Patryk I. Labuda

Patryk's professional background and research lie at the intersection of international (criminal) law, peace and security studies, and global history. 

Patryk has two main areas of expertise:

1) the impact of global governance institutions, in particular international criminal tribunals and UN peace operations, on domestic law and politics, especially in central and west Africa;

2) double standards in international law and Second World approaches to international law, which inform his work on shifts in the global order from a post-colonial Global South-East(ern European) perspective.

In the policy realm, Patryk supports justice initiatives and promotes exchanges between the Global South(s) and Global East(s), drawing on 14 years of work and research experience in Africa (with a regional focus on the law, politics and history of DR Congo, Central African Republic, and the Sudans). 

In addition to an award-winning book with Oxford University Press, Patryk's work has featured in the Yale Journal of International Law, Leiden Journal of International Law, European Journal of International Law, Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law, Journal of International Criminal Justice, Journal of Conflict and Security Law, Journal on the Use of Force and International Law, and leading academic presses (see here). 

Patryk is a regular contributor to mainstream and social media.

Recent publications: 

• ‘Countering Imperialism in International Law: Examining the Special Tribunal for Aggression against Ukraine through a Post-Colonial Eastern European Lens’, in: 49 (2) Yale Journal of International Law (2024), 271-310
• 'International Criminal Tribunals and Domestic Accountability. In the Court’s Shadow’, Oxford University Press (2023) [Winner of the 2024 'Best Book Award for a First-time Author', International Law Association American Branch]
• ‘Beyond Rhetoric: Interrogating the Eurocentric Critique of International Criminal Law’s Selectivity in the Wake of the 2022 Ukraine Invasion’, in: 36 (4) Leiden Journal of International Law (2023), 1095-1116
• 'When May UN Peacekeepers Use Lethal Force to Protect Civilians? Reconciling Threats, Imminence and the Right to Life’, in: 28 (1) Journal of Conflict and Security Law (2022) 1-65 (with Hanna Bourgeois)
• ‘With or Against the State? Reconciling the Protection of Civilians and Host State Support in UN Peacekeeping’, International Peace Institute, May 2020