Paola Gaeta

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.