Dr. Christophe Paulussen LL.M. M.Phil. is acting chair of the executive board and academic director of the T.M.C. Asser Instituut. He is also a senior researcher and coordinator of the institute's research strand 'In the public interest: accountability of the state and the prosecution of crimes', coordinator of the inter-faculty research platform ‘International Humanitarian and Criminal Law Platform’ and associate fellow rule of law responses to terrorism at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague (ICCT). Moreover, Christophe is editor-in-chief of the journal 'Security and Human Rights', member of the General Board of the Royal Netherlands Society of International Law, member of the Supervisory Board of ICCT, member of the Steering Committee of the Netherlands Network for Human Rights Research (NNHRR), member of the Editorial Boards of the 'Journal of Human Trafficking, Enslavement and Conflict-Related Sexual Violence' and 'Perspectives on Terrorism', member of the Board of Advisors to the Editorial Board of the 'Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law' and member of the Advisory Committee, Fund for Redress for International Crimes, Amsterdam University Fund.

Background:

After having spent a year in France (Strasbourg and Angers), Christophe studied law at Tilburg University, the Netherlands. After a propedeuse Dutch law (cum laude), a doctoraal International and European Law (with distinction) and a research master (cum laude), he started working as a PhD candidate at the Department of European and International Public Law of Tilburg University in 2005. On 24 September 2010, Christophe defended his PhD thesis ‘Male captus bene detentus? Surrendering suspects to the International Criminal Court’, which received a special mention from the Jury of the Max van der Stoel Human Rights Award 2011 and which has been used in procedures before the ICC. Inspiration for the subject of his PhD thesis was drawn from the thesis of his doctoraal studies which won not only the Tilburg University Thesis Prize 2004 but also the first prize for master’s theses in the framework of the Max Van Der Stoel Human Rights Award 2004. After his PhD defence, and before moving to The Hague, Christophe worked as an assistant professor at Tilburg University.

Interests and work:

Christophe’s areas of interest are international humanitarian law, international criminal law, in particular the law of the international criminal(ised) tribunals, and counter-terrorism & human rights, in particular the issue of foreign fighters. On the latter topic, he has advised several national delegations, as well as the EU, the Council of Europe and the UN. He has written extensively in all the above-mentioned areas, including in the International Criminal Law Review, the Journal of Conflict & Security Law, the European Journal of Criminology and the Journal of International Criminal Justice. He is also co-editor of the books Foreign Fighters under International Law and Beyond, Fundamental Rights in International and European Law: Public and Private Law Perspectives, Legal Responses to Transnational and International Crimes. Towards an Integrative Approach and Human Dignity and Human Security in Times of Terrorism.

Moreover, Christophe has been involved as project leader in the development and implementation of numerous lectures, expert meetings, summer programmes, conferences, databases, including the International Crimes Database, trainings, and needs assessment & capacity building missions in public international law-related projects.

Finally, his expert opinion has appeared in (inter)national media including NRC Handelsblad, de Volkskrant, De Groene Amsterdammer, Algemeen Dagblad, BNR News Radio, Voice of America, Euronews, El Pais, AFP and AP.

This UvA page is under development. For all relevant information, including all publications, please visit Christophe's Who is Who page at the Asser Institute's website. 

-Member Supervisory Board International Centre for Counter-Terrorism - The Hague (since 1 December 2023).
-Member Steering Committee Netherlands Network for Human Rights Research (since 1 December 2023)
-Member Advisory Committee, Fund for Redress for International Crimes (Fonds voor Rechtsherstel bij Internationale Misdrijven), Amsterdam University Fund (since 3 April 2023)
-Member of the editorial board of the journal ‘Perspectives on Terrorism’ (since 31 March 2023)
-Member of the Board of Advisors to the Editorial Board of the 'Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law' (since 1 July 2020).
-Member of the Editorial Board of the 'Journal of Human Trafficking, Enslavement and Conflict-Related Sexual Violence' (since 23 January 2020)
-Editor-in-chief of the journal 'Security and Human Rights' (since 11 June 2018) 
-Member of the General Board of the Royal Netherlands Society of International Law (since 2 November 2012)
-Associate fellow rule of law responses to terrorism at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague (since 1 June 2011)

2024:

-Speaker and co-organiser of the 9^th T.M.C. Asser Annual Lecture, The Hague, 25 April 2024.
-Co-organiser of the seminar and moderator of one of the seminar’s panels on ‘The Ljubljana – The Hague Convention: International cooperation in fighting impunity for international crimes’, The Hague, 15 February 2024.

2023:

-Presenter fair trial indicators, USAID conference ‘Justice in the Domestic Adjudication of War Crimes Cases’, Lviv, Ukraine, 20-22 October 2023.
-Organiser and moderator of the SCL lecture ‘Pursuing Accountability for the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine’, T.M.C. Asser Instituut, The Hague, 21 September 2023.
-Panelist speaking on Ukrainian war crimes investigations at the launch of the book ‘A country of Missing People: Securing Justice and Truth for Families of the Missing in Ukraine’, International Commission on Missing Persons, The Hague, 14 September 2023.
-Co-organiser of and speaker at the launch of the book ‘Returning Foreign Fighters: Responses, Legal Challenges and Ways Forward’, Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, Geneva, 26 May 2023.
-Main organiser and moderator, closing plenary ASIL Annual Meeting 2023, ‘Pursuing Global Accountability for Atrocity Crimes: Needs, Challenges and the Path Forward’, National Press Club, Washington D.C., 31 March 2023.

2024

-Interview with de Kanttekening, on the plans to strip citizenship of convicted terrorists mentioned in the Coalition Agreement (M. van Leijen, ‘Nationaliteit ontnemen bij ex-jihadisten is spierballentaal en gevaarlijk’, de Kanttekening, 22 May 2024, available at: https://dekanttekening.nl/blendle/nationaliteit-ontnemen-bij-ex-jihadisten-is-spierballentaal-en-gevaarlijk/). 

2023

-Interview with Euractiv (C. Bauer-Babef, ‘EU states reluctant to repatriate women, children still in Syria’, 6 February 2023, available at: https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/eu-states-reluctant-to-repatriate-women-children-still-in-syria/).

-Interview with AFP Serbia for a fact check on war crimes and crimes against humanity (K. Subašić, ‘Izjava ministra Martinovića da Šešelj nije osuđen za ratni zločin je obmanjujuća’, AFP, 2 August 2023, available at: https://cinjenice.afp.com/doc.afp.com.33QE3AZ).

2021

-Op-Ed in de Volkskrant, ‘De politieke wens iemand het Nederlanderschap te ontnemen, is typisch voor de heersende irrationaliteit’, 15 December 2021, available at: https://www.volkskrant.nl/columns-opinie/opinie-de-politieke-wens-iemand-het-nederlanderschap-te-ontnemen-is-typisch-voor-de-heersende-irrationaliteit~bb5ef7aa/

-Interview with Euractiv (C. Bauer-Babef, ‘French delegation calls for ’emergency’ repatriation of children in Syria as winter nears’, 23 November 2021, available at: https://www.euractiv.com/section/non-discrimination/news/french-delegation-calls-for-emergency-repatriation-of-children-in-syria-as-winter-nears/).

-Interview with NRC on what to do with Dutch IS women (M. Ingleby, ‘Nederland haalde zijn IS-vrouwen niet op. Nu ontsnappen ze’, 26 April 2021, available at: https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2021/04/26/een-voor-een-glipten-de-nederlandse-is-vrouwen-uit-hun-kamp-a4041447.) 

-Interview with Justice Info on the investigation by the Dutch judiciary in investigating Syrian war crime suspects who have taken refuge in the Netherlands (J.H. Anderson, ‘Syria, the Dutch International Crimes Unit New Focus’, 23 April 2021, available at: https://www.justiceinfo.net/en/76319-syria-dutch-international-crimes-unit-new-focus.html.) 

-Interview with Het Grote Midden Oosten Platform and Reporters Online on accountability efforts with respect to Dutch IS women (C. Stellweg, ‘De giftige nasleep van het kalifaat’, 16 April 2021, available at: https://www.hetgrotemiddenoostenplatform.nl/de-giftige-nasleep-van-het-kalifaat/). 

-Interview with De Groene Amsterdammer, (T. Lingsma, ‘Zo gezellig was het niet bij IS’, 24 March 2021, available at: https://www.groene.nl/artikel/zo-gezellig-was-het-niet-bij-is).

-Op-Ed in de Volkskrant (together with L. Van Waas), ‘Syriëgangers hun nationaliteit ontnemen is wegduiken voor verantwoordelijkheid’, 2 March 2021, available at: https://www.volkskrant.nl/columns-opinie/syriegangers-hun-nationaliteit-ontnemen-is-wegduiken-voor-verantwoordelijkheid~b5faceb0/.