Kai Ambos
About/Bio
Kai Ambos is a Professor of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure, Comparative Law, International Criminal Law, and Public International Law at the Faculty of Law of Georg-August-University Göttingen (GAU) (Germany). He also serves as Judge at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, The Hague. He is also the Director General of the Center for Studies of Latin American Criminal and Criminal Procedure Law (CEDPAL) at the University of Göttingen, Germany. He writes in his academic capacity.
Recently Published
Nicaragua: Expatriation as an Aggravated Form of Political Persecution
February 27, 2023
Kai Ambos
In an unprecedented move in the modern history of international law, Nicaragua has stripped more than 300 dissident citizens of their nationality in the last two weeks. 222 of these citizens were deported to the United States on 9 February (see here), with the Managua Appeals Court (Tribunal de Apelaciones) removing their nationality the day…
Ukrainian Prosecution of ICC Statute Crimes: Fair, Independent and Impartial?
June 10, 2022
Kai Ambos
In view of the widespread euphoria about Ukraine’s admirable defensive struggle against the Russian war of aggression, it is easy to forget that until a few months ago Ukraine was still considered a problematic case in terms of the rule of law. Not only was the fight against corruption promised by President Zelenskyy considered insufficient, but classic deficits…
Will a state supplying weapons to Ukraine become a party to the conflict and thus be exposed to countermeasures?
March 2, 2022
Kai Ambos
According to the time-honoured law of neutrality, the territory of neutral powers is “inviolable” (Art. 1 Hague “Convention (V) respecting the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers and Persons in Case of War on Land, October 18, 1907). Parties to a conflict may therefore not use it in any conflict-related manner, e.g. to transport war material (…
Popular articles by Kai Ambos
Will a state supplying weapons to Ukraine become a party to the conflict and thus be exposed to countermeasures?
March 2, 2022
Kai Ambos
According to the time-honoured law of neutrality, the territory of neutral powers is “inviolable” (Art. 1 Hague “Convention (V) respecting the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers and Persons in Case of War on Land, October 18, 1907). Parties to a conflict may therefore not use it in any conflict-related manner, e.g. to transport war material (…
Protecting the Environment through International Criminal Law?
June 29, 2021
Kai Ambos
The recent proposal by the Independent Expert Panel for the Legal Definition of Ecocide (IEP) to create a core international crime of ecocide displays great confidence in the regulatory potential of criminal law, but the proposal lacks sufficient reasoning and the drafters offer practitioners little help with the intricate problems arising from their draft definition.
Palestine, UN Non-Member Observer Status and ICC Jurisdiction
May 6, 2014
Kai Ambos
On 22 January 2009, the Palestinian Minister of Justice, on behalf of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), lodged a declaration recognizing the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) (pictured left) ‘for the purpose of identifying, prosecuting and judging the authors and accomplices of acts committed on the territory of Palestine since 1 July 2002.’ On…