June 2015 – The Graduate Institute’s Executive Education department and the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights jointly designed and delivered an intensive, 2-weeks customised executive learning and development programme for 34 Thai judges, at the request of the Office of the Judiciary of Thailand.

The learning programme focused primarily on UN Human Rights Protection, with a special focus on combatting human trafficking, and also introduced broader elements of International Law in armed conflict.  Speakers included faculty and researchers from the Geneva Academy, the Global Migration Centre, and several guest experts from across International Geneva.

After a rigorous participant selection process  organised by the Office of the Judiciary of Thailand, the judges for participation were selected to represent various levels of the Thai courts, from local trial courts to appellate courts.  Judge Athip Chitsamrerng, Chief Justice of the Criminal Court, served as Head of Delegation for the participant group (featured on the right, with Mr. Will McDonald, Head of Outreach in Executive Education).

“The aim of the programme was to train judges at all levels, so that with a higher understanding of the nuances of international law and human rights, they might be better equipped—and empowered with new insights--for their future decision-making in local contexts” says Guillemette Carlucci, who served as the Programme Manager.

Session topics ranged from Human Rights and Trafficking to Transnational Crime, and from National initiatives within the UN Human rights Mechanisms to panel discussions, including one which explored legal dynamics of Human Trafficking "Between the Protection of Victims and Repression of Traffickers”.

During the 2-week programme, the interplay between International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and International Human Rights Law (IHRL) were also explored, with additional sessions on International Criminal Law and the Obligations of Armed Non-State Actors under IHL and IHRL.

Discussions during the training focused on the national implications (and the interplay between the local and international contexts) on a range of issues, like the practice of the human rights treaty bodies within national reporting of individual countries, jurisprudence of the treaty bodies and regional courts, international legal cooperation and extraterritorial application of Human Rights.

The programme was co-designed with the Geneva Academy, at the request of the Office of the Judiciary of Thailand as a national capacity-building initiative.  Participants were required by the sponsoring agency to work in small learning groups on various topics throughout the programme—synthesize learnings from sessions—and will eventually report back to the central Judiciary with observations, insights and recommendations for future learning themes.

The programme included visits to the UN Palais des Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the group was officially received by Olivier Coutau, Delegate for International Geneva, who presented the group with an overview of Geneva’s legacy and traditions in international relations and humanitarian affairs.

For more information, contact Ms. Carlucci at guillemette.carlucci@graduateinstitute.ch.