Chris Mahony

University of Oxford, Department of Politics and International Relations, Graduate Student

World Bank, Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation, Faculty Member

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My research and previous work experience is in International Criminal Law, Transitional Justice, Justice Sector Reform, Human Rights and Governance. I am Research Fellow at the Centre for International Law Research and Policy, Visiting Research Fellow at Georgetown University Law Center, Adviser at UNDP, and at the Independent Evaluation Group, World Bank Group in Washington D.C. I hold a Bachelor of Commerce degree (B.Com.) and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree from the University of Otago, and a Master’s degree in African Studies (M.Sc.) and a D.Phil. in Politics from the University of Oxford. I was admitted to the bar of the High Court of New Zealand in 2006 where I appeared for the Crown in criminal and refugee matters. I drafted the recommendations on governance and corruption for the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and co-authored the ‘Historical antecedents to the conflict’ chapter. In 2008, I directed the Witness Evaluation Legacy Project at the Special Court for Sierra Leone. I have advised the International Criminal Court, the British, Nepali and US governments, UNDP, the World Bank, the International Centre for Transitional Justice, Bain and Company, USAID, and the Open Society Initiative, on international justice, transitional justice, political economy, international relations and justice sector reform. From 2012 to 2013, I was Deputy Director of the New Zealand Centre for Human Rights Law, Policy and Practice, Faculty of Law, Auckland University. I have published on international criminal justice, international law, transitional justice and domestic justice sector reform.
Supervisors: Professor David Anderson (DPhil supervisor)

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Books by Chris Mahony

A Case Selection Independence Framework for Tracing Historical Interests’ Manifestation in International Criminal Justice

In this chapter I argue that the international system and the post-Cold War global order critical... more In this chapter I argue that the international system and the post-Cold War global order critically shaped the trajectory of international criminal law enforcement in two ways. First, it enabled a contest over control of case selection, primarily between weak and powerful states, and, to a lesser extent, with actors seeking independent prosecution of core international crimes cases. Second, as a part of the weak versus powerful state contest, it preferred the prosecution of international humanitarian law violations (jus in bello) to prosecution of the crime of aggression (jus ad vellum). To identify these trends we must look beyond the legal instruments and towards the interests of those actors who designed them. By identifying the historical positions of states, one can identify the trajectory of international criminal justice, the behavior it enables and stigmatizes, and the impact of shifting global power dynamics on its post-Cold War re-emergence.

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Evaluating Transitional Justice: Accountability and Peacebuilding in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone

by Kirsten Ainley and Chris Mahony

This is the first major study to evaluate the transitional justice programme in Sierra Leone. Rat... more This is the first major study to evaluate the transitional justice programme in Sierra Leone. Rather than focusing on a single mechanism, the authors examine how the Special Court, Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), local justice initiatives and reparations programme interacted. Contributors to the book include the Prosecutor of the Special Court and one of the Commissioners from the TRC, alongside a range of experts on transitional justice, on international law and on Sierra Leone. The authors consider the political and normative drivers of transitional justice and the lessons that the Sierra Leone programme stands to offer other post-conflict situations. The importance of long-term planning, local partnership and the management of the politics and trade-offs for future transitional justice programmes cannot be underestimated. This edited volume makes a significant contribution to the field by demonstrating how contextual knowledge should be used alongside normative standards when evaluating transitional justice.

The justice sector afterthought: Witness protection in Africa, Pretoria: Institute for Security Studies, 2010.

This book seeks to address the frictions between protecting the rights of accused persons and pro... more This book seeks to address the frictions between protecting the rights of accused persons and protecting the physical and psychological wellbeing of witnesses in Africa. Developed states are still attempting to refine the weighing of these two public goods. The African challenge is complicated by poor capacity and integrity in the justice sector, as well as by lower living standards. These issues commonly cause justice inefficiencies which impede both witness protection and the rights of the accused. While the latter are critical to the integrity of the criminal justice process, witness protection is often the essential component of the successful prosecution of organised crime. Witness protection`s importance is tied to African states` growing willingness to address the phenomena of organised crime.

The book addresses witness protection in South Africa as well as initiatives to create protection programmes in Kenya, Uganda and Sierra Leone. It also examines witness protection at the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). Its interpretation of witness protection is wide and includes sensitive investigatory, prosecutorial and judicial practices as well as relocation and identity change.

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Papers by Chris Mahony

The Justice Sector Afterthought: Witness Protection in Africa

Protection of African witnesses has yet to receive serious academic examination. The justice sect... more Protection of African witnesses has yet to receive serious academic examination. The justice sector afterthought: Witness protection in Africa constitutes a first attempt to address this gap in the literature.The book examines a critical component of both international and domestic criminal justice processes. Where international criminal tribunals have been established to address genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, witness testimony – and therefore witness protection – has been vital to successful prosecutions. Whether it is the dramatic death of almost 100 witnesses in the formative years of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the disproportionate power of the prosecution to provide material benefit to witnesses at the Special Court for Sierra Leone, or the International Criminal Court`s enormous task of protecting witnesses in multiple conflicts at any given time, The justice sector afterthought provides the first description of formerly off-limits proces...

Witness Sensitive Practices in International Fact-Finding Outside Criminal Justice: Lessons for Nepal

This chapter considers the security implications of quality control in fact-finding, particularly... more This chapter considers the security implications of quality control in fact-finding, particularly with regard to truth commissions in transitional justice contexts. The chapter addresses the lessons provided by variant levels of quality control at fact-finding commissions for the proposed Commission on Investigation of Disappeared Persons, Truth and Reconciliation in Nepal. In doing so, I draw on research conducted in Kenya and South Africa funded by the Institute for Security Studies and the Special Court for Sierra Leone, as well as upon my experience working at Sierra Leone’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2003, and Special Court in 2008. I also draw on research conducted for the International Centre for Transitional Justice in Nepal in 2011. The chapter considers the variance in threat to witnesses and to wider communities of Commissions employing variant quality control in fact finding under circumstances of uneven political, economic and social risk. I take particular ...

Military Self-Interest in Accountability for Core International Crimes Morten Bergsmo and Tianying Song (eds)*

International Review of the Red Cross, 2015

The book under review, edited by Morten Bergsmo and Tianying Song, contains papers linked to a co... more The book under review, edited by Morten Bergsmo and Tianying Song, contains papers linked to a conference of the same name given at Stanford University in 2012. It opens a debate on a topic that is extremely important but has not been adequately addressed in the past. Reasons for this lack of prior discussion include the perception by most lawyers and legal scholars directly involved with international humanitarian law (IHL) that their task is one primarily of prevention rather than enforcement and, unfortunately, the relative dearth of court cases when compared with the large number of offences allegedly committed. The core international crimes are genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression. All members of the armed forces are, obviously, obligated to comply with applicable national and international criminal law, including an obligation not to commit any of the core international crimes. The most effective way to ensure such compliance is to adopt a preventive law approach. All members of the armed forces must receive sufficient training in the law to enable them to comply with its constraints in relatively straightforward situations. At lower levels in military organizations, this training will normally aim at teaching BOOK REVIEW

The Justice Pivot: U.S. International Criminal Law Influence from Outside the Rome Statute

PSN: History of Prevention, 2015

International criminal prosecutions have become more common since 1993, both domestically and at ... more International criminal prosecutions have become more common since 1993, both domestically and at international courts and tribunals. Where the United States government is unable to control how and when international criminal law is enforced, prosecutions may confront realist U.S. self-interest. This Article considers the extent to which post-Cold War international justice case selection has become more independent of U.S. pressure, or more captured by it. By considering both the jurisdictional and functional elements of case selection independence, I consider changes in U.S. capacity to influence international criminal law enforcement. This Article examines case selection independence at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the International Criminal Court. Drawing on the jurisprudence, literature, field interviews and experience working in international justice, I observ...

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10 Years On. Transitional Justice in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone

A case selection independence framework for tracing historical interests’ manifestation in international criminal justice

Over the past two decades, international institutions have increasingly been established to prose... more Over the past two decades, international institutions have increasingly been established to prosecute international crimes, including: war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, other serious violations of international humanitarian law and, ostensibly, crimes against the peace (the crime of aggression). In this chapter I argue that the international system and the post-cold war global order critically shaped the trajectory of international criminal law enforcement in two ways. First, it enabled a contest over control of case selection primarily between powerful states and weak states, and, to a lesser extent, with actors seeking independent prosecution of core international crimes cases. Second, as a part of the weak v. powerful state contest, it preferred the prosecution of international humanitarian law violations (jus in bello) to prosecution of the crime of aggression (jus ad bellum). In order to identify these two emergent trends we must look beyond the legal instruments, ...

The relationship between influential actors ’ language and violence : A Kenyan case study using artificial intelligence

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Conflict Prevention and Guarantees of Non-Recurrence

Guarantees of non-recurrence of mass atrocity crimes are embedded within the United Nations resol... more Guarantees of non-recurrence of mass atrocity crimes are embedded within the United Nations resolutions and declarations on peacebuilding and sustainable development, particularly SDG 16 linking social integration, justice, and sustainable peace. The United Nations and the World Bank recognize the need to channel conflict towards socially regenerative pathways, and work to prevent conflict prior to its effect on the social, economic, and political systems that drive human development. Yet there is a scarcity of empirical investigations into the requisite societal incentives and capabilities for the fostering of local dynamics to reduce the risk of conflict, including the establishment and function of constitutions, human rights institutions, and transitional justice processes. As part of the joint World Bank-United Nations “Sustaining Peace: Making Development Work for the Prevention of Violent Conflicts” project, this study provides an initial exploration of the relationship betwee...

Aspirational Yet Precarious: New Zealand Refugee Settlement Policy's Compliance with International Human Rights Obligations

Despite New Zealand’s ratification of similar international obligations to the other ‘Group of 5’... more Despite New Zealand’s ratification of similar international obligations to the other ‘Group of 5’ states, the prevalence of broad strategies with little specificity in relation to policy or supporting funds suggests governmental reticence to concretely recognise refugee rights. This article does not attempt to examine settlement policy compliance with every right enjoyed by refugees under international law. Instead, as our title suggests, it demonstrates that New Zealand refugee policy is aspirational yet extremely precarious. The first section indicates how a refugee’s pathway to protection via the UN quota system or as Convention refugees, significantly affects both family reunification and refugee resettlement support. The second section provides evidence that economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR) are insufficiently embedded in New Zealand’s legal framework to ensure coherent implementation leading to inconsistent and discriminatory policy compliance and dependence on NGOs ...

International Criminal Justice Case Selection Independence: An ICJ Barometer

According to some observers, increasing prosecution of core international crimes advance a norm t... more According to some observers, increasing prosecution of core international crimes advance a norm that confronts realist state interests. Martha Finnemore and Kathryn Sikkink, for example, view a norm as cascading when enough states adopt it to cause international influence, without domestic pressure, to procure levels of conformity.1 How do we determine whether such levels of conformity are increasing or decreasing? The number of international crimes prosecution incidents is not sufficient to indicate a strengthening norm. It is necessary to determine the extent to which justice is actually confronting impunity. Sikkink claims that a justice cascade occurs when there is “a dramatic shift in the legitimacy of the norms of individual criminal accountability for human rights violations and an increase in actions (like trials) on behalf of those norms. It doesn’t mean that true justice will be done, just that the norm has new strength and legitimacy as we can see from how common it has b...

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