The International Crimes Studies Center is a research unit at the University of Warsaw specializing in conducting scientific studies on crimes under international law, including:
• war crimes,
• crimes against humanity,
• genocide,
• crime of aggression.
The Russian aggression against Ukraine and the crimes committed in connection with it constitute the main focus of the Center’s research. The idea to establish the Center originated among the staff of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Policy at the Institute of Social Prevention and Resocialization, University of Warsaw. The primary initiator of the Center’s establishment was Prof. Andrzej Rzepliński, who became the Chair of the Center’s Program Council.
The Center operates in the following areas:
• Conducting interdisciplinary research involving lawyers, criminologists, sociologists, psychologists, and educators on issues related to accountability for international crimes, the social costs of war, and support for victims of international crimes.
• Taking an active role in the ongoing scientific discourse on international crimes, particularly regarding the definition of the term “genocide.” The Center holds that this term should be understood as a crime that also includes acts of war aimed at the destruction of a nation’s culture, denial of its distinct identity and language, and the persecution of individuals conscious of their national identity.
• Supporting the Department of Criminology and Criminal Policy at the Institute of Social Prevention and Resocialization, University of Warsaw, in teaching activities related to international crimes and ensuring a continuous presence of this topic in the educational curriculum. To this end, a university-wide course titled International Criminal Law was launched in 2023. The educational offerings related to international crimes will be gradually expanded as the Center develops its activities.
The mission of the Center is to create a platform for collaboration among experts not only from the University of Warsaw but also from other research institutions, non-governmental organizations, and judicial bodies. To this end, the Center collaborates with organizations such as the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group and the Sunflowers Foundation —NGOs that document Russian crimes committed in Ukraine.
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Prof. dr hab. Andrzej Rzepliński
Chair of the Program Council
Professor Andrzej Rzepliński graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Warsaw. In 1978, he earned a doctorate in legal sciences, followed by a habilitation degree in 1990 at the Institute of Legal Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Since 2000, he has held the title of full professor. From 2007 to 2016, he served as a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal, and from 2010 to 2016, he was its President. He is highly active in public life, giving hundreds of interviews, lectures, and public appearances. He is a member of numerous scientific societies and editorial boards.
In the 1980s, he was involved with the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarity” and participated in the work of the Solidarity Citizens’ Legislative Initiatives Center. He was a member of the Helsinki Committee in Poland, served as the secretary of the board of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, and was also a member of its Program Council. He has acted as an expert for the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the OSCE.
For many years, he was affiliated with the Department of Criminology and Criminal Policy at the Institute of Social Prevention and Resocialization, University of Warsaw, serving as both professor and head of the department. His areas of specialization include criminology, criminal law, and human rights.
Dr. Andriy Kosylo
Director of the Center
Dr. Andriy Kosylo graduated from the Faculty of Law at Volyn University in Lutsk. As a Polish-US Fulbright Commission scholar, he studied at the Faculty of Law and Administration at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin (Kirkland Program), where he defended his doctoral dissertation in 2007 (scholarship from the European College of Polish and Ukrainian Universities). Since 2008, he has been affiliated with the Department of Criminology and Criminal Policy at the Institute of Social Prevention and Resocialization, University of Warsaw.
He has worked as an expert for the European Commission, the German Federal Ministry of Justice IRZ Foundation, and the French Ministry of Justice JCI. He is a practicing attorney specializing in international legal transactions, licensed to practice law in both Ukraine and Poland. He is a member of the Ukrainian National Bar Association, the Warsaw Bar Association, and the International Association of Penal Law (AIDP).
His research interests focus on the functioning of the justice system in a broad sense and crimes under international law. He is the author of dozens of academic publications and teaches courses on human rights, criminal law, and international criminal law.
Dr. Barbara Błońska
Deputy Director of the Center
Dr. Barbara Błońska is a criminologist and lawyer. She earned her Ph.D. from the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Warsaw. She works as an assistant professor at the Department of Criminology and Criminal Policy at the Institute of Social Prevention and Resocialization, University of Warsaw, and at the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights.
Dr. Błońska is a member of the Zbigniew Hołda Association, which focuses on human rights and the rule of law. Her research interests center on the protection of human rights within the justice system. Another distinct area of her research is the phenomenon of women’s victimization, particularly as victims of international crimes.
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| Contacts |
University of Warsaw
International Crimes Studies Center
20 Podchorążych Str., 00-721 Warsaw, Poland
Phone: (+48 22) 55 30 700
Email: cbzm@uw.edu.pl