Professor Marco Sassòli Steps in as New Director of the Geneva Academy

3 September 2018

Professor Marco Sassòli has been appointed as the new Director of the Geneva Academy. He takes up this role following the retirement of Professor Robert Roth.

A renowned scholar in international humanitarian law (IHL), Marco Sassòli has been Professor of International Law at the University of Geneva Law Faculty since 2004 and has been teaching IHL at the Geneva Academy since this time. He is Associate Professor at the University of Quebec in Montreal (Canada), Commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists and Special Advisor (pro bono) on IHL to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, and has previously worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as Deputy Head of its Legal Division in Geneva and Head of Delegation in the field.

Marco Sassòli has published widely on IHL, international human rights law (IHRL), international criminal law, the sources of international law, the responsibility of states and non-state actors and Swiss constitutional law.

He replaces Robert Roth who is retiring after four years of dedicated leadership. Under his guidance the Geneva Academy launched a new Master of Advanced Studies in Transitional Justice, Human Rights and the Rule of Law, successfully undertook more than twenty research projects, including flagships projects on the modes of liability in international criminal law and disability in armed conflict, and convened more than 170 expert meetings, seminars, conferences and events that provided a critical and scholarly forum to address topical issues in IHL, IHRL, international criminal law and transitional justice.

The Geneva Academy is a joint centre of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and the Faculty of Law of the University of Geneva.