Contemporary Conflicts and International Law: Ukraine

This session will be led by experts from Essex Law School and external speakers: 

Sophie Duroy is a Lecturer at Essex Law School. She is author of the book The Regulation of Intelligence Activities under International Law, which was awarded the 2024 King's Centre for the Study of Intelligence Polly Corrigan Book Prize. Her current research focuses on the mutual influence of international law and intelligence practice on one another. Her research interests span public international law, international human rights law, intelligence and security studies, and social science approaches to international law.

Matthew Gillett is a Senior Lecturer at Essex Law School and has extensive experience as a Prosecution Trial Attorney and Appeals Counsel before the International Criminal Court and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. In 2022, he was appointed as a United Nations Special Mandate Holder and has also conducted investigations in various conflict zones, including as a Human Rights Officer with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. He travelled to Ukraine in mid-2022 to assist investigators in Kyiv, Bucha and Irpin. Matthew has published widely on matters relating to international law, peace and security and the environment and his monograph is titled Prosecuting Environmental Harm before the International Criminal Court.

Chair: Franziska Fluhr

How to attend

This event is being held in 5N.3.7. All staff and students are welcome.

If you are unable to attend in person you can also join via Zoom (Meeting ID: 921 1172 1901)

Contemporary Conflicts and International Law Series

Throughout the academic year, colleagues from Essex Law School lead sessions on different contemporary conflicts to provide an opportunity for students and staff to discuss a wide range of issues arising in international law. In each session, a specific conflict is highlighted to examine a particular way in which law operates, affects, and regulates conflict.

In this academic year, we focus on conflicts in Ethiopia, Syria, Israel-Palestine, Sudan, South Sudan, Ukraine, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Columbia. We discuss issues such as the role of international courts, displacement caused by conflict, transitional justice, Fact-Finding Missions and Commissions of Inquiry, sanctions, intelligence activities, and the responsibility of businesses operating in conflict-affected areas.