PhD Degree Awarded to Mr. Abduljabbar Shamhan in Public International Law

Mr. Abduljabbar Abdulrazzaq Abdulrahman Ahmed Shamhan‎ was awarded a PhD degree in Public International Law for his dissertation titled: The Effectiveness of International Criminal Judiciary in Securing the Rights of Victims of International Crimes‎, which was submitted to the Department of International Law, Faculty of Sharia and Law–Sana’a University. The dissertation defense was held on Sunday, March 8, 2026‎.

The PhD Viva-Voce Committee, which was formed based on a resolution issued by the Graduate Studies and Scientific Research Council, consisted of the following:

# Committee Members Designation Position
1 Assoc. Prof. Mohammed Ali Al-Haj Internal Examiner Chair
2 Assoc. Prof. Ali Naji Al-Awaj Main Supervisor Member
3 Assoc. Prof. Nabeel Abdulrahman Nasser Al-Deen External Examiner Member

The dissertation aimed to:
 Analyze the legal framework established by the Rome Statute and international criminal tribunals for the protection of victims’ rights, particularly participation, protection, and reparation.
 Evaluate the effectiveness of international criminal justice in translating normative recognition of victims’ rights into actual, practical redress.
 Assess the impact of the powers of the UN Security Council and the Prosecutor on the independence and effectiveness of the Court in delivering justice to victims.
 Examine reparation mechanisms and the implementation of reparation orders, including the role of the Trust Fund for Victims.‎‎
The study yielded several key findings summarized as follows:
 The Rome Statute has achieved significant normative progress in recognizing victims of international crimes as participating parties, granting them rights to legal representation, participation, protection, and reparation.
 However, practical implementation still faces constraints due to ambiguity in certain legal standards and the broad discretionary powers of the Court, leading to inconsistent jurisprudence in empowering victims.
 Legal and political limitations governing the Court’s jurisdiction affect the effectiveness of international criminal justice, including ambiguities in complementarity standards, territorial and temporal jurisdiction constraints, and the political role of the Security Council, which has led to selectivity.
 Significant practical challenges hinder the enforcement of reparation orders, notably the financial insolvency of convicted persons, the absence of effective asset-tracing mechanisms, and the limited resources of the Trust Fund for Victims, which relies on voluntary contributions.
 These challenges have created a gap between judicial recognition of victims’ rights and the realization of effective reparation.

In light of these findings, the researcher recommended the following:‎
 Strengthening the legal framework governing victims’ rights under the Rome Statute by refining procedural provisions and establishing clear objective criteria for assessing personal interests, gravity thresholds, and admissibility conditions.
 Granting victims the right to appeal decisions affecting their rights.
 Reinforcing the principle of complementarity and combating impunity by improving standards for evaluating the seriousness of national investigations and encouraging states to incorporate universal jurisdiction into their domestic legislation.
 Enhancing the effectiveness of reparation mechanisms through the development of a comprehensive system combining individual, collective, and symbolic measures.
 Ensuring sustainable financial resources for the Trust Fund for Victims and improving asset-tracing mechanisms.
 Strengthening international cooperation and compliance with Court decisions by developing monitoring mechanisms within the Assembly of States Parties to oversee state implementation of Court orders.
The dissertation defense was attended by a number of academics, researchers, and specialists, students, colleagues, and the researcher’s family.