Dr Amina Adanan

Law

Lecturer

New House
45
(01) 474 7592

Biography

Dr Amina Adanan joined Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology in 2017, where she holds the position of Lecturer/ Assistant Professor in Law. Prior to that, she lectured and tutored in the University of Galway and in Dublin City University. Amina lectures in International Criminal Law on the postgraduate programmes in Maynooth University, and Fundamental Rights in Ireland and Irish Property Law on the undergraduate programmes. Her research interests lie in the area of international criminal law, human rights law and the history of international law, specifically the prosecution of atrocity crimes in national courts. Amina is frequently invited to present her research in Ireland and abroad and she is Co-Director of the Research Centre in International Justice in Maynooth University.

To date, Amina has published a number of sole authored academic articles in high ranking and reputable international law journals, including the Journal of International Criminal Justice, International Criminal Law Review, the Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law and the Irish Yearbook of International Law. Amina also publishes on Irish Property Law, including in the area of human rights and property. In addition to academic articles and policy papers, she also disseminates her research to a wider audience via blog posts, and have published in leading blogs in Ireland and abroad, e.g. Opinio Juris and EJIL Talk!. Amina is actively engaged  in advocacy and policy work in Ireland e.g. the rights of Mixed Race Irish and prisoner rights. Amina is a member of the Association of Mixed Race Irish’s Racial Justice Forum.

In 2021, Amina was awarded the Royal Irish Academy’s Charlemont Grant for a project on the United Nations War Crimes Commission (1943-48). In 2022, following competitive assessment, she was awarded a New Foundations award from the Irish Research Council. Amina is also a recipient of the National University of Ireland’s Edward J Phelan Fellowship in International Law, the Maynooth University Conference Fund and the Irish Centre for Human Rights Doctoral Fellowship.

In 2018, Amina was awarded a Ph.D. in human rights from the University of Galway for her doctoral thesis entitled ‘Allies and enemies, past and present: An analysis of the rationale for the development of universal jurisdiction over serious crimes under international law’. Prior to that Amina completed an MA (International Relations) in DCU and an LL.B and BA International (Legal Science & Italian) in the University of Galway. Before beginning a career in academia, Amina worked in the Free Legal Advice Centres and UNICEF Ireland in research, advocacy and administrative capacities. 

Research Interests

Dr. Amina Adanan’s research interests lie in the area of international criminal law, human rights law and the history of international law, specifically the prosecution of atrocity crimes in national courts. Amina is interested in receiving PhD proposals in these areas. In addition, Amina researches on the topic of human rights in Ireland and the implementation and enforcement of international and European human rights law into the Irish legal system, specifically in area of prisoner rights.

Research Projects

Title Role Description Start date End date Amount
Advancing the Rights of Prisoners in Ireland Through Strategic Litigation PI Notwithstanding the increase in public interest cases to advance the rights of disadvantaged groups in Ireland, prison law remains under litigated in the State. Working with the leading national CSO advocating for penal reform (Irish Penal Reform Trust), and using desk based research supplemented by semi-structured interviews, AD-PRIS has two aims. First, to draft a strategic litigation policy for the advancement of the prisoners’ rights in Ireland, exploring the legal options that exist at a national, European and international level. Second, to develop a network of stakeholders, legal practitioners and academics with the purpose of initiating such cases. 27/02/2023 27/11/2023 11881.71
Irish Penal Reform Trust: Access to Rights & Justice for Migrants and Ethnic Minority People in the Penal System in Ireland Co-Principle Investigator This project examines the experiences of migrants and ethnic minorities in the Irish penal system. 01/03/2021 30/11/2021 10000
Universal Jurisdiction and the UNWCC Principle Investigator This project will interrogate the archives of the United Nations War Crimes Commission (UNWCC) to analyse how universal jurisdiction was exercised under the UNWCC. 01/03/2021 31/10/2021 2500

Book

Year Publication
2020 Amina Adanan and Neil Maddox (2020) Irish Land Law: A Casebook. Dublin: Round Hall Thomson Reuters.

Book Chapter

Year Publication
2020 Amina Adanan (2020) ''Universal Declaration of Human Rights and customary international law'' In: The Universal Declaration at 70: A review of successes and challenges. Dublin : Clarus. [Link]
2016 Adanan A.; Higgins N. (2016) 'Britain's influence on the regulation of the slave trade in the twentieth century' In: British Influences on International Law, 1915-2015. [DOI]

Edited Book

Year Publication
2020 Noelle Higgins, Amina Adanan, David Doyle and Michael Doherty (Ed.). (2020) The Universal Declaration at 70: A review of successes and challenges. Dublin: Clarus, [Link]

Peer Reviewed Journal

Year Publication
2021 Adanan, A (2021) 'Reflecting on the Genocide Convention in its Eighth Decade How Universal Jurisdiction Developed over Genocide'. Journal of International Criminal Justice, 19 :1039-1065. [DOI]
2021 Adanan, A (2021) 'United Kingdom Policy Towards Universal Jurisdiction Since the Post-War Period'. International Criminal Law Review, 21 :1025-1063. [DOI]
2014 Amina Adanan (2014) 'Accountability for Violations of International Humanitarian Law in Domestic Courts: Can War Crimes be Prosecuted in Ireland?'. Irish Yearbook of International Law, 9 :61-87.

Other Journal

Year Publication
2020 Amina Adanan (2020) 'Succession Law and Cohabitation after 10 Years of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010' Conveyancing and Property Law Journal, 4 :70-77.
2016 Amina Adanan (2016) 'Correspondent report on The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development v. The Southern African Litigation Centre (867/15) [2016] ZASCA 17, Supreme Court of South Africa, 15 March 2016' Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law, .
2014 Amina Adanan (2014) 'Correspondent report on National Commissioner of the South African Police Service v. Southern African Human Rights Litigation Centre and Another [2014] ZACC 30, Constitutional Court of South Africa, 30 October 2014' Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law, .

Conference Publication

Year Publication
2019 Amina Adanan (2019) DBEI ILO NUI Conference Marking the centenary of the International Labour Organization: The Declaration of Philadelphia Revisited Role of Rapporteur for workshop on 'Sustainable and Decent Advancement for All' [Link]

Conference Contribution

Year Publication
2023 Amina Adanan (2023) the UNWCC and its (forgotten?) institutional legacy 80th anniversary of United Nations War Crimes Commission-its legacy and relevance in the The Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, University of Leiden (The Hague campus), . [Link]
2023 Amina Adanan (2023) Seminar in the School of Oriental and African Studies The exercise of universal jurisdiction in post WWII trials SOAS, London, . [Link]
2021 Amina Adanan (2021) 'Examining Universal Jurisdiction as a Counter-hegemonic Tool under International Law' International Criminal Justice- A Counter Hegemonic Project? Berlin University Alliance (online), .
2021 Amina Adanan (2021) ‘The practice of Universal Jurisdiction under the UNWCC’ conference on the United Nations War Crimes Commission Online, 19/11/2021-.
2021 Amina Adanan (2021) ‘The exercise of universal jurisdiction during the operation of the UNWCC’ Workshop on the United Nations War Crimes Commission Online, 28/05/2021-.
2021 Amina Adanan and Mark Chadwick (2021) 'Passing the baton of international justice: The ICC and Universal Jurisdiction' Society of Legal Scholars annual conference 2021 Virtual presentation, .
2021 Amina Adanan (2021) 'Questioning the universal in universal jurisdiction' Second Annual Workshop on Research Methods in Fundamental Rights Centre for Fundamental Rights, Hertie School, .
2020 Amina Adanan (2020) ‘Women, Work and International Law’ International Congress on the Legal Protection of Working Women in the University of Malaga Online, .
2020 Amina Adanan (2020) Response to Professor Laurence Helfer’s paper on ‘Rethinking Derogations from Human Rights Treaties’ International Law and Covid 19 Trinity College Dublin (online), .
2019 Amina Adanan (2019) ‘The development of universal jurisdiction as a response to violations of human dignity during armed conflict’ Law and Society Association Annual Conference Washington DC, .
2018 Amina Adanan (2018) IALT annual conference ‘How effective is universal criminal jurisdiction in prosecuting atrocity crimes committed in Syria?’ Athlone, Ireland, .
2018 Amina Adanan (2018) ‘An analysis of the exercise of universal jurisdiction in the United Kingdom’ Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference Bristol, UK, .
2018 Amina Adanan (2018) ‘The Genocide Convention at 70 and the universality principle’ Interdisciplinary Conference on the 70th Anniversary of the Genocide Convention Nottingham University, .

Published Report

Year Publication
2022 Doyle, David; Brandon, Avril; Garrihy, Joe; Adanan, Amina; Bracken, Denis (2022) Sometimes I'm missing the words: The rights, needs and experiences of foreign national and minority ethnic groups in the Irish penal system. Irish Penal Reform Trust, . [Link] [Full-Text]
2021 Adanan, Amina, Brandon, Avril Margaret. & Bracken, Denis (2021) Training Brief for the Irish Prison Service and Irish Probation Service. Irish Penal Reform Trust, .

Blog

Year Publication
2022 Amina Adanan (2022) The Exercise of Universal Jurisdiction by the Post-War Occupying Powers in Germany Under the UNWCC. [Blog] [Link]
2022 Amina Adanan and Dan Plesch (2022) Co-Edited symposium of the United Nations War Crimes Commission. [Blog] [Link]
2021 Avril Brandon, Amina Adanan, David Doyle, Joe Garrihy and Denis Bracken (2021) Exploring the rights and experiences of migrant and minority ethnic groups in the penal system in Ireland. [Blog] [Link]
2019 Amina Adanan (2019) 'Reflecting on the Genocide Convention at 70: How genocide became a crime subject to universal jurisdiction'. [Blog] [Link]
2019 Amina Adanan and Jean Molloy (2019) ‘The use of extraterritorial jurisdiction to prosecute returning foreign fighters’. [Blog] [Link]
2016 Amina Adanan (2016) Domestic Regulation of Universal Jurisdiction–The Role of National Prosecutors. [Blog] [Link]

Book Review

Year Publication
2022 Amina Adanan (2022) Book review of Jeff Handmaker and Karin Arts (eds), Mobilising International Law for ‘Global Justice’ in the Journal of Conflict and Security Law. [Book Review]

Policy Contribution

Year Publication
2022 Amina Adanan, Avril Brandon and Denis Bracken (2022) Training Brief for the Irish Prison Service and Irish Probation Service. Dublin: [Policy Contribution]
2021 Amina Adanan and Joe Garrihy (2021) Public Consultation on the Review of Prison Rules: Submission to the Irish Prison Service concerning foreign national and ethnic minority prisoners. [Policy Contribution]
2022 Amina Adanan (2022) Rights-related materials for migrant and ethnic minorities as part of IPRT’s ‘Know Your Rights: Your Rights as a Prisoner’ project. Dublin: [Policy Contribution]
2021 Association of Mixed Race Irish Racial Justice Committee (2021) Submission to Anti-Racism Committee. [Policy Contribution]
2021 Association of Mixed Race Irish Racial Justice Committee (2021) Submission to Government concerning review of Equality Acts. [Policy Contribution]
Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2024) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.

Professional Associations

Description Function From / To
Research Centre in International Justice in Maynooth University Co-Director 01/09/2023 -
Society of Legal Scholars Member -

Honors and Awards

Date Title Awarding Body
31/05/2023 MUSSI Seminar, Workshop and Conference Scheme Maynooth University Social Sciences Institute
01/12/2022 New Foundations Irish Research Council
01/02/2021 Charlemont Grant Royal Irish Academy
01/04/2019 MU Conference and Workshop Fund Maynooth University Research Development Office
01/08/2016 EJ Phelan Fellow in International Law National University of Ireland
01/01/2014 Doctoral Fellowship Irish Centre for Human Rights, School of Law, NUI Galway

Committees

Committee Function From / To
Athena Swan Advisory Committee Advisor 25/09/2023 -
School of Law and Criminology Research Committee Member 25/09/2023 -
School of Law and Criminology Teaching and Learning Committee Member 01/09/2020 - 01/03/2022
Maynooth University Social Justice Week Committee Member 01/09/2019 -
School of Law and Criminology Undergraduate Committee Chair of the BA Programme 01/09/2017 - 01/09/2020

Education

Start date Institution Qualification Subject
Maynooth University Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Teaching, Learning and Assessment Teaching and Learning
University of Galway Ph.D. in Human Rights International Law
Dublin City University MA in International Relations International Relations
University of Galway LL.B Law
University of Galway BA (International) Legal Science and Italian

Editorial / Academic Reviews

Amount Role From / To
Irish Yearbook of International Law Reviewer -
Asian Journal of International Law Reviewer -

Outreach Activities

Organisation Type Description
Association of Mixed Race Irish Civic Society

Teaching Interests

Dr. Amina Adanan teaches International Criminal Law on the LL.M programmes in the School of Law and Criminology and Property Law and Fundamental Rights in Ireland to undergraduate BCL students. Since joining the School of Law and Criminology in 2017, Amina has also taught International Human Rights Law on the Masters programmes and Constitutional Law on the undergraduate law programmes. In addition, Amina supervises postgraduate dissertations and undergraduate research in her research areas. Prior to joining Maynooth University, Amina lectured in the University of Galway, Dublin City University and in the Centre for Talented Youth, Ireland. Amina has an interest in teaching and learning and recently completed the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Teaching, Learning and Assessment in the Maynooth University Centre for Teaching and Learning.