Amnesties for serious human rights violations are often politically controversial and morally troubling.  However, their legal status is a complex question that depends on the treaty obligations, domestic rules on amnesty, and applicable customary international law duties of the state granting amnesty.  In an article in the April 2025 edition of the Fortnight magazine - a monthly political and cultural magazine published in Northern Ireland, Professor Mallinder explores the status of amnesties under customary international law as this is the most significant but also the most uncertain element of international law on amnesties.

The article summarises some of the findings presented in Professor Malinder’s Inaugural Lecture Does Customary International Law Prohibit Amnesties?  Watch the recording of the Lecture here.

Read the article here.

 

Professor Louise Mallinder

Professor Mallinder is the Deputy Director and Theme Lead for Legacy at the Mitchell Institute.  Louise is also Professor of Law at the School of Law at Queen’s University Belfast. Her research interests relate to the fields of international human rights law, international criminal law, and law and politics in political transitions.