Complementary Course: Legal Clinic in International Criminal Law and Case Analysis

As part of the legal clinic in international criminal law, students will be involved in the analysis of practical cases relating to the commission of international crimes, such as cases of concerning the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes or aggression, with the aim of delineating and ascertaining the responsibilities of the individuals involved and supporting any criminal proceedings instituted in this regard before International, Italian or foreign tribunals.
In particular, the students will deal with actual cases pending before international tribunals or domestic courts. Students will first be guided in understanding the context of the case (of a "macro" dimension, as opposed to common crimes) and the related legal analysis, and then led to participate in the full handling of the case, from defining the legal strategy, to drafting documents and, where possible, participating in the proceedings, including any hearings.
The cases under discussion fit within the framework of so-called strategic litigation, a form of human rights advocacy that uses legal litigation to achieve "strategic" outcomes beyond the individual case, with the goal of bringing about change not only in law, but also within the relevant social system.

Working on concrete cases, students will learn to identify diriment legal issues from the perspective of criminal law and in particular international criminal law, and to define possible defensive strategies through the application of the Legal Clinic's own method. The cases proposed will be real cases involving the direct involvement of the lecturer, and students will, as far as possible, have opportunities to actually intervene in the proceedings. Participants in the clinic will thus learn to draft legal documents aimed at establishing or supporting the case, in the form of criminal complaints, complaints to international criminal tribunals and legal opinions intended for judicial bodies to assist in the handling of a case (as a so-called amicus curiae).
Students will have the opportunity to broaden the horizon of analysis and work on their own legal, as well as social and political sensitivities within a broader context; sensitivities necessary as lawyers who wish to deal in the future with strategic litigation cases related to the protection of human rights and commission of international crimes.