Natalie Hodgson

Nottingham suspends music, language and nursing courses University says financial uncertainties continue as government’s proposed student levy will ‘wipe out any benefits’ from rising tuition fees

Nottingham to suspend music and modern foreign language degrees, warning international fee levy will wipe out income from domestic fee rise. Some nursing, theology, education, microbiology and agriculture degrees hit too www.timeshighereducation.com/news/notting... via @julietterowsell.bsky.social

Postdoctoral Fellow in Nuclear Law - fantastic new 3-yr opportunity to work at UNSW Law and Justice & Nuclear Innovation Centre to conduct research and build capacity on nuclear law at UNSW external-careers.jobs.unsw.edu.au/cw/en/job/53...

UNSW is looking for a postdoctoral fellow specialising in nuclear law: external-careers.jobs.unsw.edu.au/cw/en/job/53... Three-year position, no need to have existing work rights in Australia. We are a jolly bunch, so consider joining us.

HowWeSurvive'25 People-centred disaster risk reduction. Global and local good practice. Join us for an engaging day of intriguing discussions in recovery.

Please join me for this event on 2 Sept in Sydney. How can disaster risk reduction be done better? Join leading global and local experts from practice, research and lived experience at NSW Parliament House - register here! www.eventbrite.com.au/e/howwesurvi...

2025 Kaldor Centre Conference | UNSW Sydney

Get your tickets now! The 2025 Kaldor Centre Conference will focus on 'Building bridges: Advancing refugee protection in a divided world'. Now more than ever, we need to pause, reflect and forge new paths forward - together conference.unsw.edu.au/en/2025-kald...

I've met so many wonderful people in my time in England. Really hope to stay in touch - and please look me up if you're ever in Sydney! 🦘

A big thank you to @olympiabekou.bsky.social for her support, and to my "co-conspirator" @hemimistry.bsky.social for being such a good friend that she not only let me convince her to organise this conference TWICE, she's also currently putting me up in her spare room 😂

So glad I got to be part of the second Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference before I left! I presented my research on pseudolaw and misinformation in international criminal law. It was so lovely to be welcomed into this wonderful ICL community while in the UK.

Could England and Wales introduce jury-free trials? Here’s how they work in other countries Brian Leveson has recommended more judge-alone trials to address the backlog of nearly 80,000 cases.

Have been eagerly awaiting Leveson's IRCC's report, but wasn't expecting it to land as I was packing up my house! Really enjoyed writing this piece for the Conversation with my brilliant colleague and friend Matt Thomason - we're already working on the next thing! theconversation.com/could-englan...

After 4 years it's time to say goodbye to the University of Nottingham 🥹 I've learned a lot in my time here and made some lifelong friends. It's been an action packed fortnight (see highlights below), so I'll be taking a bit of a rest before starting as a Senior Lecturer at UNSW in September 🎉

Image of session eight of the 2025 Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference, featuring four speakers (L:R Mark Chadwick, Alison Bisset, Luke Eda, and Selman Aksünger).

Chair: Mark Chadwick, Nottingham Trent University The Ljubljana-The Hague Convention: Transforming Prosecution of International Crimes? - Alison Bisset, University of Reading Hybrid Justice for Syria: New Opportunities for Accountability in the Post-Assad Era - Selman Aksünger, Maastricht University & Istanbul University The Emerging Regionalisation of International Criminal Law as a Consequence of the Crisis of Confidence in the International Criminal Justice System: The Case of the Resurgent African Union-ICC Jurisdictional Dispute Over Heads of States Immunity - Luke Eda, University of the West of England, Bristol

The final session of the 2025 Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference explored the challenges of intl criminal justice in domestic spheres. Chaired by Mark Chadwick (@letter-of-mark.bsky.social) w/ presentations from Alison Bisset, Selman Aksünger & Luke Eda. #UoN_ICL25 #IntlCrimJustice

Image of attendees at the 2025 Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference.

Image of the conference organisers with the wider conference team.

As the 2025 Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference comes to a close, we want to extend our thanks to all of our speakers, chairs & attendees!

A huge thank you also to organisers @hemimistry.bsky.social, @natkhod.bsky.social & Olympia Bekou. Until next time! #UoN_ICL25 #IntlCrimJustice

Image of session six of the 2025 Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference, featuring four speakers (L:R Maria Crippa, Sara Ciucci, Elena Katselli, and Giovanna Frisso).

Session Six: Protecting Victims and the Vulnerable Chair: Sara Ciucci, University of Nottingham The environment as victim in the International Criminal Court - Giovanna Frisso, University of Lincoln International Criminal Law’s Blind Spots in relation to Violence against Women and Girls and the Way Froward - Elena Katselli, Newcastle University Italy’s Failure to Cooperate: Is There a Judge Beyond The Hague? - Maria Crippa, University of Milan

The sixth session of the 2025 Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference examined the experience & methods of protecting victims & the vulnerable. The panel was chaired by Sara Ciucci with presentations from Giovanna Frisso, Elena Katselli & Maria Crippa #UoN_ICL25 #IntlCrimJustice

Image of session seven of the 2025 Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference, featuring four speakers (L:R Christy Shucksmith-Wesley, Benjamin Thorne, Marco Longobardo, and Natalie Hodgson).

Session Seven: Evidence, Investigations, and Prosecutorial Policy Chair: Christy Shucksmith-Wesley, University of Nottingham Pseudolaw, Misinformation, and Article 15 Communications to the ICC - Natalie Hodgson, University of Nottingham / UNSW Sydney Artificial Sanctions and the Non-Human: Implications of US Sanctions on the ICC’s use of Generative AI, Digital Evidence and Investigation Processes - Benjamin Thorne, University of Reading Sufficient Gravity in Two Recent OTP's Draft Policy Papers - Marco Longobardo, Westminster Law School

Session seven on the UoN International Criminal Justice Conference focussed on evidence, investigations & prosecutorial policy. Chaired by Christy Shucksmith-Wesley w/ insights from Natalie Hodgson (@natkhod.bsky.social), Benjamin Thorne (@benjaminthorne.bsky.social) & Marco Longobardo #UoN_ICL25

Image of session five of the 2025 Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference, featuring three speakers (L:R Alex Batesmith, Mando Rachovitsa, and Ilaria Zavoli).

Session Five: Emotions and International Criminal Justice Chair: Mando Rachovitsa, University of Nottingham Narratives of the Self: Professional Identity in the Autobiographies of International Criminal Lawyers - Ilaria Zavoli, University of Leeds (UK) and Alex Batesmith, University of Leeds (UK) Invisible Labour, Visible Strain: The Unacknowledged Emotional Labour of International Criminal Lawyers - Alex Batesmith, University of Leeds (UK)

We begin the 2nd day of the UoN International Criminal Justice Conference by exploring the autobiographically constructed identities & emotional labour of intl criminal lawyers. Chaired by Mando Rachovitsa w/ presenters @ilariazavoli.bsky.social & @batesmith.bsky.social #UoN_ICL25 #IntlCrimJustice

Image of session four of the 2025 Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference, featuring three speakers (L:R Ezequiel Jimenez, Jennifer Giblin, and Kritika Sharma).

Session Four: Governance and Accountability at the ICC Chair: Jennifer Giblin, Edge Hill University Governing the International Criminal Court: Tracing the Practice of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute - Ezequiel Jimenez Martinez, Amnesty International & CILRAP Forgotten Spaces of International Criminal Justice: Dealing with Misconduct and Whistleblower Protection at International Criminal Courts and Tribunals - Kritika Sharma, Luxembourg Agency for Research Integrity

The final session of the first day of the 2025 Nottingham Intl Criminal Justice Conference addressed accountability issues at the ICC. Chaired by Jennifer Giblin w/ presentations from Ezequiel Jimenez (@ezejim.bsky.social) & Kritika Sharma (@kritikasharma.bsky.social‬) #UoN_ICL25 #IntlCrimJustice

Image of session three of the 2025 Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference, featuring four speakers (L:R Mary Waterman, Michelle Coleman, Rory Sugrue & Javier S. Eskauriatza).

Session Three: Legal Complexities in Issues of Perpetration Chair: Javier S. Eskauriatza, University of Nottingham (Im)Proving Defences at the International Criminal Court - Michelle Coleman, Swansea University Ongwen, The Adult Child Soldier: A Victim or A Villain? - Mary Waterman, Swansea University Rethinking the Exclusion-Prosecution Nexus: How to Bridge the Accountability Gap for Vulnerable and Periphery Actors in Armed Conflicts Who Seek Refuge Abroad - Rory Sugrue, Tilburg University

Our third session of the day examined the legal complexities in issues of perpetration, chaired by Dr Javier S. Eskauriatza (@jseskau.bsky.social) with presentations from Dr Michelle Coleman (@michellecoleman.bsky.social), Mary Waterman & Rory Sugrue #UoN_ICL25 #IntlCrimJustice

Image of session two of the 2025 Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference, featuring six speakers (L:R Hemi Mistry, Francesco Cunsolo, Caleb Wheeler, Victor Kattan, Daryna Abbakumova & Jolana Makraiová).

Session Two: Contemporary Developments in Substantive Crimes Chair: Caleb Wheeler, Cardiff University Apartheid as a crime against humanity: Recent developments - Victor Kattan, University of Nottingham Complexities behind ‘incitement’ to violence and ‘hate’ speech from a criminal justice perspective - Rachel Horan, The Averment Group*, and Jolana Makraiová, International Nuremberg Principles Academy* Atrocious Images: Combatant-Produced Illicit Imagery as Hate Speech in International Criminal Law - Hemi Mistry, University of Nottingham Challenges of Prosecuting Cyberattacks as Cyber-Enabled Crimes under the Rome Statute - Daryna Abbakumova, Geneva Graduate Institute New challenges in prosecuting intentional destruction of cultural heritage - Francesco Cunsolo, Università di Bologna

Session two, which focussed on contemporary developments in substantive crimes, was chaired by Caleb Wheeler with presentations from Victor Kattan (@victorkattan.bsky.social), Jolana Makraiová, Hemi Mistry (@hemimistry.bsky.social), Daryna Abbakumova & Francesco Cunsolo #UoN_ICL25 #IntlCrimJustice

A picture of the University Park Campus at the University of Nottingham.

We are hugely excited to kick off the 2025 Nottingham International Criminal Law Conference this morning, bringing together leading academics, practitioners & policymakers to discuss current issues & recent developments in the field! #UoN_ICJ25 #IntlCrimJustice

Image of Session One of the Nottingham International Criminal Justice Conference.

Session One: Critical Reflections on the Purposes, Rationales, and Subjects of International Criminal Justice Chair: Olympia Bekou, University of Nottingham Rome Statute, Quo Vadis? Current Discussions on the Limits of (Criminal Liability in) a Human-Centric International Criminal Law System - Anna Lena Hörzer, University of Graz The long-standing issue of the adequacy of criminal sanctions for international crimes: untying proportionality from retributive considerations - Geraldina Ester Di Natali, University of Catania Reconciliation No More: The Disappearance of a Once Omnipresent Goal of International Justice - Iva Vukušić, Utrecht University

Today's first session explored the purposes, rationales &
subjects of International Criminal Justice and was chaired by Olympia Bekou (@olympiabekou.bsky.social), featuring insights from Anna Lena Hörzer, Geraldina Ester Di Natali & Iva Vukušić (@vukusiciva.bsky.social) #UoN_ICL25 #IntlCrimJustice

Really enjoyed writing this piece with my @uniofnottingham.bsky.social colleague Matt Thomason. It's an area we plan to continue researching, so stay tuned!

Final preparations are well underway and we are looking forward to two days of dissecting and digesting the state of international criminal justice...

While the available evidence does not seem to point to significant fairness concerns, we identify a range of issues that warrant further exploration. If Leveson's recommendation is adopted by the Government, the use of judge-alone trials should be carefully monitored.

If you're interested in learning more about judge-alone trials, you can also check out our written evidence where we discuss the position in other countries and consider in depth the extent to which these trials might raise concerns about fairness: www.nottingham.ac.uk/hrlc/documen...

Could England and Wales introduce jury-free trials? Here’s how they work in other countries Brian Leveson has recommended more judge-alone trials to address the backlog of nearly 80,000 cases.

England and Wales might be making greater use of judge-alone ("jury free") trials to address the Crown Court backlog. Matt Thomason and I discuss this in the Conversation, drawing on our research into judge-alone trials across common law jurisdictions: theconversation.com/could-englan...

The uncertain future for Afghan women seeking asylum - Free Movement In my previous article, I outlined the precipitous fall in the rate of recognition for Afghan asylum claims following the change in the Home Office policy

New from FM: The uncertain future for Afghan women seeking asylum | Jamie Bell

🚨“The Appeals Chamber rules that the impugned decision is confirmed”🚨

Reasoning being read now, but it appears that #ICC judges have decided that the Confirmation of Charges hearing against Joseph #Kony will proceed - in his absence.

Overall grant rate has fallen to 49% for y/e March 2025. Practitioners (including me) have been raising serious concerns about the extremely poor quality of these decisions, and these cases will now move into tribunal backlog instead, mostly unassisted by lawyers due to legal aid crisis.

Paras 59 and 60 of the text. Full text in the link.

Macho chat about border controls re asylum, but nothing of substance

Come and work with me! We’re hiring a new Laureate Postdoctoral Fellow with expertise in international disaster law to join us at the Evacuations Research Hub @kaldorcentre.bsky.social - apply by 15 May external-careers.jobs.unsw.edu.au/cw/en/job/53...