GNF Master Class on War Crimes

The Inn is once again providing funded places for Inner Temple members to attend the Geoffrey Nice Foundation Master Class on Law, History, Politics and Society in the Context of Mass Atrocities, held in Dubrovnik, Croatia from Monday 29 June to Saturday 4 July 2026.

This year’s course topic is HOW CAN WE HUMANS STOP [KILLING MILLIONS OF EACH OTHER IN] WARS? Can we rely on International Humanitarian Law? If not, on what else? 

Applications for funded places are now open, with a deadline of 22 April 2026. Further details are set out below.

The objective of the Geoffrey Nice Foundation is to advance a multidisciplinary understanding of International Criminal Justice delivered by courts, truth commissions and in other ways. The Foundation seeks to achieve its goals through training and education programmes, together with other activities, which embrace legal, historical, political and sociological disciplines and their respective methodologies. It operates with students, researchers and academics of these disciplines from different countries, studying and working together. Master Classes take place annually under the general title “Law, History, Politics, and Society in the Context of Mass Atrocities” with different specific programmes each year.

2014 - On Law, History, Politics and Society in the Context of Mass Atrocities
2015 - Law and Politics of Genocide: 20 Years After Srebrenica
2016 - Conflict Beyond the Reach of Law: Emerging World Order and the Search for Adequate Responses to Political Violence
2017 - Law and Politics of Terrorism: In Search of Adequate Political, Military and Legal Responses to the Threat of Terrorism in the Post-Cold War Era
2018 - Political Expediency behind International Criminal Courts
2019 - Mapping, Documenting and Prosecuting Mass Atrocities
2020 - Transitional, Post-Transitional and Strategic Narratives of Genocide: Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide
2021 - Peace Without Justice: Mass Atrocities in the Post-Human Rights Age
2022 - International Criminal Law and Genocide: An Interdisciplinary Approach
2023 - Accountability for War Crimes in Ukraine – What Will Work
2024 - Genocide: Citizen, State, Victims, Accountability
2025 - Why Go To War: What If Any Law Can Stop Us?

Funding is available for up to six Inner Temple members to attend the Master Class including:

• Return flights (up to the value of the cost of return flights from the UK to Dubrovnik). Flight bookings will be made by the Inn. If you are awarded a place on the course, you will be expected to travel out to Dubrovnik on the Sunday 28 June and to return on Sunday 5 July on the best available flights, as selected by The Inner Temple.
• Same-sex shared accommodation with other course participants (as determined and arranged by the Geoffrey Nice Foundation). Course accommodation is close to the IUC at a neighbouring Cloister (run by an order of nuns), at the IUC dormitory itself or at the University of Dubrovnik Dormitory. Single occupancy rooms are strictly limited and typically reserved for those with a medical need, but may be available for an additional sum of around £100, payable by the participant.
• Daily 3-course lunches at the IUC.

Funding will not include expenses for breakfast and evening meals (self-catering facilities will be available in the accommodation), airport transfers nor any personal spending.

Course fees of £100 are payable by the participant to the Inn and will be reimbursed to the Geoffrey Nice Foundation. This cost is to be borne by the participant to ensure parity with other course participants from the Balkans region and further afield. If you have any questions about the course fee, please contact me as soon as possible.

Those allocated funding for the Master Class will be expected to provide a 500-word review of their experiences on the course. This will assist the Inn’s evaluation of the value of the course to members. The reviews will be shared with the Geoffrey Nice Foundation and may be used (in full or in part) for publications and on social media platforms.

You are eligible to apply if you are currently undertaking or have passed the Bar Course from 2022 onwards, whether or not you have been Called to the Bar, attained or started pupillage or are in tenancy. Those who have applied to attend a past course but were not selected are eligible to re-apply. Those who have attended a past course are sadly not eligible to apply.

British, EU and/or Schengen Area passport holders do not need a visa to visit Croatia for visits of up to 90 days. Details of entry requirements for British passport holders are available on the gov.uk foreign travel advice section on Croatia. Details for EU/Schengen Area passport holders are available on the European Commission website.

Other international passport holders should visit the Croatian Embassy website for more information about entry requirements. The Inn is not equipped to provide guidance on visa requirements but may be able to provide supporting documentation if required. Please note, if you require a visa and your application is successful, it will be your responsibility to identify and arrange a visa in good time and at your expense.

Please complete the online application by the deadline of 12 noon on Wednesday, 22 April 2026.

Applicants will be asked to provide personal and professional information; a motivation letter of no more than one page; details of any volunteering undertaken for the Inn and/or profession; and to upload a copy of their CV.

In the motivation letter, applicants should make observations about how ‘ordinary’ people may themselves stop us from killing each other in wars, and explain why this subject is, or may be, important to them. While the use of AI is not prohibited, it should only be used (if at all) as a tool to assist applicants in crafting their own opinions.

Late or incomplete applications will not be considered. All applications will be assessed by a panel including Master Geoffrey Nice. Funded places on the Master Class will be awarded on merit and the perceived benefit to the applicant in attending the course. Applicants will be notified whether or not their application has been successful as soon as possible.

Please contact Wanda Szwed, Executive Assistant to the Sub-Treasurer, with any questions.