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Professor of International Law

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CV / Biography

Sandesh Sivakumaran is Professor of International Law, co-Deputy Director of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law and Fellow of St Edmund's College. He was previously Professor of Public International Law at the University of Nottingham. He has been a non-resident research scholar at the United States Naval War College Stockton Center for International Law and has held visiting fellowships at Melbourne Law School and New York University School of Law.

Sandesh has published on a variety of topics in public international law. He is the author of The Law of Non-International Armed Conflict (Oxford University Press, 2012), which was awarded the International Committee of the Red Cross Paul Reuter Prize, the American Society of International Law Francis Lieber Prize, and the European Society of International Law Book Prize. He is one of the authors of Oppenheim's International Law: United Nations (Oxford University Press, 2017)(with Dame Rosalyn Higgins, Philippa Webb, Dapo Akande and James Sloan), which was awarded the American Society of International Law Certificate of Merit. He is co-author of Cases and Materials on International Law (Sweet and Maxwell, 8 ed, 2015)(with David Harris) and co-editor of International Human Rights Law (Oxford University Press, 3 ed, 2017)(with Daniel Moeckli and Sangeeta Shah). He has published in leading journals including the European Journal of International Law, the International and Comparative Law Quarterly and the Human Rights Quarterly. His article on the courts of armed groups was awarded the Journal of International Criminal Justice Giorgio La Pira prize and the Antonio Cassese prize. His work has been cited by, among others, the UK, Netherlands, and Israeli Supreme Courts; the International Criminal Court; the International Law Commission; and UN commissions of inquiry.

Sandesh advises and acts as expert for a range of states, international organizations and non-governmental organizations. He has served as international legal advisor to the Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, conflict advisor to the Secretariat of the World Humanitarian Summit, and a member of the working group on non-state armed groups at the Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation. He is a member of the Reading Committee of the ICRC's Commentaries on the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols, a member of the advisory board of Geneva Call and was a member of the Core Group of Experts for the Oxford Guidance on the Law Relating to Humanitarian Relief Operations in Situations of Armed Conflict. Sandesh regularly trains diplomats, members of the armed forces, and UN entities on international law and the law of war. He is a member of the Bar of the State of New York.

Prior to entering academia, Sandesh's professional experience included: Fellow of the International Bar Association and Associate Legal Officer to Judge Mohamed Shahabuddeen at the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda; Judicial Fellow to Judges Dame Rosalyn Higgins and Peter Tomka at the International Court of Justice; and Intern for former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, at Realizing Rights: the Ethical Globalization Initiative.

Sandesh holds an BA and PhD from the University of Cambridge and an LLM from New York University School of Law where he was a Hauser Global Scholar.

Postal address: Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, 5 Cranmer Road, Cambridge CB3 9BL, United Kingdom

Publications

 

Books

Cases and Materials on International Law (with David Harris) (Sweet and Maxwell, 2020) 9th Edition

Co-Author/s:
David Harris
Publisher:
Sweet and Maxwell
Published Sep 2020

Asia-Pacific Perspectives on International Humanitarian law (with Suzannah Linton; Tim McCormack) (eds) (CUP, 2019)

Co-Author/s:
Suzannah Linton; Tim McCormack
Publisher:
CUP
Published Nov 2019

International Human Rights Law (with Daniel Moeckli; Sangeeta Shah) (eds) (OUP, 2017) 3rd Edition

Co-Author/s:
Daniel Moeckli; Sangeeta Shah
Publisher:
OUP
Published Dec 2017

Oppenheim's International Law: United Nations (with Rosalyn Higgins; Philippa Webb; Dapo Akande; James Sloan) (OUP, 2017)

Co-Author/s:
Rosalyn Higgins; Philippa Webb; Dapo Akande; James Sloan
Publisher:
OUP
Published Dec 2017

The Law of Non-International Armed Conflict (OUP, 2012)

Publisher:
OUP
Published Jan 2012

Articles

"Making and Shaping the Law of Armed Conflict" (2018) 71 Current Legal Problems 119-160

Citation:
(2018) 71 Current Legal Problems 119-160
Published: Sep 2018

"Armed Conflict Related Detention of Particularly Vulnerable Persons" (2018) 94 International Law Studies 39-74

Citation:
(2018) 94 International Law Studies 39-74
Published: Jul 2018

"Techniques in International Law-Making: Extrapolation, Analogy, Form and the Emergence of an International Law of Disaster Relief" (2017) 28 European Journal of International Law 1097-1132

Citation:
(2017) 28 European Journal of International Law 1097-1132
Published: Dec 2017

"The Influence of Teachings of Publicists on the Development of International Law" (2017) 66 International and Comparative Law Quarterly 1-37

"The Role of State-Empowered Entities in the Making and Shaping of International Law" (2017) 55 Columbia Journal of Transnational Law 342-394

Citation:
(2017) 55 Columbia Journal of Transnational Law 342-394
Published: Jul 2017

"Exclusion Zones in the Law of Armed Conflict at Sea" (2016) 92 International Law Studies 153-203

Citation:
(2016) 92 International Law Studies 153-203
Published: Jul 2016

"Arbitrary Withholding of Consent to Humanitarian Assistance in Situations of Disaster" (2015) 64 International and Comparative Law Quarterly 501-531

"Exclusion from Refugee Status: Article 1F(c) of the Refugee Convention and the Purposes and Principles of the United Nations" (2014) 26 International Journal of Refugee Law 350-381

Citation:
(2014) 26 International Journal of Refugee Law 350-381
Published: Dec 2014

"Superior Responsibility in Irregular Groups" (2012) 10 Journal of International Criminal Justice 1129-1150

Citation:
(2012) 10 Journal of International Criminal Justice 1129-1150
Published: Dec 2012

"Lawmaking by Non-State Actors: Engaging Armed Groups in the Creation of International Humanitarian Law" (2012) 37 Yale Journal of International Law 107-152

Co-Author/s:
Anthea Roberts
Citation:
(2012) 37 Yale Journal of International Law 107-152
Published: May 2012

"Re-Envisaging the International Law of Internal Armed Conflict" (2011) 22 European Journal of International Law 219-264

Citation:
(2011) 22 European Journal of International Law 219-264
Published: Nov 2011

"Re-Envisaging the International Law of Internal Armed Conflict: A Reply to Gabriella Blum" (2011) 22 European Journal of International Law 273-275

"Lessons for the Law of Armed Conflict from Commitments of Armed Groups: Identification of Legitimate Targets and Prisoners of War" (2011) 93 International Review of the Red Cross 463-482

Citation:
(2011) 93 International Review of the Red Cross 463-482
Published: Sep 2011

"War Crimes before the Special Court for Sierra Leone" (2010) 8 Journal of International Criminal Justice 1009-1034

Citation:
(2010) 8 Journal of International Criminal Justice 1009-1034
Published: Dec 2010

"Lost in Translation: UN Responses to Sexual Violence Against Men and Boys in Time of Armed Conflict" (2010) 92 International Review of the Red Cross 259-277

Citation:
(2010) 92 International Review of the Red Cross 259-277
Published: Mar 2010

"Courts of Armed Opposition Groups: Fair Trials or Summary Justice?" (2009) 7 Journal of International Criminal Justice 489-513

Citation:
(2009) 7 Journal of International Criminal Justice 489-513
Published: Dec 2009

"Sexual Violence Against Men in Armed Conflict" (2007) 18 European Journal of International Law 253-276

Citation:
(2007) 18 European Journal of International Law 253-276
Published: May 2007

"Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v Serbia and Montenegro)" (2007) 56 International and Comparative Law Quarterly 695-708

"Binding Armed Opposition Groups" (2006) 55 International and Comparative Law Quarterly 369-394

"Torture in International Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law: The Actor and the ad hoc Tribunals" (2005) 18 Leiden Journal of International Law 541-556

"The Rights of Migrant Workers One Year On: Transformation or Consolidation?" (2004) 36(1) Georgetown Journal of International Law 113-153

Citation:
(2004) 36(1) Georgetown Journal of International Law 113-153
Published: Oct 2004

Book Chapters

"The Role of Asia-Pacific States in the Development of International Humanitarian Law" in Suzannah Linton, Tim McCormack and Sandesh Sivakumaran (ed(s)), Asia-Pacific Perspectives on International Humanitarian Law (CUP, 2019)

Publisher:
CUP
Published Dec 2019

"The Sources of International Law" (with Anthea Roberts) in Malcolm Evans (ed(s)), International Law (OUP, 2018)

Publisher:
OUP
Published Aug 2018

"Article 19" in ICRC (ed(s)), Commentary on the Second Geneva Convention (CUP, 2017)

"Article 20" in ICRC (ed(s)), Commentary on the Second Geneva Convention (CUP, 2017)

"International Humanitarian Law" in Daniel Moeckli, Sangeeta Shah and Sandesh Sivakumaran (ed(s)), International Human Rights Law (OUP, 2017), pp. 503-520

Publisher:
OUP
Pages:
503-520
Published Dec 2017

"Article 16", Commentary on the First Geneva Convention (CUP, 2016)

"Article 17" in ICRC (ed(s)), Commentary on the First Geneva Convention (CUP, 2016)

"The Addressees of Common Article 3" in Andrew Clapham, Marco Sassoli and Paola Gaeta (ed(s)), Commentary on the Geneva Conventions of 1949 (OUP, 2016), pp. 415-432

Publisher:
OUP
Pages:
415-432
Published Sep 2016

"Implementing Humanitarian Norms through Non-State Armed Groups" in Heike Krieger (ed(s)), Enforcing International Humanitarian Law in Contemporary African Conflicts (CUP, 2015), pp. 125-146

Publisher:
CUP
Pages:
125-146
Published Sep 2015

"International Humanitarian Law" in Daniel Moeckli, Sangeeta Shah and Sandesh Sivakumaran (ed(s)), International Human Rights Law (OUP, 2013), pp. 479-495

Publisher:
OUP
Pages:
479-495
Published Dec 2013

"Command Responsibility in the Sierra Leonean Conflict: The Duty to Take Measures to Prevent Crimes and Punish Perpetrators", The Sierra Leone Special Court and its Legacy (CUP, 2013), pp. 128-143

Publisher:
CUP
Pages:
128-143
Published Sep 2013

"Prosecuting Sexual Violence against Men" in Anne-Marie de Brouwer, Renee Romkens, Charlotte Ku and Larissa van den Herik (ed(s)), Prosecuting Sexual Violence as an International Crime: Interdisciplinary Approaches (Intersentia, 2012), pp. 79-98

Publisher:
Intersentia
Pages:
79-98
Published Nov 2012

"Internal Armed Conflict" in Antonio Cassese (ed(s)), The Future of International Law: Towards a Realistic Utopia (OUP, 2012), pp. 525-537

Publisher:
OUP
Pages:
525-537
Published Oct 2012

"The Ownership of International Humanitarian Law: Non-State Armed Groups and the Formation and Enforcement of the Rules" in Benjamin Perrin (ed(s)), On the Edges of Conflict (UBC Press, 2012), pp. 87-101

Publisher:
UBC Press
Pages:
87-101
Published May 2012

"International Humanitarian Law" in Daniel Moeckli, Sangeeta Shah and Sandesh Sivakumaran (ed(s)), International Human Rights Law (OUP, 2010), pp. 521-539

Publisher:
OUP
Pages:
521-539
Published Dec 2010

"The International Court of Justice and Human Rights" in Sarah Joseph and Adam McBeth (ed(s)), Research Handbook on International Human Rights Law (Edward Elgar, 2010), pp. 299-325

Publisher:
Edward Elgar
Pages:
299-325
Published Mar 2010

"Identifying an Armed Conflict Not of an International Character" in Carsten Stahn and Goran Sluiter (ed(s)), The Emerging Practice of the International Criminal Court (Martinus Nijhoff, 2009), pp. 363-380

Publisher:
Martinus Nijhoff
Pages:
363-380
Published Aug 2009