Dr Gurgen Petrossian

Biography

Dr Gurgen Petrossian, LLM (Heidelberg), is an Armenian legal expert who specialises in international criminal law, international law and human rights. He holds teaching positions at Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt and Yerevan State University. Before rejoining the International Nuremberg Principles Academy, Dr Petrossian advised one of Germany's largest textile companies on aspects of business and human rights in accordance with the German Act on Due Diligence in Supply Chains. Previously, he worked as head of the International Criminal Law Research Unit at Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. During his tenure, he successfully led and completed research projects funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and the German Research Foundation. These projects dealt with topics such as "Length of Proceedings at the International Criminal Court" and "Victims' Rights before the International Criminal Court".

From 2016 to 2019, Dr Petrossian was one of the organisers of the "Nuremberg Moot Court". He has provided assistance to the Republic of Armenia and the Iraqi Kurdistan Autonomous Region on incorporating international criminal law into their respective legal systems. Dr Petrossian also served as legal advisor in Armenia, where he made significant contributions to the prison facility investigation project of the NGO Helsinki Association for Human Rights. Additionally, he gained valuable experience at the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia.

Dr Petrossian obtained an LLB from Yerevan State University, followed by an LLM from Universität Heidelberg and ultimately earned a PhD from Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. He publishes on international criminal law, international law and human rights. Since 2019, he is the president of the German-Armenian Lawyers’ Association and member of the German Institute for Compliance.

He is fluent in Armenian, Russian, English and German.