Three Students Rewarded for their Exceptional Academic Work

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 master’s paper on a specific issue addressed in the programme, under the guidance of a faculty member.

‘These papers are an opportunity for our students to apply what they have learned during the year to specific cases or situations, reflecting on the protection existing legal frameworks afford, their potential gaps and how the latter can be filled. The fact that the paper is quite short requires a very good command of the law as well as the ability to analyse complex legal issues and situations in a precise and concise manner’ says Professor Gloria Gaggioli, 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 prizes: the Henry Dunant Research Prize, the Best LLM Paper Prize and the Best MTJ Paper Prize.

Yulia Mogutova received the 2020 Henry Dunant Research Prize – awarded by the Geneva Academy and the Foundation Prix Henry Dunant for her LLM paper ‘The Right to Life of State’s own Military Personnel in the Conduct of Hostilities’.

‘This excellent paper develops original arguments on the existence of States’ obligations to protect the right to life of their own military personnel in the conduct of hostilities, a nascent but important concern that deserved to be given full attention through a nuanced and balanced approach’ underlines Professor Gloria Gaggioli, Director of the Geneva Academy.

‘The author managed to derive a convincing argumentation: she concludes that there is a gap under international humanitarian law and formulates specific recommendations to address it through a careful import of international human rights law obligations’ she adds.

Berta Fernández-Rosón received the 2020 Best LLM Paper Prize for her LLM paper ‘The Sexual Nature of Violence: An Obstacle or an Opportunity to Enhance the Visibility of Male Victimhood at the International Criminal Court’.

‘This paper tackles the important question of the prosecution of sexual violence committed against men during armed conflicts and elaborates an original test to assess the sexual nature of the violence by the International Criminal Court’ underlines Professor Gloria Gaggioli.

Camila Ruiz Segovia received the 2020 Best MTJ Paper Prize for her paper ‘SIN LAS FAMILIAS NO: Victim participation and the fight against impunity in the search for missing persons in Mexico’.

‘This paper brings to live the innovative power of victims groups in Mexico around the issue of the missing. It is strong in highlighting crucial lessons learned that could influence the field to improve the search for the missing and goes the extra mile by including interviews and testimonies from activists and officials. The paper also is exceptional in mapping the terrain of civil society efforts around the missing’ explains Thomas Unger, Co-Director of the MTJ.