Lyal S. Sunga
Encyclopedia
Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 Lyal S. Sunga is an internationally renowned specialist on international human rights law, international humanitarian law
International humanitarian law
International humanitarian law , often referred to as the laws of war, the laws and customs of war or the law of armed conflict, is the legal corpus that comprises "the Geneva Conventions and the Hague Conventions, as well as subsequent treaties, case law, and customary international law." It...

 and international criminal law
International criminal law
International criminal law is a body of international law designed to prohibit certain categories of conduct commonly viewed as serious atrocities and to make perpetrators of such conduct criminally accountable for their perpetration. Principally, it deals with genocide, war crimes, crimes against...

.

Career

Sunga is Visiting Professor at the Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish businessman, diplomat and humanitarian. He is widely celebrated for his successful efforts to rescue thousands of Jews in Nazi-occupied Hungary from the Holocaust, during the later stages of World War II...

 Institute of Human Rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

 and Humanitarian Law in Lund, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, and has had a number of important responsibilities in the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 as a staff member from 1994–2001 — mainly on problems relating to serious human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

 and humanitarian law violations, issues involving war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...

 and recovery from post-conflict situations, and fact-finding about human rights violations. He has also been an expert consultant for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations University
United Nations University
The United Nations University is an academic arm of the United Nations established in 1973, which serves purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The UNU undertakes research into the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare that are the concern of...

, the United Nations Development Program, the International Labour Organization
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...

, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , also known as The UN Refugee Agency is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to...

 and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is a United Nations agency that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the United Nations International Drug Control Program and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division in the United Nations...

.

Sunga is well known in the United Nations and in academia for his lectures and presentations containing practical experience and the abundant use of examples to illustrate his argument. He has been a Lecturer, Senior Lecturer or Visiting Professor in faculties of law at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

, Carleton University
Carleton University
Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has...

, Helsinki University, Padjadjaran University, University of Geneva
University of Geneva
The University of Geneva is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland.It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin, as a theological seminary and law school. It remained focused on theology until the 17th century, when it became a center for Enlightenment scholarship. In 1873, it...

, the University of Hong Kong, Peking University
Peking University
Peking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the...

 and Lund University
Lund University
Lund University , located in the city of Lund in the province of Scania, Sweden, is one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research, frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities...

. He has lectured in human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

, humanitarian law and international criminal law
International criminal law
International criminal law is a body of international law designed to prohibit certain categories of conduct commonly viewed as serious atrocities and to make perpetrators of such conduct criminally accountable for their perpetration. Principally, it deals with genocide, war crimes, crimes against...

 at these institutes.

Sunga holds a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 from Carleton University
Carleton University
Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has...

, a Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...

 from Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School is a Canadian law school, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and affiliated with York University. Named after the first Chief Justice of Ontario, William Osgoode, the law school was established by The Law Society of Upper Canada in 1889 and was the only accredited law...

, a Master of Laws
Master of Laws
The Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, pursued by those holding a professional law degree, and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. from its Latin name, Legum Magister. The University of Oxford names its taught masters of laws B.C.L...

 in International Human Rights Law from University of Essex
University of Essex
The University of Essex is a British campus university whose original and largest campus is near the town of Colchester, England. Established in 1963 and receiving its Royal Charter in 1965...

 and a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 in International Law from the Graduate Institute of International Studies
Graduate Institute of International Studies
The Graduate Institute of International Studies, best known as HEI , was founded in 1927 as one of the first institutions in the world dedicated to the study of international relations...

. Before joining the Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish businessman, diplomat and humanitarian. He is widely celebrated for his successful efforts to rescue thousands of Jews in Nazi-occupied Hungary from the Holocaust, during the later stages of World War II...

 Institute he was a member of the faculty at the University of Hong Kong where he taught classes in law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

 and served as Director of the Master of Laws Program in Human Rights (2001–2005). He has also given university courses, lectures, training or conference presentations in approximately 45 countries. Sunga's work has been published in numerous scholarly academic journal
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...

s and he has authored two books on international criminal law
International criminal law
International criminal law is a body of international law designed to prohibit certain categories of conduct commonly viewed as serious atrocities and to make perpetrators of such conduct criminally accountable for their perpetration. Principally, it deals with genocide, war crimes, crimes against...

.

From 1994 to 2001 Sunga worked for the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

, first to assist in the investigation of facts and responsibilities relating to the 1994 genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...

 in Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

 for the UN Security Council's Commission of Experts on Rwanda to draft the Commission's report recommending the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 955 in order to judge people responsible for the Rwandan Genocide and other serious violations of international law in Rwanda, or by Rwandan...

, and then on the establishment and operation of the UN Human Rights Field Operation in Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

. He also has practical experience and expertise relating to the International Criminal Court
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...

, terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...

, redress
Redress
In film, a redress is the redecoration of an existing movie set, so that it can double for another set. This saves the trouble and expenses of constructing a second, new set, though they face the difficulty of doing it so the average viewer does not notice the same set is reused...

 for violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, impunity
Impunity
Impunity means "exemption from punishment or loss or escape from fines". In the international law of human rights, it refers to the failure to bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice and, as such, itself constitutes a denial of the victims' right to justice and redress...

, the death penalty, human rights defenders, the administration of justice
Justice
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...

, the role of human rights NGOs in fact-finding
Fact-finding
Fact-finding is the job of a person or group of persons in a judicial or administrative proceeding that has or have the responsibility of determining the facts relevant to decide a controversy. The term trier of fact generally denotes the same function...

, and the relation between national truth and reconciliation commissions and criminal prosecutions.

From September to December 2007 Dr. Sunga took leave from the Raoul Wallenberg Institute to act as Geneva-based coordinator of the UN Human Rights Council's Group of Experts on Darfur
Darfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...

, mandated to assess the Government of the Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

's implementation of UN recommendations concerning serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law committed during the war in Darfur
War in Darfur
The Darfur Conflict was a guerrilla conflict or civil war centered on the Darfur region of Sudan. It began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and Justice and Equality Movement groups in Darfur took up arms, accusing the Sudanese government of oppressing non-Arab Sudanese in...

.

Books

  • The Emerging System of International Criminal Law: Developments in Codification and Implementation, Kluwer (1997) 508 p.
  • Individual Responsibility in International Law for Serious Human Rights Violations, Nijhoff (1992) 252 p.

Book sections

  • What Makes Democracy
    Democracy
    Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...

     Good? in "Making Peoples Heard", Martinus Nijhoff Publishers (2011) 81-98.
  • Does the Concept of 'Human Security
    Human security
    Human security is an emerging paradigm for understanding global vulnerabilities whose proponents challenge the traditional notion of national security by arguing that the proper referent for security should be the individual rather than the state...

    ' Add Anything of Value to International Legal Theory or Practice? in “Power and Justice in International Relations” Ashgate (2009) 131–146.
  • What Effect If Any Will the UN Human Rights Council Have on Special Procedures? in International Human Rights Monitoring Mechanisms (2nd ed.)(2009)169–183.
  • Ten Principles for Reconciling Truth Commissions and Criminal Prosecutions, in The Legal Regime of the ICC, Brill (2009) 1071–1104.
  • Is Humanitarian Intervention
    Humanitarian intervention
    Humanitarian intervention "refers to a state using military force against another state when the chief publicly declared aim of that military action is ending human-rights violations being perpetrated by the state against which it is directed."...

     Legal?, on“e-international relations website” 13 October 2008.
  • Dilemmas of NGO Involvement in Coalition-Occupied Iraq
    Iraq
    Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

    , in Bell and Coicaud, Ethics in Action: The Ethical Challenges of International Human Rights Nongovernmental Organizations, United Nations University
    United Nations University
    The United Nations University is an academic arm of the United Nations established in 1973, which serves purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The UNU undertakes research into the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare that are the concern of...

     (2007) 99–116.
  • The Role of Humanitarian Intervention
    Humanitarian intervention
    Humanitarian intervention "refers to a state using military force against another state when the chief publicly declared aim of that military action is ending human-rights violations being perpetrated by the state against which it is directed."...

     in International Peace and Security: Guarantee or Threat? Int’l Progress Organization & Google Books (2006) 41–79.
  • NGO Involvement in International Human Rights Monitoring, in International Human Rights Law and Non-Governmental Organization
    Non-governmental organization
    A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...

    s, Bruylant (2005) 41–69.
  • International Criminal Law
    International criminal law
    International criminal law is a body of international law designed to prohibit certain categories of conduct commonly viewed as serious atrocities and to make perpetrators of such conduct criminally accountable for their perpetration. Principally, it deals with genocide, war crimes, crimes against...

     Protection of Minority Rights, in Skurbaty (ed), Beyond a One-Dimensional State: An Emerging Right to Autonomy
    Autonomy
    Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...

    ? Brill (2004).
  • Independence and Fairness of the ICC, in Study on Major Issues Relating to the International Criminal Court
    International Criminal Court
    The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...

     (People’s Court Press) (2003) 24–30 (in Putonghua).
  • US Anti-Terrorism Policy and Asia’s Options, in Johannen, Smith and Gomez, (eds.) September 11 & Political Freedoms: Asian Perspectives (Select) (2002) 242–264.
  • Full Respect for the Rights of Suspect, Accused and Convict: from Nuremberg
    Nuremberg
    Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...

     and Tokyo
    Tokyo
    , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

     to the ICC, in Henzelin and Roth (eds), Le droit pénal à l’épreuve de l’internationalisation, (Bruylant) (2002) 217–239.
  • The Special Procedures of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights: Should They Be Scrapped?, in Alfredsson (ed), International Human Rights Monitoring Mechanisms (Kluwer) (2001) 231–275.
  • A Competência Ratione Materiae da Corte Internacional Criminal: Arts. 5 a 10 Do Estatuto de Roma, in Ambos and Choukr (eds.) Tribunal Penal Internacional (Editora RT) (2000) 191 – 219 (in Portuguese).
  • La Jurisdicción ratione materiae de la Corte Penal Internacional (parte II, arts. 5° a 10°), in Ambos (eds.) El Estatuto de Roma: de la Corte Penal Internacional (Universidad externado de Colombia) (1999) 233–268 (in Spanish).

Law journal articles

  • Does Climate Change Kill People in Darfur
    Darfur
    Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...

    ? 2(1) Journal of Human Rights and the Environment (March 2011) 64-85.
  • How Can UN Human Rights Special Procedures Sharpen ICC
    ICC
    -Political:* International Control Commission, which oversaw the 1954 Geneva Accords ending the First Indochina War* International Communist Current, a communist organization* Interstate Commerce Commission, a now defunct US Government regulatory body...

     Fact-Finding? 15(2) The International Journal of Human Rights (2011) 187-204.
  • Introduction to the “Lund Statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council
    United Nations Human Rights Council
    The United Nations Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations System. The UNHRC is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights , and is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly...

     on the Human Rights Special Procedures” 76 Nordic Journal of International Law (2007) 1–20.
  • The Kordic
    Kordic
    Kordić is a Croatian surname. It can refer to:*John Kordic and Dan Kordic, two Croatian Canadian brothers who were hockey players.*Dario Kordić, a Bosnian-Croat politician and a convicted war criminal*Krešimir Kordić- Bosnian-Herzegovinian footballer...

     and Cerkez Trial Chamber Judgment: A Comment on the Main Legal Issues 7 Series of Annotated Leading Cases of International Criminal Tribunals (2004) 490–511.
  • The International Community’s Recognition of Certain Acts as ‘Crimes under International Law’, International Review of Penal Law (Erès) Proceedings of the International Conference held in Siracusa, Italy, 28 November – 3 December 2002, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of ISISC (2004) 303–315.
  • Can International Humanitarian Law Play an Effective Role in Occupied Iraq
    Iraq
    Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

    ? 3 Indian Society of International Law Yearbook of International Humanitarian and Refugee Law (2003) 1–21.
  • Musings on ‘The Future of International Criminal Justice’, (Review Article) 11(2) Asia Pacific Law Review (2003) 217–232.
  • Will the International Criminal Court
    International Criminal Court
    The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...

     be Fair and Impartial?, 2 (1) Article 2 (February 2003) 9–20.
  • The Attitude of Asian Countries Towards the International Criminal Court
    International Criminal Court
    The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...

    , 2 Indian Society of International Law Yearbook of International Humanitarian and Refugee Law (2002) 18–57.
  • The United Nations System for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights with Special Reference to South Korea
    South Korea
    The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

     and the New National Human Rights Commission, 4 Sang Saeng (Summer 2002) 45–50.
  • The Celebici Case: A Comment on the Main Legal Issues in the ICTY’s Trial Chamber Judgement, 13 Leiden Journal of International Law (2000) 105–138.
  • The Crimes within the Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court
    International Criminal Court
    The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...

    : (Part II, Articles 5 – 10), 6/4 European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice (1998) 377–399.
  • The First Indictments of the ICTR, 18 Human Rights Law Journal (1997) 329–340.
  • The Comm’n of Experts on Rwanda
    Rwanda
    Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

     and Creation of the ICTR 16 Human Rights Law Journal (1995) 121–124.

Selected reports for the United Nations and European Union

  • Expert Background Papers for the 12th European Union
    European Union
    The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

    -NGO Human Rights Forum, 12–13 July 2010 in Brussels, Belgium.
  • Expert Background Paper for Workshop on International Criminal Justice Education for the Rule of Law at the 12th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, 12–19 April 2010 in Salvador, Brazil — UN Doc. A/CONF.213/12 of 5 February 2010.
  • In-Depth Study on the Linkages between Anti-Corruption and Human Rights for the United Nations Development Program Including ‘Concept Note’ and Appendix (2007, pp 79).
  • Expert Background Paper "Impunity as a Threat to Democracy, Human Rights and the Rule of Law", presented at the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Expert Seminar on the interdependence between democracy and human rights, 28 February – 2 March 2005 in Geneva, Switzerland.
  • Report of the Second Expert Seminar on "Democracy and the Rule of Law" (Geneva, 28 February – 2 March 2005); UN Doc. E/CN.4/2005/58 of 18 March 2005.
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