Marco Sassòli

Marco Sassòli

Professor of International Law at the University of Geneva

Areas of expertise

International Humanitarian Law  /  International Human Rights Law  /  Armed Non-State Actors  /  State Responsibility

Marco Sassòli is a Professor of International Law at the University of Geneva since 2004. He is also a Commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) since 2013 and a member of its Executive Committee since 2021.

He has published widely on IHL, human rights law, international criminal law, the sources of international law, the responsibility of states and non-state actors and Swiss constitutional law. He is recognized as a leading expert in IHL.

Professor Sassòli was the Director of the Geneva Academy from August 2018 to August 2020. He was also Director of the Department of Public International Law and International Organization at the University of Geneva from 2009–2016. From 2001–2003, he taught at the Université du Québec à Montreal, where he remains an associate professor.

In March–April 2022, he has been a member of a mission of experts under the Moscow Mechanism of the OSCE enquiring into violations of international humanitarian law and human rights in Ukraine between 24 February 2022 and 1 April 2022. From 1985–1997 he worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), notably as Deputy Head of its Legal Division, Head of the ICRC delegations in Jordan and Syria and as Protection Coordinator for the former Yugoslavia.

Professor Sassòli has also served as Executive Secretary of the ICJ, as registrar at the Swiss Supreme Court and as Chair of the Board of Geneva Call, an NGO that promotes respect for humanitarian norms among armed non-state actors

Publications

Cover of the publication

International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law

May 2020

Marco Sassòli, Ben Saul, Dapo Akande

The Oxford Guide to International Humanitarian Law, Oxford, OUP, 2020, pp. 381-402

Cover page of the Book

International Humanitarian Law: Rules, Controversies, and Solutions to Problems Arising in Warfare

2019

Marco Sassòli

Edward Elgar Publishing

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Cover of the book How Does Law Protect in War?

Online Case Book: How Does Law Protect in War?

2018

Marco Sassòli, Antoine Bouvier, Anne Quintin

ICRC (Regularly Updated)

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Cover of The 1949 Geneva Conventions: A Commentary

The 1949 Geneva Conventions: A Commentary

October 2015

Paola Gaeta, Marco Sassòli, Andrew Clapham

Oxford University Press

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Portrait of Andrew Botz News

LLM in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights: What our Alumni Say

22 January 2024

As a Human Rights Officer with the UN Mission in South Sudan, Andrew Botz supports investigations into alleged violations of international humanitarian law and human rights in the context of the armed conflict in the country. In this interview, he tells about the programme, fond memories and what it brought to his career.

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Portrait of Hiran Geeganage in front of the ICRC building News

MAS in Transitional Justice: What our Alumni Say

13 February 2024

As an Associate at the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Persons Deprived of Liberty Unit, Hiran Geeganage supports the development of a methodology for monitoring and reporting on the institution’s detention activities. In this interview, he tells about the programme, fond memories and what it brought to his career.

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Portrait of María Gonzalez García News

Executive Master in International Law in Armed Conflict: What Participants Say

4 April 2024

María Gonzalez García, a Project Manager and Technical Advisor at the UN World Food Programme, enrolled in our online Executive Master, tells about the programme and what it brings to her career.

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