[Benjamin Ferencz lecture] Prosecuting Russian environmental war crimes

In its war with Ukraine, Russia has targeted the environment as a means of attaining military advantage, demoralising the population, and rendering parts of Ukraine uninhabitable. It has blown up dams, flooded coal mines, burned down national forests, and even targeted the black sea dolphins that inhabit the waters off Ukraine’s coast. Will the perpetrators of these heinous attacks be brought to justice? Where will they be tried? And what law will apply? Our speakers, who helped prepare Ukrainian prosecutors and judges to try Russian environmental war crimes, present an insider's perspective on these questions.

Speakers

• Mr Maksym Popov, expert of the EU Project Pravo-Justice
• Dr Mark Ellis, executive director of the International Bar Association
• Hon. Margaret deGuzman, judge of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, professor of law and co-director of the Institute for International Law and Public Policy at Temple University Beasley School of Law
• Prof. Michael Scharf, chair of the IBA ICC Moot Court Competition, served as Dean of Case Western Reserve University School of Law from 2013-2024
• Prof. Milena Sterio, president of the International Association of Penal Law and Distinguished University Professor at Cleveland State College of Law
• Mr Andre Monette, council member of the International Bar Association’s Section on energy, environment, resources and infrastructure
• Dr Paul Williams, president of the Public International Law & Policy Group

Additional information

This lecture is organised as part of the IBA International Criminal Court Moot Court Competition.

Participating teams, judges, and bench clerks do not need to register for the same.

Leiden University students and staff with a valid LU card do not need to register either.

Please make sure to register if you are an external visitor or if you currently do not have a valid LU card.

Following the lecture, teams of the IBA ICCMCC advancing to the quarter-finals will be announced. You are welcome to stay and witness this exciting moment.

About the Benjamin Ferencz Lecture Series

The Benjamin Ferencz Lecture Series on International Criminal Justice, previously known as the Supranational Criminal Law (SCL) Lectures Series, has been organised by the T.M.C. Asser Instituut since 2003, in cooperation with the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies of Leiden University (Campus The Hague) and the Coalition for the International Criminal Court. The lectures are public and free of charge. Read more.