Staff

Professor Dr Christoph Safferling (Dr. jur., LL.M.) is Professor of Criminal Law, Criminal Law Procedure, International Criminal Law and Public International Law at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany. He is Director of the Research Unit International Criminal Law at the University. Moreover he is the Whitney R. Harris International Law Fellow of the Robert H. Jackson Center in Jamestown N.Y. In 2018 he was visiting scholar at the Stanford Center for Human Rights and International Justice.

From 2006 until 2015 he has been Professor of International Criminal Law at the Philipps-University Marburg and was the director of the International Research and Documentation Centre War Crimes Trials (ICWC). He has been a member of the Independent Academic Commission at the Federal Ministry of Justice for the Critical Study of the National Socialist Past from 2012 to 2017 and undertaken a study on the History of the Federal General Public Prosecutor.

His main fields of research are: contemporary legal history, international criminal law and the subjective elements of the crime. He has published several articles and books in the field of criminal law, international law and human rights law, inter alia "International Criminal Procedure" in 2012 and "The Nuremberg Trials: International Criminal Law since 1945" in 2006. He studied Law in Munich and London and received his doctoral degree at the University of Munich in 1999 and his “Habilitation” at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg in 2006.

He is fluent in German, English and French.

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director[at]nurembergacademy.org

Dr Viviane Dittrich has significant experience in multidisciplinary research, higher education and international and national institutions. Her research interests lie at the intersections of politics and international law, focusing on international organisations, international criminal law, and the politics of memory. She has published on the notion of legacy and the process of legacy building at the international criminal tribunals. Drawing on extensive field research her work comparatively investigates the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, the International Criminal Court and the International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg).

Dr Dittrich recently co-edited three volumes: The Past, Present and Future of the International Criminal Court (TOAEP, 2021), Integrity in International Justice (TOAEP, 2020) and The Tokyo Tribunal: Perspectives on Law, History and Memory (TOAEP, 2020). She is also a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for International Studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Previously, she has been Honorary Research Associate at Royal Holloway, University of London, and a Visiting Researcher at iCourts (Centre of Excellence for International Courts), Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen. Being recognised as Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy since 2013 she has broad teaching experience, inter alia, on the politics of international law, on global crime, on international institutions and on US foreign policy at Sciences Po, LSE and Royal Holloway.

She has previous work experience, as temporary staff or intern, at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (The Hague), German Embassy (Washington D.C.), Institute of International Education (Washington D.C.), U.S. House of Representatives (Washington D.C.), Bundestag (Berlin) and German Historical Museum (Berlin).

After studies in France, England and the United States (Wellesley College) she received an MSc in International Relations from the LSE and a Master’s degree from Sciences Po Paris. Dr Dittrich holds a PhD from the LSE.

She is fluent in English, German, French and Spanish.

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Viviane.Dittrich[at]nurembergacademy.org

Petra Haertel is working as Head of Administration at the International Nuremberg Principles Academy since March 2015. Before joining the Academy she had been working for many years at the German Federal Foreign Office in different countries and positions. After completing her studies in Public Administration Ms Haertel moved to Moscow and worked at the Consular Section of the German Embassy. Her next posting sent her to the German Embassy in Santiago de Chile where she worked as Consular Officer as well as in the Department for Press and Development Cooperation. After a four year’s stay in Berlin working for the Press Department of the Federal Foreign Office Ms Haertel moved to Hanoi. Her assignment in Vietnam was followed by a posting at the German Embassy in Cairo, Egypt. Back in Berlin she served as desk officer in the department for Northern Africa and the Transformation of the Arab World.

She is fluent in German, English and Spanish.

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Petra.Haertel[at]nurembergacademy.org

Frauke Selbmann started working as Executive Assistant at the Nuremberg Academy in December 2014, right after its official founding. Previously, she was the Executive Assistant for a Construction Engineering office near Nuremberg. Prior to that she worked at the headquarter office of Siemens' "Technical Support Industry" for five years. She started working within the international customer support and was later the Assistant of the Department Head for four years. In 2009 she concluded her vocational training as Foreign Language Administrative Assistant, with a focus on English and Spanish language. After her A-levels she worked for one year as a volunteer in Madrid, as part of the European Voluntary Service, supporting the "Fundación Alicia Koplowitz".

She is fluent in German and English and proficient in Spanish.

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Frauke.Selbmann[at]nurembergacademy.org

Evelyn Müller joined the International Nuremberg Principles Academy in February 2017 as Communications and Event Management Officer. Her long-term international experience in event management and public relations extends over different fields. Prior to joining the Nuremberg Academy, she was coordinator of the French-German Journalism Award (DFJP-PFAJ). Previously, she worked as deputy head of the Public Relations department at the French-German University (DFH-UFA) in Saarbrücken. She spent several years in Paris, France where she worked at the International Relations department of EPF Graduate School of Engineering. Ms Müller holds a Master’s degree in Cultural and Political Sciences from the Saarland University as well as a Master’s degree in interdisciplinary French-German Studies from the Université Paris III, France. 

She is fluent in German, French and English.

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Evelyn.Mueller[at]nurembergacademy.org

Jolana Makraiová is an international lawyer specialising in international criminal, international humanitarian and human rights law. She has worked on criminal cases before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. She also has experience working as a Human Rights Officer for the Stahili Foundation, where she focused on reporting and researching on children’s rights in conflict areas. Ms Makraiová obtained her law degrees, both with a distinction, in the Netherlands (an LLB in international and European law, with a specialisation in international criminal and humanitarian law) and in the United Kingdom (an LLM in Criminal Justice).

She is fluent in English and Slovak.

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Jolana.Makraiova[at]nurembergacademy.org

Jennifer Schense is a Senior Officer at the International Nuremberg Principles Academy. She is also Counsel at Peacock Law P.C. in the area of entertainment law, Director of Cat Kung Fu Consulting and Creative Producer of the House of Nuremberg, a Netherlands-based production house she founded to tell stories relating broadly to justice.

Ms Schense previously served as an International Cooperation Adviser in the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague from October 2004 until August 2018, and worked on a number of country situations, in particular on Darfur and Libya, with a focus on the Arab world. Prior, she served from September 1998 to October 2004 as the first Legal Adviser to the International NGO Coalition for the ICC in New York and The Hague.

She earned a cum laude J.D. from Columbia Law School in 1997, and a summa cum laude Bachelor of Science from Georgetown University in 1993. Ms Schense has travelled and lectured around the world and is in the final stages of a PhD programme at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands in international criminal law, focused on whether international crimes can be prevented.

She studied intellectual property law in courses with the University of Pennsylvania and NYU Law, and studied film and digital arts at the University of New Mexico.

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Jennifer.Schense[at]nurembergacademy.org

Anabela Atanásio Alves earned her common law degree in European Law and Human Rights in London. Between 1996 and 1999, she was part of the Public International Law Group of DJ Freeman Solicitors. In 1998, she earned her Master of Laws in International Criminal Law from the University of London (London School of Economics and School of Oriental and African Studies).

Since 1993 she has been engaged in various pro bono work in international justice, women and children access to justice and human rights, and as an expert speaker and trainer in international criminal law and the rule of law.

In 2000, Ms Alves joined the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia as legal officer. She advised judges on international criminal law and procedure, engaged inter alia in the judgement drafting of the first genocide case and a rape camp case. She supported the Working Group amending the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, and led multiple missions in the former Yugoslavia.

Ms Alves joined the first team of lawyers at the International Criminal Court (ICC), where she advised the Presidency of the Court on all judicial matters. She played a pivotal role managing Working Groups of judges and legal officers drafting key official legal texts. Ms Alves also co-drafted the Code of Judicial Ethics and organised capacity building for judges and legal officers, on gender crimes. Since 2003, she has been a Member of the Editorial Board of the International Criminal Law Review.

As Senior Policy Officer of the Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law she managed key projects such as the ICC Legal Tools, Case Matrix, Rule of Law, the Role of Highest Court Judges and Best Practices of International Criminal Procedure.

As Senior Legal Officer and as Human Rights Adviser with the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Ms Alves advised Kosovo criminal justice institutions and led innovative training on, inter alia, sexual and gender-based violence and crime victims compensation. She served as mentor in the OSCE Mentoring Programme for Women.

She is fluent in Portuguese, English, French and Spanish.

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Anabela.Alves[at]nurembergacademy.org

Kiran Mohandas Menon is a lawyer with degrees in international law and international relations. Before rejoining in 2023, he previously worked for the Nuremberg Academy from 2017 to 2021 as well as for the Guernica Centre for International Justice.

Mr Menon has worked with the International Arbitration department of Cuatrecasas (Madrid, Spain), the Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe (CDRSEE, Thessaloniki, Greece), the Founding Office of the Nuremberg Academy (Nuremberg, Germany) and the office of the Chairman of Foreign Relations of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (Negombo, Sri Lanka). He has also worked as a researcher for a Reporters without Borders sponsored newspaper run by Tibetan refugees in Dharamshala, India and been a writer for The Diplomat magazine.

Mr Menon is pursuing his doctoral research at the Irish Centre for Human Rights in Galway, Ireland. His research (formerly funded by the Hardiman Research Scholarship) focuses on the impact of the Nuremberg Principles on universal jurisdiction and domestic prosecution of international crimes. He has published in peer-reviewed journals, edited volumes as well as in specialised international law forums.

He is fluent in English and Malayalam and proficient in Spanish.

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Kiran.Menon[at]nurembergacademy.org

Dr Marian Yankson-Mensah is a lawyer registered with the Ghana Bar Association, with specialisation in international criminal law, transitional justice and economic crimes. She worked previously with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration in Ghana and also worked as a private legal practitioner with the Ghanaian law firm Sima Consultancy, where she handled criminal and civil law cases. She was a writing coach at the Division for Postgraduate Studies at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, where she mentored students in their research writing. Prior to her postgraduate studies, she worked as a Legal Consultant with Shawbell Consulting Limited, and was involved in providing capacity building and institutional reform services to NGOs and governmental institutions in Africa.

She holds a doctorate degree in law from the Humboldt Universtität zu Berlin, and a Master of Laws degree (with cum laude) in Transnational Criminal Justice and Crime Prevention from the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. Her doctoral research entails a normative and comparative analysis of the procedure and features of truth commissions, with a focus on the National Reconciliation Commission of Ghana.

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Marian.Yankson[at]nurembergacademy.org

Dr Emma Brandon is an American lawyer, specialised in international criminal law and international human rights law. She completed her doctoral thesis at the PluriCourts Centre at the University of Oslo, where her doctoral research focused on state cooperation issues at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the regional human rights courts.

Previously, she supported the ICC's prosecution team in the case of the Prosecutor v. Al Mahdi – the first guilty plea at the ICC. She has also worked as a (Senior) Research Associate at the Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG), where she assisted that global pro bono law firm with its advice to civil society and governmental clients in the context of peace negotiations and post-conflict transition.

Dr Brandon holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in International Relations and Political Science from Boston University, a Juris Doctorate (JD) from the American University Washington College of Law and a PhD in International Law from the University of Oslo.

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Emma.Brandon[at]nurembergacademy.org

Dr Pablo Gavira Díaz is a Spanish lawyer, specialised in international humanitarian law and international criminal law. He received his doctorate in International Law from the Walther Schücking Institute for International Law at the University of Kiel, where his doctoral research focused on the international protection of immovable cultural property and the criminal liability for attacks against those objects in international criminal law.

His academic background includes a teaching position at the University of Kiel and a consultancy for the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI). Dr Gavira Díaz also has provided legal support to the Supreme Headquarters of Allied Powers in Europe (SHAPE) which is responsible for the planning and execution of all NATO military operations.

He earned a Licenciatura en Derecho from the University of Seville in Spain and participated in a specialisation course on Human Rights and Democratisation at the same university.

He is fluent in Spanish, English and German.

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Pablo.Gavira[at]nurembergacademy.org

Alexander Fernandes-Köhler was born in Nairobi and has a Kenyan-German-Indian background. He earned his first-class law degree at The Hague University of Applied Science in International and European law, with a focus on International Criminal Law. After his law degree, he completed his Master's in Terrorism and Political Violence at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and graduated first-class with Merit.  He wrote papers for the UK non-profit organisation Yet Again on hate speech and blasphemy, the war crime of terror and an integrative approach between law and politics on the persecution of the Uyghur people in China.

Mr Fernandes-Köhler has gained experience at the United Nations IRMCT Prosecutors Office, where he supported ongoing trials and investigations with legal analyses and research. He also compiled litigation overviews, reviewed and analysed evidence and drafted a court submission.

Mr Fernandes-Köhler is fluent in English and German.

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Alexander.Koehler[at]nurembergacademy.org

Before joining the International Nuremberg Principles Academy, Berthold Kuhne worked in online marketing and sales for various companies. He also worked as an intercultural coach for large corporations and institutes in the Nuremberg and Munich region.

Mr Kuhne studied at the Faculty of Comparative Culture at Sophia University in Tokyo as well as at the faculty of History of Science and Technology at Technische Universität Berlin. He holds an MBA which he received at the Faculty of Law and Economics at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg.

He is fluent in German, English and Japanese.

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Berthold.Kuhne[at]nurembergacademy.org