Geneva-based law professors and world-renowned law experts and professors, the programme enables participants to gain specialized knowledge directly applicable to professional work. It also responds to the growing need for specialists to address complex situations - in Afghanistan, Colombia, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere - and challenging processes such as criminal proceedings, international negotiations and humanitarian interventions.
Diplomats, lawyers, legal advisers, judges, NGO staff, human rights advocates, media specialists, professionals working in emergency situations, UN staff and staff from other international organizations share expertise, discuss pressing concerns and reflect on the application of international law to their work.
Trainings and short courses
The Geneva Academy offers a range of trainings and short courses for professionals on legal issues related to armed conflicts, human rights protection, transitional justice and international criminal justice. These are designed for human rights advocates, staff of NGOs and national human rights institutions, representatives of governments, staff of UN and other international organizations as well as members of the academia.
Research
The Geneva Academy provides in-depth legal research and policy studies in the fields of international law in armed conflict, human rights protection, transitional justice, international criminal justice, weapons law, or economic, social and cultural rights. This research examines issues that are under-explored, need clarification, or are unconventional, experimental or challenging. It advances understanding and stimulates debate in the academic community and in policy-making institutions and governments.
Furthermore, the Geneva Academy is home to the Swiss Chair of International Humanitarian Law, currently held by Noam Lubell, Professor of International Law of Armed Conflict, in the School of Law, University of Essex, UK. and the Human Rights Chair, currently held by Dr Nils Melzer, UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment.
Publications
The Geneva Academy's publication address current issues and challenges in the humanitarian, human rights and transitional justice fields, and stimulate debates in the academic community and in policy-making institutions and governments.
Villa Moynier
The Geneva Academy is headquartered at the Villa Moynier, a historic villa surrounded by a beautiful park with a view of Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc.
Villa Moynier forms part of the Graduate Institute's Campus de la paix and is five minutes' walk from the Maison de la paix.
It was the property of Gustave Moynier, the first President of the ICRC. It later housed the League of Nations in 1926 and served as headquarters for the ICRC between 1933 and 1946.
See also
- Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts Project
References
External links
- Geneva-academy.ch: Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights website
- University of Geneva
- The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
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