13 February 2014
SHARES Lecture: ‘Complementarity in the Line of Fire: The Catalysing Effect of the International Criminal Court in Uganda and Sudan’, by Sarah Nouwen
On 13 February 2014, Dr. Sarah Nouwen will give a lecture entitled: ‘Complementarity in the Line of Fire: The Catalysing Effect of the International Criminal Court in Uganda and Sudan’ on the occasion of the publication of her new book Complementarity in the Line of Fire: The Catalysing Effect of the International Criminal Court in Uganda and Sudan (Cambridge University Press, 2013).
Dr. Sarah Nouwen is a university lecturer in law at the University of Cambridge and fellow of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law and of Pembroke College. Her book, Complementarity in the Line of Fire: The Catalysing Effect of the International Criminal Court in Uganda and Sudan (part of Cambridge Studies in Law and Society) explores whether, how and why the complementarity principle in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court has had a catalysing effect on the legal systems of Uganda and Sudan. She spent many months in both countries, interviewing officials, observing proceedings and searching documents to discover whether domestic legal reforms have taken place in response to the Court’s involvement. Drawing on this empirical research and combining law, legal anthropology and political economy, the book reveals that one widely anticipated effect – an increase in domestic proceedings for conflict-related crimes – has barely occurred. This finding leads to the unravelling of paradoxes that go right to the heart of the functioning of an idealistic Court in a world of real constraints. For more information on the book, see here.
After the lecture there is an opportunity for questions from the audience. 
The discussion will be moderated by Professor André Nollkaemper (Professor Public International Law at the University of Amsterdam).
Sarah Nouwen has been working as a consultant for various NGOs, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Department for International Development (DfID) on rule-of-law building and transitional justice. In 2010-2011 she was seconded to the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel for Sudan. Before starting her PhD, Sarah worked for the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs in New York, The Hague and Sudan and for an NGO in Senegal.
She holds an LL.M. (cum laude) from Utrecht University, an MPhil in International Relations (Cantab) and a PhD in International Law (Cantab).
As part of its Lecture Series, SHARES regularly invites scholars to give presentations on issues of shared responsibility. See here the overview of the SHARES Lecture Series.