LLB Durham, BCL Oxford, PhD Cambridge

BIO

Hannah Woolaver is an Associate Professor of International Law in the Public Law Department of the University of Cape Town. She has also held positions as a Visiting Fellow or Scholar at the Lauterpacht Centre, University of Cambridge, the University of New South Wales, Australia, and the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto. Prior to coming to UCT, Hannah was awarded an LLB (First Class) at the University of Durham, BCL (Distinction) at the University of Oxford, and PhD at St. John’s College, University of Cambridge. She teaches public international law and international criminal law at undergraduate and postgraduate level, and also supervises postgraduate research in these areas. 

Please contact Hannah if you are interested in pursuing LLM or PhD research in public international law.
 

Expertise/ Research interests

Public international law generally; international criminal law; the use of force; the relationship between international and domestic law.

Teaching

International Law (LLB); International Criminal Law and Africa (LLB); International Law in Theory and Practice (LLM)

Socially responsive work

Co-Chair of the International Law Association Committee on the Use of Force: Military Assistance on Request; member of the UCT Legal Advice Programme to provide international law advice to civil society groups and organisations 

Publications

(most recent publications & conference presentations)

Books

• The Amicus Curiae in International Criminal Justice (Hart Publishing, 2020) (with S. Williams and E. Palmer) 
  https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/amicus-curiae-in-international-criminal-justice-9781509954704/#:~:text=Description,proceedings%20in%20international%20criminal%20tribunals
   

Articles and Chapters

Forthcoming:

• ‘The Role of International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law in Constitutional Interpretation’ in O’Regan, Bernal and Choudhry Research Handbook on Constitutional Interpretation (Edward Elgar, 2024)

Published:

• ‘Engagement of South African Domestic Courts with International Law’ in Nollkaemper et al The Engagement of Domestic Courts with International Law: Comparative Perspectives (Oxford University Press, 2024) 37-56. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-engagement-of-domestic-courts-with-international-law-9780192864185?cc=za&lang=en& 

• ‘Prosecuting Apartheid-Era International Crimes in South Africa’ in Jeßburger et al, Strafrecht und Systemunrecht (Mohr Siebeck, 2022) 423-436. https://www.mohrsiebeck.com/buch/strafrecht-und-systemunrecht-9783161588624/ 

• ‘Sovereign Equality as a Peremptory Norm of General International Law’ in Tladi (ed) Peremptory Norms of International Law (Jus Cogens) (Brill, 2021) 713-739. https://brill.com/edcollbook/title/60236?language=en 

• ‘The Role of State Amici Curiae in the Article 19 (3) ICC Statute Proceedings: Friends or Distraction?’ 18(4) Journal of International Criminal Justice (2020) 891-904 (with S Williams). https://academic.oup.com/jicj/article-abstract/18/4/891/6010428 

• ‘From Joining to Leaving: Domestic Law’s Role in the International Legal Validity of Treaty Withdrawal’ 30(1) European Journal of International Law (2019) 73-104. https://academic.oup.com/ejil/article/30/1/73/5498083 

• ‘State Engagement with Treaties: Interaction between International and Domestic Law’, in Bradley (ed.) Oxford Handbook of Comparative Foreign Relations Law, (Oxford University Press, 2019) 431-446. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-handbook-of-comparative-foreign-relations-law-9780190653330?cc=za&lang=en& 

• ‘Withdrawal from the International Criminal Court: International and Domestic Implications’ in Werle and Zimmermann (eds.) The International Criminal Court in Turbulent Times, (Asser University Press, 2019) 23-42. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-6265-303-0_3#:~:text=As%20a%20result%2C%20withdrawal%20from,the%20Rome%20Statute%20was%20domesticated. 

• ‘South Africa’ in Palombino (ed.) Duelling for Supremacy International Law vs. National Fundamental Principles (Cambridge University Press, 2019) 320-336. https://www.cambridge.org/za/universitypress/subjects/law/public-international-law/duelling-supremacy-international-law-vs-national-fundamental-principles?format=HB&isbn=9781108475266 

Case Note

• ‘R v Reeves Taylor’ 114(4) American Journal of International Law (2020) 749-756. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-journal-of-international-law/article/r-v-reeves-taylor-appellant-2019-uksc-51/E6D776B805C57D3A34B191A1AF2B0391

Conference Presentations

• Lauterpacht Centre, University of Cambridge, Conference on International Crises and International Adjudication, ‘Immunity and Domestic Adjudication of International Crimes in International Crises’, Invited Presenter (2024)
• University of Chicago Centre in Paris, France, International Conference on Nonbinding International Agreements: Is There a Need for Greater Transparency and Accountability?, Invited Discussant to present ‘South African Practice in Nonbinding International Agreements’ (2023)
• International Law and Institutions in an Era of Populism: The South African Experience, Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town, ‘South Africa and the International Criminal Court in the Context of Populism’ (2023)
• Seminar on International Law Commission Special Rapporteur’s Work on General Principles of International Law, Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, University of Cambridge, Invited Discussant (2023)
• International Law Association Committee on the Use of Force Conference, ‘The Purpose-Based Approach to the Legality of Military Assistance on Request’, Invited Presenter (2022) 
• Journal of International Criminal Justice Symposium on ‘Litigating Palestine Before the International Criminal Court, ‘The Role of State Amici Curiae in the Article 19(3) ICC Statute Proceedings: Friends or Distraction?’, Invited Presenter (2020)
• Lauterpacht Centre of International Law Lecture Series, ‘From Joining to Leaving: Domestic Law’s Role in the International Legal Validity of Treaty Withdrawal’ (2019)
• Oxford University Public International Law Discussion Group, ‘The Role of Domestic Law in the International Legal Validity of Treaty Withdrawal’,  (2019)