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Paola Gaeta

Director of the Geneva Academy and Professor of International Law at the Geneva Graduate Institute

International Humanitarian Law / International Human Rights Law / International Criminal Law / Public International Law / Transitional Justice / International Criminal Justice / International Immunity Law

Paola Gaeta is the Director of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights and a Full Professor of International Law at the Geneva Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.

She obtained her PhD in International Law from the European University Institute in 1997. After a brief role as a legal assistant at the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, she began her academic career at the University of Florence, where she held positions as a researcher, associate professor, and full professor. From 2007 to 2015, she was a Full Professor of International Criminal Law at the University of Geneva and co-directed the Geneva Academy until 2014. She has taught as a visiting or adjunct professor at institutions such as the Hague Academy of International Law, Bocconi University, the College of Europe, LUISS University, and the Academy of European Law.

She is the initiator of the Antonio Cassese Initiative for Peace, Justice, and Humanity, through which she has organized training courses in international criminal law for judges and lawyers from West Africa, and currently serves as President of the Board of the Antonio Cassese Initiative Foundation. She has provided training and advisory services on international criminal law and the prosecution of international crimes for institutions such as UNITAR, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the Council of Europe, and UN capacity-building programs. She also regularly engages in pro bono consultancy on matters related to international criminal law. Recognized for her expertise in international criminal law, she has extensively published on the subject and is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of International Criminal Justice.

Resources

Hands Off Water in War: Weaponization of Water in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

July 2024

OpinioJuris

Paola Gaeta, Etienne Henry

Spotlight on IHL: Geneva Academy Briefs EU Delegation on Alarming Conflict Trends

Alarming conflict trends from the IHL in Focus report were presented to members of the UN at the EU Delegation in Geneva by members of the Geneva Academy.

Opening Lecture by the President of the Human Rights Council

Following his election as President of the Human Rights Council, we had the honour of welcoming Ambassador Jürg Lauber for the Geneva Academy’s Spring Semester Opening Lecture.

In and Around War(s): Season 2, Episode 4: War and the Cyberspace

Online since:
In the season’s final episode, Paola Gaeta, Ana Srovin Coralli, and Antonio Coco discuss the types of cyber operations that can be conducted in war, when a cyberattack amounts to an armed attack, and whether new rules are needed to address the realities of cyberspace.

In and Around War(s): Season 2, Episode 2 : Data Protection in War

Online since:
In this episode, Paola Gaeta and Antonio Coco discuss the challenges of data protection and privacy in war with Ilia Maria Siatista, Programme Director and Senior Legal Officer at Privacy International – a London based NGO.

In and Around War(s): Season 2, Episode 1: Engaging with Armed Groups

Online since:
In this first episode of the second season of ‘In and Around War(s)’, Ezequiel Heffes, Director of Watchlist, shares with us his rich experience of engaging with armed groups to ensure respect for international humanitarian law with the co-hosts Paola Gaeta and Ana Srovin Coralli.

In and Around War(s): Season 1, Episode 5: Practising International Humanitarian Law

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In this episode, Paola Gaeta and Antonio Coco discuss the challenges and rewards of practising international humanitarian law with Nishat, an alumna of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.

In and Around War(s): Season 1, Episode 4: Business And War

Online since:
In this episode, Paola Gaeta and Ana Srovin Coralli discuss some burning legal issues in relation to business and war with Sâ Benjamin Traore and an alumnus of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.

In and Around War(s): Season 1, Episode 2: Prosecuting War Criminals Universally

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In this episode we discuss the relevance of universal jurisdiction for prosecuting international crimes with Philip Grant, founder and Director of Trial International.

In and Around War(s): Season 1, Episode 1: War And Terrorism

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This episode explores the relationship between terrorism and war in a conversation with Gloria Gaggioli, current Director and alumna of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.

In and Around War(s): Season 1, Episode 0: A Podcast On War

Online since:
In the first episode of the In and Around War(s) podcast, Paola Gaeta, Antonio Coco and Ana Srovin Coralli introduce the concept of the episodes that will follow.

The 1949 Geneva Conventions: A Commentary

October 2015

Oxford University Press

Paola Gaeta, Marco Sassòli, Andrew Clapham

The Oxford Handbook of International Law in Armed Conflict

March 2014

Oxford University Press

Paola Gaeta, Andrew Clapham
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