Hannah R. Garry

Professor from Practice
Executive Director, The Promise Institute for Human Rights

  • B.A. Political Science & History, Wheaton College, 1995
  • Grad. Cert. Forced Migration Studies, Oxford University, 1996
  • M.I.A. International Affairs, Columbia University, 2001
  • J.D. UC Berkeley School of Law, 2002

Prof. Hannah R. Garry is Professor from Practice and Executive Director of The Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA Law. She is an internationally-recognized legal scholar, teacher and advocate with over 25 years’ experience, spanning more than 25 countries, in human rights, international criminal law, international refugee law, and transitional justice, and has held prior faculty appointments at University of Southern California (USC) Law and University of Colorado Law.

In 2022, Hannah was a U.S. Fulbright Scholar in Norway. Her scholarship has been published by Oxford University Press; Kluwer Publishers; T.M.C. Asser Press; Edward Elgar Publishing; the Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights; the European Public Law Journal; the International Journal of Refugee Law; the Journal of International Criminal Justice; and Berkeley Journal of International Law; among others. She has received funding for her research from the European Union and the Ford, Nuffield, and Rotary Foundations. She is regularly sought as an expert for media outlets such as the New York Times, Newsweek, Washington Post, BBC, Reuters, the Los Angeles Times, and The Hill.

Hannah has been a recipient of the USC Mellon Award for Faculty Mentoring Graduate Students in recognition of her excellence in teaching. She has taught international criminal law, international human rights law and public international law to law and undergraduate students over 16 years. As Clinical Professor of Law at USC Law, she was Founding Director of its International Human Rights Clinic, training over 100 student attorneys as the next generation of human rights advocates.

Hannah has held visiting academic positions at Oxford University’s Refugee Studies Centre; the University of Oslo Faculty of Law PluriCourts Centre; the San Remo International Institute of Humanitarian Law; the Peking University Law School Human Rights Research Center; Makerere University’s Institute of Social Research; the International Criminal Court (ICC); and the European Court of Human Rights.

Hannah has extensive experience over 20 years in international and national courts and legislatures, as well as before UN human rights bodies. She provided legal drafting and analysis for over 10 judgments and numerous appeals decisions on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and torture. Her prior roles include Deputy Chef de Cabinet and Legal Officer to Judge Fausto Pocar during his presidency at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and Legal Officer in the Appeals Chamber of the Yugoslav and Rwandan Tribunals. She has been Legal Adviser and amicus curiae before the ICC, the Cambodia Tribunal, the Lebanon Tribunal, and the U.S. Supreme Court. When she was an associate at Freshfields, Bruckhaus, Deringer LLP, she assisted Commissioner Lucy Reed on assessment of compensation claims brought by civilians and prisoners of war brought before the Eritrea Ethiopia Claims Commission. She clerked for the Honorable Rosemary Barkett on the 11th Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals. She is admitted to the New York Bar and the United States Supreme Court Bar.

Hannah regularly testifies and drafts expert submissions, including before the ICC and the UN Human Rights Committee on behalf of torture survivors; the UK House of Lords Parliamentary Inquiry on Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan on behalf of women and girls; the Canadian House of Commons on Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis; and the UN Office of the Human Rights Commissioner for Human Rights on Black Lives Matter. Together with experts from the University of Oxford and University of Toronto, she filed a brief on behalf of refugees with the ICC Prosecutor’s office documenting crimes against humanity in Cameroon. She serves on the Clooney Foundation's Expert Panel for its TrialWatch Initiative documenting fair trial rights violations against journalists, academics, and human rights defenders in her reports.

As a longstanding member of the American Society of International Law (ASIL), Hannah is as an elected member of its Executive Council and Committee. In 2024, she co-chaired the ASIL Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. featuring 50 expert international law panels and hosting over 1,100 attendees. She was invited by the International Law Association (America Branch) to serve on its Crimes Against Humanity Treaty study group. She is a member of the Leadership Circle for Foreign Policy for America. Hannah also serves on the faculty advisory boards for USC’s Shoah Foundation Institute Center for Advanced Genocide Research as well as UCLA’s The Promise Armenian Institute, and is a member of the Human Rights Watch Los Angeles Committee.

Hannah holds a Juris Doctorate in Law from UC Berkeley Law where she was Managing Editor of the Berkeley Journal of International Law and recipient of several awards and scholarships in international law and human rights. She obtained a Master’s in International Affairs from Columbia University with high honors, and a Bachelor of Arts in history and political science summa cum laude from Wheaton College. She also holds a Graduate Certificate in Forced Migration Studies with distinction from Oxford University where she was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar.

Bibliography

  • Journal Articles
    • “From Policy Back to Principles? Refugee Protection under International Law & State (Non)-Compliance. (work in progress).
    • Mixed Claims Commission & International Criminal Trials: Towards a Transformative Justice Approach to Atrocity Situations. (work in progress).
    • Harmonization of Asylum Law and Policy Within the European Union: A Human Rights Perspective, Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights (2002). Intersentia Publishers, Vol. 20, No. 2, 2002: 163-84
    • When Procedure Becomes a Matter of Life or Death: Interim Measures and the European Court of Human Rights, European Public Law Journal (2001). Kluwer Publishers, Vol. 7, No. 3, Fall 2001 Full Text
    • Applying the Plumb Line of Uganda’s Bill of Rights to Uganda’s Draft Refugee Bill: An Analysis with Regard to the Rights of Refugees, East African Human Rights Law Journal,. Makerere University Press, Vol. 5, July 1998: 1-31
    • The Right to Compensation and Refugee Flows: A ‘Preventative Mechanism’ in International Law?, International Journal of Refugee Law,. Vol. 10, Number 1/2, Oxford University Press, Jan. /Apr. 1998: 97-117.
  • Book Chapters
    • “Genocide as Distinguished from Crimes Against Humanity”, in Nuremberg Principles and Ukraine: Contemporary Challenges to Peace, Security and Justice (Lexington Books, forthcoming).
    • The Eritrea Ethiopia Claims Commission: at the Intersection of International Dispute Resolution and Transitional Justice for Atrocity Crimes? (with Morgan Brock-Smith & Nicholas Maisel), in By Peaceful Means: Adjudication and Arbitration of International Disputes (Oxford University Press, 2024).
    • Witness Proofing, in International Criminal Procedure: The Interface of Civil Law and Common Law Legal Systems (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2013).
    • (with Guglielmo Verdirame, Barbara Harrell-Bond, and Zachary Lomo), in Rights in Exile: Janus-Faced Humanitarianism. (Berghahn Books: Oxford, 2005)
    • From the Aspirational to the Operational: Multinational Corporations, Corporate Codes of Conduct and Human Rights (with Lucy F. Reed), in From Government to Governance: The Growing Impact of Non-State Actors on the International and European Legal System: 2003 Hague Joint Conference on Contemporary Issues of International Law, pp. 176-85 (T.M.C. Asser Press, 2004).
    • (with Lucy F. Reed and Emily Daughter), in Alternative Dispute Resolution in Italy, (Associazione Italiana Giuristi Di Impresa (AIGI) Publications,, Milan, Italy, Oct. 2003).
    • Harmonization of Asylum Law and Policy Within the European Union: A Human Rights Perspective, Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights (2002). Intersentia Publishers, Vol. 20, No. 2, 2002: 163-84
  • Reviews
    • Stefano Maffei, The European Right to Confrontation in Criminal Proceedings: Absent, Anonymous and Vulnerable Witnesses, Journal of International Criminal Justice 609-10 (Oxford University Press,). Vol. 6, Issue 3, July 2008, pp. 609-10
    • Introductory Note to United Kingdom (U.K.) Supreme Court of Judicature—Court of Appeal (Civil Division): N v. Secretary of State for the Home Department, International Legal Materials,.  American Society of International Law, Vol. 43, No. 1, Jan. 2004: 112-15
    • Human Rights and Forced Displacement, Journal of Refugee Studies. Oxford University Press, Vol. 15, Issue 4, Dec. 2002, pp. 426-27
    • Evaluating the Effectiveness of Human Rights Institutions, Berkeley Journal of International Law,. Vol. 17, Issue 1, 1999, pp. 138-44.
  • Media (Select)
    • For Victims in Ukraine, saying ‘Genocide’ Does Matter, The Hill,. April 30, 2022. Full Text
    • Quoted on War in Ukraine & International Crimes by the BBC.  Newsweek, Law360, The Insider, March-June 2022.
    • Senate Can Help Ukraine by Confirming Beth Van Schaack Now, The Hill,. Feb. 4, 2022. Full Text
    • UN to Form Panel to Investigate Systemic Racism in Policing. The New York Times, July 13, 2021.
    •  “Kenya is Pulling Welcome Mat on 600,000 Refugees. Triggering Fear of Another Mass Migration,” Los Angeles Times, May 11, 2016.
  • Presentations (Select)
    • Chair, “Crimes Against Humanity: from Draft Articles to Treaty in 2024?”.  American Society of International Law Annual Meeting, April 2024
    • Panelist, “Utilizing International Law to Support Women’s Rights in Afghanistan". Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security, Virtual, March 2024
    • Panelist, “Reparations for Massive Human Rights Violations".  European Society of International Law 18th Annual Conference International Human Rights Workshop, Aix-en-Provence, France, Aug. 2023
    • Keynote, “The International Criminal Court’s Arrest Warrant for Putin: International & Domestic Implications".  Federal Bar Association, California, June 2023
    • Genocide Distinguished from Crimes Against Humanity. Catholic University Conference on the Nuremberg Principles: Contemporary Challenges, March 2023
    • Panelist, “Implementing the Duty to Prevent Genocide under International Law: Cameroon, Armenia & Ukraine”. State of Luxembourg Side Event to the 21st Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, The Hague, The Netherlands, Dec. 2022
    • Closing Impunity Gap(s): Mixed Claims Commissions and Pluralist Global Justice for Atrocity Crimes. University of Oslo Faculty of Law PluriCourts Centre Workshop, Oslo, Norway, March 2022.
    • From Policy Back to Principles? Refugee Protection under International Law & State (Non)-Compliance.  American Society of International Law Annual Meeting, March 2023; American Society of International Law Research Forum, University of Miami Law, November 2022; American Branch International Law Association International Law Weekend, Fordham University School of Law, October 2022; Refugee Law Initiative 6th Annual Conference, School of Advanced Study, University of London, June 2022; University of Oslo Faculty of Law PluriCourts Centre Workshop, Oslo, Norway, June 2022
    • The Global Refugee Crisis & Protection for Refugees Under International Law: What Way Forward?” US-Norway Fulbright Foundation. Oslo, Norway, February 2022.
    • Implementing the Duty to Prevent Genocide under International Law: Cameroon, Armenia & Ukraine, State of Luxembourg Side Event to the 21st Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The Hague, The Netherlands, Dec. 2022.
    • Accountability Mechanisms for the Atrocity Situation in Cameroon. Oxford University Conference on US Senate Resolution 684, Feb. 2021.
    • Police Brutality and Systemic Racism in U.S. Law Enforcement Responses to Peaceful Anti-Racism Protests. United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Civil Society Consultation, Feb. 2021.
    • No Peace Without Justice: Mixed Claims Commissions & Transitional Justice for Victims of Atrocity Crimes. Southern California International Law Scholars Workshop, Feb. 2021.
    • Panel Discussant, "The War that Reached Los Angeles: Human Rights, Recycled Trauma and Diaspora Identity. USC Institute of Armenian Studies, Los Angeles, CA, 2021.
    • State Control of Internet Access, Freedom of the Press and Atrocity Situations: Introductory Remarks. International Criminal Court Assembly of States Parties Side Event Panel, Dec. 2020.
    • No Peace Without Justice: Ad Hoc Mixed Claims Commission & Transitional Justice for Victims of Atrocity Crimes. American Society of International Law Research Forum, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, Cleveland, OH, Sept. 2020.
    • Discussant, UCLA-American Society of International Law Task Force Round Table on Policy Options for US Engagement with the International Criminal Court.  Apr. 2020.
    • Discussant, “International Criminal Justice,” American Society of International Law Mid-Year Meeting. UCLA School of Law, Nov. 10, 2018.
    • Discussant, International Human Rights Advocacy and International Criminal Justice: Past, Present and Future. International Human Rights Clinicians’ Conference, UCLA School of Law, Apr. 27, 2018.
    • The International Criminal Court and its Role in the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes. China University of Political Sciences and Law Conference on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes and the Function of International Judicial Bodies, Beijing, China, Mar. 13, 2017.
    • Panel Chair, “Post-Genocide Justice”, USC Shoah Foundation Center for Advanced Genocide Research International Conference: Genocide and Resistance in Guatemala. USC, Sept. 13, 2016.
    • Discussant with Nick Koumijian, Chief Co-Prosecutor at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Decades after Genocide: is Justice Possible?”. USC Institute of Armenian Studies, Los Angeles, CA, Sept. 3, 2015.
    • Panel Discussant on the “Right to Fair Trial” with the Chief Prosecutor and Lead Defense Counsel for Nuon Chea, Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. Phnom Penh, Cambodia, June 12, 2015.
    • Discussant and Moderator, 100 Years after the Armenian Genocide: Still Seeking Justice. World Affairs Council of Orange County, CA, Apr., 2, 2015.
    • Panel Discussant on the International Criminal Court and the Charles Taylor conviction by the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the “Scholars Circle”, KPFK radio. May 30, 2014 & May 6, 2012
    • The International Criminal Court and its Impact on International Justice,” introductory remarks at “Moving the World: An Evening with International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno- Ocampo,” USC School of Cinematic Arts. Los Angeles, CA, Nov. 4, 2011.
    • Panel Discussant, “International Criminal Law Interest Group: ‘Fact Finding Without Facts’: a Conversation with Nancy Combs”, American Society of International Law Annual Meeting. Washington D.C., Mar. 25, 2011
    • Corporate Responsibility for Crimes under International Law?, Berkeley Journal of International Law Stefan Reisenfeld Symposium.  UC Berkeley School of Law, CA, Mar. 14, 2008.
    • Reconciling Concepts of Restorative and Retributive Justice in International Criminal Law: Victims’ Participation in International Proceedings. International Human Rights Section, American Association of Law Schools Annual Conference, New York, NY, Jan. 6, 2008.
    • Refugees and Local Integration as Facilitators to Meaningful Regional Integration. East Africa Law Society Conference on the East Africa Court of Appeal and Conflict Resolution, Malindi, Kenya, Apr. 8-9, 1998.
    • Recommendations to the Joint Drafting Committee for Developing Uganda's Draft Refugee Bill. Makerere University Institute of Social Research, Kampala, Uganda, Apr. 3, 1998.
    • Protection of Refugee Rights in Northern Uganda: A Field Research Report. Makerere University Institute of Social Research Seminar Series, Kampala, Uganda, Mar. 22, 1998.
    • The Enjoyment of Refugee Rights in Uganda. EU Health and Welfare Research Project Conference, Institute of Public Health, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, Sept. 10, 1997.
    • Camp Sadako and Refugee Vulnerable Groups. Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford University, UK, Oct. 19, 1995.
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