Event information

28 September 2020, 18:30-20:00

Opening Lecture: Navigating a Career in International Law

Event

Catherine Marchi-Uhel, Head of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) for the Crimes Committed in Syria, briefs journalists ahead of the first informal debate on the IIIM. Catherine Marchi-Uhel, Head of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) for the Crimes Committed in Syria, briefs journalists ahead of the first informal debate on the IIIM.

Catherine Marchi-Uhel initially started working as a young judge handling offenses by juveniles in France. After joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and focusing more on human rights, she came across an opportunity to go to the Former Yugoslavia. From there, she continued to develop her career in international law – at the Yugoslav and Rwandan Tribunals, in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, as part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Liberia, as the Ombudsperson to the ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee, and most recently at the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to Assist in the Investigation and Prosecution of Core International Crimes Committed in Syria.

Though it may appear linear at first glance, Ms Marchi-Uhel has taken many twists and turns into the unknown. ‘I have always looked at jobs as opportunities for me to learn, to do something different and to hopefully put my skills to the best possible use. You never know exactly what you signed up for until you do it, but it is about being ready to embrace uncertainties and challenges, whether they are legal or of a different nature.’

In this opening lecture of the 2020–2021 academic year, Catherine Marchi-Uhel will share with our students her experience and advice on a career in international law through an interactive discussion.

Attendance

This event is primarily aimed at our incoming students.

External persons can attend this event but exclusively online via this link (passcode: 668157) which will allow them to follow the discussion.

Video

Inaugural lecture of the 2020-2021 Academic Year

Catherine Marchi-Uhel, Head of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism on international crimes committed in Syria, will shared with our students her experience on a career in international law.

 

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

2024 Geneva Academy Annual Report News

Our 2024 Annual Report

28 July 2025

Our 2024 Annual Report highlights significant achievements in international humanitarian law education and research during a year marked by deepening global humanitarian crises.

Read more

IHL Lab Geneva Academy News

The Geneva IHL Lab: Bridging Theory and Practice

21 May 2025

The Geneva Academy has launched a practice-oriented course designed to equip our Master of Advanced Studies students with skills in open-source research and legal analysis under international humanitarian law.

Read more

A general view of participants during of the 33nd ordinary session of the Human Rights Council. Training

The Universal Periodic Review and the UN Human Rights System: Raising the Bar on Accountability

10-14 November 2025

This training course will explore the origin and evolution of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and its functioning in Geneva and will focus on the nature of implementation of the UPR recommendations at the national level.

Read more

Project

The Lake Room Initiative (Space for Dialogue)

Started in February 2024

Read more

Project

Follow-up Review Pilot Series

Started in November 2021

Read more

Cover of the 2023 Geneva Academy Annual Report Publication

Annual Report 2024

published on July 2025

Read more