Three Students Rewarded for their Exceptional Academic Work at the 2018 Graduation Ceremony

Arthur Nguyen dao

30 October 2018

Our LLM in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights (LLM) and Master of Advanced Studies in Transitional Justice, Human Rights and the Rule of Law (MTJ) involve the drafting of a paper on a specific issue addressed in the programme, under the guidance of a faculty member.

‘This gives students an opportunity to investigate a subject of special interest to them and to deepen their knowledge and expertise through research as well as exchanges with experts, scholars and practitioners’ stresses Marco Sassòli, Director of the Geneva Academy.

Every year, at the Graduation Ceremony, three students – two from the LLM and one from the MTJ – are rewarded for their exceptional academic work via three prices: the Henry Dunant Research Prize, the Best LLM Paper Prize and the Best MTJ Paper Prize.

The 2018 Henry Dunant Research Prize

The Foundation Prix Henry Dunant, in partnership with the Geneva Academy, awarded the 2018 Henry Dunant Research Prize to Anna Greipl for her LLM paper ‘International State Responsibility: The Role of Italy in Outsourcing Migration Management to Libya’.

The paper discusses state responsibility in dealing with migratory flows by examining the role and responsibilities of Italy, notably on the basis of the 2017 Memorandum of Understanding between Italy and Libya which entrusts the latter with the authority to manage exit control in order to curtail migratory flows to Europe.

‘Besides the fact that this paper is extremely well researched and written, it also addresses a contemporary issue which affects thousands of the most vulnerable in the contemporary world’ underlines Marco Sassòli. ‘It, therefore, meets the price’s objectives to deepen, strengthen and renew the ideals and commitments of Henry Dunant’.

The 2018 Best LLM Paper Prize

Antoana Marinova Nedyalkova received the 2018 Best LLM Paper Prize for her LLM paper ‘Judicial Notice of Adjudicated Facts at the Ad Hoc International Criminal Tribunals and the Right to a Fair Trial’.

‘This well-structured and well-researched paper displays a very good command of international criminal tribunals’ case law. In addition, the author develops synthetically and convincingly her personal position on the issue of judicial notice of adjudicated facts, which may contribute to the discussion on important procedural issues at the International Criminal Court. Indeed, judicial notice of facts already found in a previous case is essential to deal efficiently with mass atrocities, while the accused must have a fair chance to challenge findings in a case in which he or she had no say’ stresses Marco Sassòli.

The 2018 Best MTJ Paper Prize

Lucia Susmitha Thayanandan received the 2018 Best MTJ Paper Prize for her MTJ paper ‘Constitution-Making as a Guarantee of Non-Recurrence? The Case of Sri Lanka’.

‘This paper demonstrates a great accuracy, an academic thoroughness and an argumentative coherence and addresses an important topic that remains largely underexplored: the role of constitution-making as a tool of non-recurrence in transitional justice processes’ underlines Frank Haldemann, Co-Director of the MTJ.

‘The paper also aptly integrates current theoretical debates into the concrete context of post-conflict Sri Lanka and addresses head-on practical challenges that may potentially arise in this respect’ adds Thomas Unger, Co-Director of the MTJ.