Course Director:
Dr. Elena Cima
Elena Cima is a Senior Lecturer in International Law at the University of Geneva, where she teaches courses on international environmental law, energy law, and investment law.
She holds a PhD in International Law from the Geneva Graduate Institute, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Milan and an LL.M degree from Yale Law School, where she was editor of the Yale Journal of International Law. She also supervises several international environmental and economic law clinic projects at the LLM Program in Public International Law at the Geneva Graduate Institute.
She has published in several peer-reviewed journals on international environmental law, as well as on the interface between international environmental law and trade, investment, human rights and energy law, and has recently published a monograph with Brill entitled From Exception to Promotion: Rethinking the Relationship between International Trade and Environmental Law.
Elena often participates in international treaty negotiations and arbitrations in relation to climate change, water, trade and investment law.
Océane Reuse
Océane Reuse is the Course Coordinator of the Geneva Summer School in International Law and International Humanitarian Law. With a robust academic foundation in international law, including a Master’s degree from the University of Geneva and an exchange program at Seoul National University, Océane specializes in Business and Human Rights. After completing her studies, she worked as a trainee for the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs at the Permanent Representation of Switzerland to the Council of Europe. She is currently conducting research for an NGO focused on North Korean human rights.
Lecturers 2025 :
Dafina Atanasova
Dafina Atanasova is an international investment law and policy expert, part of the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) International Investment Agreements (IIA) team. In her role, Dafina provides policy advice to governments on the reform of their investment treaties and approaches to investment dispute settlement; she conducts research and analysis on international investment policies for UN Trade and Development’s flagship publications and databases; and she contributes to such forums for consensus-building on sustainable investment policies as the World Investment Forum or the UNCTAD Platform for IIA Reform. Prior to joining UNCTAD, Dafina held advisory, academic and legal practice positions in international commercial and investment law across Europe and in Asia. She is a Bulgarian national and holds a PhD from the University of Geneva.
Beatrice Bonafè
Beatrice Bonafè, PhD EUI, is Full Professor of International Law at the Sapienza University of Rome where she teaches and has taught general and advanced courses of International Law. She has been visiting professor in Europe and the Americas. She is member of the managing board of Questions of International Law, member of the scientific committee of the Revue belge de droit international and the Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Procedural Law. She is the editor of the «osservatorio» on the International Court of Justice of the online journal Ordine internazionale e diritti umani. She chaired (2015-2023) and had been a member (2009-2013) of the Scientific secretariat of the Institut de droit international. She has been an ERC panel member for advanced grants (2019-2021). She is a legal expert to an ad hoc committee of the UN Human Rights Council (since 2023). She published three monographs and scientific articles in English, French and Italian. Her research interests cover the Law of International Responsibility, International Criminal Law, International Procedural Law, International Law-Making, the Law of International Organizations.
Ludovica Chiussi Curzi
Ludovica Chiussi Curzi is Associate Professor of Public International Law at the University of Bologna, Department of Legal Studies. Since 2020, she has worked as Legal Advisor to the Office of the State Attorney of the Republic of Italy on cases before the European Court of Human Rights and before international investment tribunals. She has also worked as legal assistant and counsel in cases before the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, and international investment tribunals. She is the Lead Trainer of the Course "Protecting Human Rights and the Environment", Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. She has written extensively on different branches of public international law, including international human rights law, international environmental law, and international investment law. She holds a PhD in International Law from the Universities of Oslo and Bologna, and she has been Visiting Fellow at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, University of Cambridge and at the Columbia Centre for Sustainable Investment, Columbia University.
Katherine Connolly
Katherine Connolly is a Senior Managing Associate at Sidley Austin LLP (Geneva). Katherine’s practice spans both international trade law and public international law more broadly. She advises sovereign and commercial clients on complex matters arising under the rules of the WTO and FTAs, including on issues ranging from trade remedies, customs valuation, SPS/TBT regulations, environmental, labour and human rights issues, and national security. Katherine has represented sovereign clients through each stage of the WTO dispute settlement system. Katherine’s expertise also covers States’ obligations arising under international environmental law; human rights and labour law; and the law of the sea. She has represented sovereign States in advisory proceedings on climate change before the ICJ and the ITLOS. Katherine’s practice regulatory engages with the legal and policy issues arising at the intersection of trade, business and sustainability, including advising corporate stakeholders on business and human rights compliance in complex international supply chains. Katherine has been recognized in Legal 500 EMEA 2024 for WTO – Switzerland. Before joining Sidley, Katherine served as a dispute settlement lawyer at the WTO Secretariat, supporting panels on disputes under the trade remedies agreements. During her studies received speaker prizes in both the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition and the ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law.
Dominic Coppens
Dominic is a full Professor at Maastricht University and a Senior Managing Associate at Sidley Austin LLP (Brussels). His academic work and private practice focus on the intersection of international trade and sustainability law, with particular expertise in EU Green Deal legislation. Dominic is part of the Sidley team representing Antigua & Barbuda in advisory proceedings before the International Court of Justice on climate change and international law. Previously, he was part of the Sidley team representing the African Union and the Comoros in advisory proceedings before the International ITLOS on climate change and the international law of the sea, where he appeared on behalf of the Comoros. At Sidley, Dominic also provides clients with expert advice on EU and international ESG and trade matters. Dominic also represents governments in WTO disputes, covering all stages of WTO dispute settlement. At Maastricht University's Faculty of Law, Dominic co-directs the Institute for Globalization and International Regulation (IGIR), where he leads work on sustainability. IGIR's sustainability research analyzes the development of international and domestic rules to promote a transition to a sustainable and climate-neutral economy in an inclusive manner. Dominic is also a member of the International Advisory Network of the Forum on Trade, Environment & the SDGs (TESS) in Switzerland. He participated in the TESS Expert Group on Trade, Circular Economy, and Sustainable Development, and contributed to the group’s report on trade-related circular economy policies and measures. Dominic was also part of an international law expert group convened by TESS that developed legal principles for trade-related climate measures. Additionally, he has contributed to research on the circular economy published by the World Economic Forum. Dominic also participates in the negotiations of the global plastics treaty.
Ilaria Espa
Ilaria Espa is Associate Professor of International Economic Law at USI and Senior Research Fellow at the World Trade Institute (WTI) in Bern. She is furthermore Adjunct Professor at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, Faculty Board Member of the PhD Programme in Legal Studies of Bocconi University and Lead Counsel of the 'Natural Resources' Programme of the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL). Formerly awarded a Marie Curie fellowship from the European Commission for her post-doctoral studies (2013-2015), Ilaria was a member of the WTI-based NCCR Trade Regulation Programme until its expiration in 2017 in addition to acting as Scientific Coordinator of the WTI Doctoral Programme (2015-2017). She was also an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Environmental Science and Policy of the University of Milan (2015-2020). Ilaria holds a PhD in International Law and Economics from the Department of Legal Studies of Bocconi University (2013) and was a visiting scholar at Columbia Law School (2012). She also holds a BA in Political Science and an MA in International Relations from Luiss University.
Jean-Pelé Fomété
Dr. Jean-Pelé Fomété, Deputy-Registrar of the International Court of Justice since 2013. Previously, Dr. Fomété served as Registrar of the United Nations Dispute Tribunal in Nairobi from 2009 until 2013. The 12 years before that, he worked with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), first as a legal adviser and Special Assistant to the Registrar, and then as a program director at the ICTR Registry. Prior to joining the ICTR, Dr. Fomété worked as a Law Clerk at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and as Chief of the United Nations Political and Legal Affairs Service at the Ministry of External Relations of Cameroon. Dr. Fomété holds a Doctorate in international law and diplomacy from the International Relations Institute of Cameroon (1990). He also has a Master’s of Business Administration from the Maastricht School of Management & the Eastern and Southern African Management Institute (2005).
Gloria Gaggioli
Gloria Gaggioli is a Full Professor of International Law and Vice-Dean at the Law Faculty of the University of Geneva. She serves on the boards of Geneva Call and the International Review of the Red Cross. Her publications span various areas of public international law, with a particular focus on international humanitarian law, human rights law, and counter-terrorism. She has taught or conducted research at universities in Denmark, France, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. From August 2020 to August 2024, she served as Director of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. Previously, she worked as a Legal Adviser in the Legal Division of the International Committee of the Red Cross (2011–2014).
Sévane Garibian
Sévane Garibian is Professor in International Criminal Law and Transitional Justice at the University of Geneva and Adjunct Professor in Legal Philosophy at the University of Neuchâtel. She is also an Associate Researcher at the Institut de recherche interdisciplinaire sur les enjeux sociaux (EHESS/CNRS, Paris) and a member of the scientific council of the Association Francophone de Justice Transitionnelle (AFJT). She was a member of the European Research Council research programme ‘Corpses of Mass Violence and Genocide’ (ERC Consolidator Grant 2012-2016). Professor Garibian also led the SNSF-funded research programme Right to Truth, Truth(s) through Rights: Mass Crimes Impunity and Transitional Justice at the University of Geneva (2016-2022). Since 2018, she has been associated, together with her team, with the ICRC Missing Persons Project as a scientific consultant for the drafting of Guiding Principles for the Dignified Management of the Dead in Humanitarian Emergencies and to Prevent them Becoming Missing Persons. Prior to joining the University of Geneva, Professor Garibian was an SNSF post-doctoral research fellow and a visiting fellow at the University of Buenos Aires and Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona. She holds a PhD from the Universities of Paris X and Geneva.
Itonde Kakoma
Itonde Kakoma is the President and CEO of Interpeace since October 2023. Prior to Interpeace, he served as the Permanent Representative of the International Federation of the Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to the African Union and International Organizations (2021-2023). Mr. Kakoma served in various leadership capacities on matters of international peace mediation, including as Director for Global Strategy and member of the leadership team at CMI Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation. Previously, Mr. Kakoma was the Assistant Director for the Conflict Resolution Program at The Carter Center, managing a portfolio of the Center’s peace initiatives and supporting former President Carter’s backchannel diplomatic efforts. He was an international observer for The National Referendum on the Right to Self Determination for the People of South Sudan; and served as an advisor and report writer for the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Mr. Kakoma was an Executive-in-Residence and subsequently Global Fellow at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP). He holds an Executive Master in International Law in Armed Conflict from the Geneva Academy for International Humanitarian Law & Human Rights and the Graduate Institute of International & Development Studies.
Namira Negm
Namira Negm is the first Director of the African Migration Observatory and Honorary President of the African Society for International Law. She is a Visiting Professor at the Geneva Summer School in International Law and International Humanitarian Law (Geneva University), Member of the Editorial Board of the International Organizations Law Review and Member of the Advisory Board of the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (Malta). She is a seasoned diplomat, professor and international advocate. Negm was the first female Legal Counsel of the African Union, the first and only African/Arab/Muslim/Egyptian female that addressed both the ICJ and the ICC (Advisory Opinions of Chagos, the illegality of the occupation of the Palestinian Territories and the Jordan’s Appeal in AlBashir case). She has also negotiated numerous international and African multilateral legal documents and Conventions.
She is a Justitia Award Laureate for 2023 (International Leaders/ Lifetime Award). She was also chosen among 100 Egyptian Female Heroes by WoEgypt’s Heroes 2020.
Negm is the former Ambassador of Egypt to Rwanda, Former Legal Advisor of the Egyptian Mission to the UN in NY, and former Visiting Professor at the American University of Cairo and University of `Rwanda.
She carries a PhD in Public International Law from University of London (2006) and LLM in Public International Law from King's College London (1996). She has many academic and non-academic publications. Her publications include a book entitled ‘The Transfer of Nuclear Technology under International Law: Case Study of Iraq, Iran and Israel’, and another entitled ‘An Introduction to the African Union Environmental Treaties’ and Articles on ‘The Role of Egypt in the Negotiations of the Crime of Aggression’, ‘The African Union Humanitarian Law Policy: An Analysis of Africa’s Regional Institutions and Practice’, ‘The African Union Sanctions Regime in case of Unconstitutional Change of Government’ , and ‘The Ethio-Eritrea Commission.’
Nils Melzer
Currently on sabbatical leave, Professor Melzer has served in numerous international leadership, academic and advisory roles, including as Director of International Law, Policy and Humanitarian Diplomacy at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from 2022 to 2024; United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNSRT) from 2016 to 2022; Vice-President of the International Institute of Humanitarian Law in Sanremo, Italy (IIHL) from 2019 to 2022; Professor of International Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom from 2017 to 2021; Human Rights Chair at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights from 2016 to 2022; Senior Security Policy Adviser at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) from 2015 to 2016; Senior Fellow for Emerging Security Challenges at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) from 2012 to 2014; Swiss Chair for International Humanitarian Law at the Geneva Academy from 2011 to 2013; Research Director at the Competence Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Zürich from 2011 to 2012; and Field Delegate, Legal Adviser and Deputy Head of Delegation at the International Committee of the Red Cross from 1999 to 2011. Professor Melzer holds a PhD in law from the University of Zürich (summa cum laude) and has authored award-winning and widely translated publications on contemporary issues of international law and policy arising in relation to targeting and the use of force in police, military and counter-terrorism operations, the use of new technologies in warfare, as well as human rights and, in particular, the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Niccolò Ridi
Niccolò Ridi is Associate Director of the Centre for International Governance and Dispute Resolution (CIGAD) and Senior Lecturer in Public International Law at The Dickson Poon School of Law, King's College London. Niccolò joined King's in 2021 having previously worked at the University of Liverpool, the University of Copenhagen, and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. He holds a PhD from King’s College London, an LLM from the University of Cambridge, and an LLB/MA from the University of Florence. He is also an alumnus of the 'Silvano Tosi' Research Seminar in Parliamentary Studies. Niccolò is a member of the European Society of International Law, the Society of International Economic Law, and the Network of Empirical Legal Scholars. He is also the Assistant Editor of the Journal of International Dispute Settlement.
Thomas Schultz
Thomas Schultz is Professor of International Arbitration at the Law Faculty of the University of Geneva. He also holds a fractional appointment as Professor of Law at the Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London, and has been a Visiting Professor of International Law at the Geneva Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies since 2018. A recipient of the Jubilee Prize from the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences, Schultz founded and is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of International Dispute Settlement. For a number of years, he was also an international commercial arbitrator. Schultz was previously Co-Director of the Geneva Center for International Dispute Settlement (CIDS), Swiss National Science Foundation Research Professor of International Law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Swiss National Science Foundation Ambizione Fellow at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, and a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Cambridge and at the University of Geneva. He obtained a PhD and a licence en droit from the University of Geneva, and an LLM in legal theory from the European Academy of Legal Theory in Brussels.
Yusra Suedi
Yusra Suedi is a Lecturer in International Law at the University of Manchester. She holds a PhD in Public International Law from the University of Geneva and is the author of The Individual in the Law and Practice of the International Court of Justice (Cambridge University Press, 2025). Yusra has worked for the United Nations Office in Geneva, the International Law Commission, the Institut Du Droit International, the International Labour Organization Administrative Tribunal and the International Court of Justice. She has held teaching and research positions at the London School of Economics (LSE) Law School and the University of Geneva. She has acted in cases before the International Court of Justice and has published in journals such as The European Journal of International Law and the Leiden Journal of International Law.
Attila Tanzi
Attila Tanzi, PhD, is Professor of International Law at the University of Bologna. He was a visiting professor at Queen Mary University of London, at the University of Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas and the University of Vienna, and director of studies at the Hague Academy of International Law. He is a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, a member of the Supervisory Board of the Tashkent International Arbitration Centre, a member of the International Supervisory Board of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Arbitration Centre (OIC-AC), conciliator at the Court of Conciliation and Arbitration of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Chairman of the Implementation Committee of the UNECE Water Convention. He was a legal advisor to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Environment. On several occasions, he was a member of Italy’s delegation to the Sixth Committee (Legal) of the UN General Assembly and international diplomatic conferences. He is listed on the PCA (Permanent Court of Arbitration) specialised panel of Arbitrators for Environment disputes. Attila Tanzi regularly advises governments and international organisations on international law matters, including questions concerning investment law, treaty interpretation, environmental law, the law of the sea, State immunity, the law of international organisations and international procedural law.
Dire Tladi
Dire Tladi is a Member of the International Court of Justice since 6 February 2024. He is professor of international law in the Department of Public of Law and a Fellow at the Institute of Comparative and International Law in Africa of the University of Pretoria, and NRF/DST SARChI Chair for International Constitutional Law. He was a member of the UN International Law Commission and its Special Rapporteur on Peremptory Norm of General International Law (Jus Cogens). He is also a member of the Institut de Droit International. He was formerly a Principal State Law Adviser for International Law in the Department of International Relations and Cooperation and the legal advisor of the South African Mission to the United Nations in New York, including during South Africa’s second spell on the UN Security Council. He also served as Special Adviser to the South African Foreign Minister. He has appeared as counsel before the International Criminal Court’s Pre-Trial and Appeals Chambers. Dire Tladi has held visiting professorships and fellows at Kobe University, Humboldt University in Berlin and University of California Irvine. He is two-time recipient of the Fulbright scholarship. He received B.L.C. and LL.B. degrees from the University of Pretoria, an LL.M. from the University of Connecticut, and a Ph.D. from Erasmus University, Rotterdam.
Patrick Wall
Patrick Wall is co-founder of the Global Strategic Initiatives Group, which works with the international community to develop innovative, ambitious, and pragmatic solutions to global challenges. He is also the Head of Strategic Partnerships at the Institute for Global Negotiation He has previously served with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Australian Government. He holds masters degrees in diplomacy and international law.
Fuad Zarbiyev
Fuad Zarbiyev is Professor of International Law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. Previously, he was a Global Research Fellow at New York University School of Law and worked as an associate attorney and counsel with the New York office of the international law firm of Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP. He is the recipient of the Diploma of the Hague Academy of International Law, the James Crawford Prize in International Dispute Settlement and the Prize for Best Article in International Dispute Resolution of the Dispute Resolution Interest Group of the American Society of International Law. He has served as Director of Studies at The Hague Academy of International Law and has held visiting appointments at the Sciences Po Law School in Paris, at Paris-Panthéon-Assas University and at Panthéon-Sorbonne University. His teaching experience includes lectureship in the United Nations Regional Course in International Law for Africa and the United Nations International Law Fellowship Programme organized by the Codification Division of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs.
Domenico Zipoli
Dr. Domenico Zipoli is a Senior Research Fellow and Project Coordinator at the Geneva Human Rights Platform, providing expert input to different Geneva-based international organizations and permanent missions as well as coordinating the organization and development of GHRP projects, events, workshops and training courses. Prior to starting at the Geneva Academy, Dr. Zipoli worked as PhD Fellow at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo. He previously worked as Research Assistant for the Academic Platform on Treaty Body Review 2020, as Research Trainee at the European Union's Fundamental Rights Agency, and as a research assistant at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. Throughout his research, he also carried out visiting stays at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Australian Institute for Human Rights (Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales). Dr Zipoli holds a PhD in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oslo, a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Human Rights Law from Lund University and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Exeter.
