Cycle 37 (2021/2022)

37th Cycle: Sati Elifcan Ozbek, Carlos Arturo Gutierrez Rodriguez, Carlotta Rossato, Katarina Velkov, Franca Viganò

Sati Elifcan Ozbek

Galanthus Nivalis: Towards an Integrated Sustainable Territorial Development in the Dolomites, Italy 

Supervisor: Alberto Lanzavecchia 
ORCID number: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7985-3610 
 

Summary
This doctoral research project aims at elaborating on the impacts of anthropogenic activities and climate change on the tourism sector in mountainous regions, especially in the Italian Dolomites, in order to foster the sustainable territorial development agendas in these tough geographies. Given the vast range of the Dolomites, two areas are selected to be the subjects of this research: Marmolada-Viel del Pan (BL) on the impacts of mountaineering tourism in highlands and Val di Zoldo (BL) on climate change adaptation for the tourism sector. 
The nature of this project is multi-faceted; and the doctoral thesis is a multi-script end product in the form of a collection of published/in press articles in international scientific peer-reviewed journals. 
This moreover allows that, as an outcome of the study abroad period in Uganda, an article on the region of Karamoja and mountain tourism development can be included within this doctoral project. 
The key findings of each study are to be disseminated to the relevant stakeholders for the practical implications for policy-making and implementation at the local levels.

Keywords: mountain areas, climate change, adaptation, economy, community. 

Carlos Arturo Gutierrez Rodriguez

Supervisor: Sara Pennicino
Iris Page: https://www.research.unipd.it/cris/rp/rp269682 
ORCID number: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6763-7856
 

Summary
Through its five pillars —Truth, Justice, Reparations, Guarantees of non-repetition, and Memory— Transitional Justice (TJ) offers a comprehensive approach for periods of transition to peace and democracy. It addresses the crimes committed in the previous regime and strengthens the rule of Law through alternative means and penalties.

In November 2016, Colombia signed a Final Peace Agreement (FPA) that redefined the international standards for alternative penalties. The FPA became a global reference of agreed settlements to armed conflicts and one of the most victim-centred peace agreements ever negotiated. One of its most significant innovations is the Restorative Sanctions. They combine restorative and retributive approaches to justice. 
At the end of 2022, the first Restorative Sanctions proposals were released. Its design followed a dialogical process that involved victims and perpetrators. Memory is at the core of these proposals. Such protagonism is a watershed because, in previous transitional processes, memory played a role as a complement, alternative, or means to achieve justice but never as a form of punishment resulting from the judicial procedure.
Following a grounded theory methodology, this PhD thesis unfolds a qualitative case study to answer the following question: What lessons can be extracted from this case about the relationship between two pillars of TJ: memory and justice?
Throughout its five chapters, this interdisciplinary research —which combines legal, social and political approaches— contributes to understanding how the Restorative Sanctions comply with the international commitments regarding individual criminal responsibility (Chapter 1); which is the domestic framework of the FPA and the Restorative Sanctions (Chapter 2); how should victims participate in designing the sanctions (Chapter 3); how they participated in practice (Chapter 4); why memory won such prominence, and what kind of memory should emerge from the judicial procedures to serve peace and justice (Chapter 5).
Contrasting the theoretical frameworks with their practical unfolding contributes to debates regarding victims’ rights and the role of memory in TJ. Such findings are relevant for scenarios that seek to replicate the justice paradigm opened by the FPA.

Key words: Transitional Justice; Memory; Victims’ Rights; International Criminal Law; Restorative Sanctions; Peacebuilding.

Carlotta Rossato 

A critical appraisal of universal criminal jurisdiction through a multi-level lens: institutional and survivors’ perspectives

Supervisor: Paolo De Stefani
Iris page: https://www.research.unipd.it/cris/rp/rp266458
ORCID number: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9518-2925 
 

Summary
The research analyses the current exercise of universal jurisdiction as an instrument to fight against impunity in the international justice arena. Although its domestic nature makes it independent of the political and legal restrictions of the international mechanisms, political considerations still strongly influence its implementation. As a result, criticisms against universal jurisdiction have arisen.  
Considering such a scenario, the study aims to assess the exercise of universal jurisdiction as a tool to pursue justice taking into account the perspective of those affected by the prosecuted crimes. The research aims to answer the following research question: After the establishment of the International Criminal Court, how has universal jurisdiction developed in the practice? And specifically, how is the exercise of universal jurisdiction including the survivors’ and affected communities’ needs in their quest for justice?
In particular, the first part of the thesis is dedicated to framing the legal basis of universal jurisdiction. Adopting an institutional perspective, the study then looks into the implementation of the principle. Accordingly, it examines the actors involved in the employment of such a tool, highlighting a cooperation network following horizontal and vertical streams. The second part of the thesis embraces the perspectives of the survivors and affected communities. Through the analyses of two case studies, namely universal jurisdiction trials addressing international crimes committed in the Gambia and Syria, it draws conclusions on the put-in-place of the principle from a bottom-up view. 
Theoretical research is used to analyse the legal and conceptual framework. Taking advantage of the benefits of an interdisciplinary approach to deal with the complexity of a socio-legal phenomenon, theoretical analysis is combined with a more qualitative empirical method. In this regard, the opinion of practitioners directly involved in such proceedings was collected through direct semi-structured interviews, and hands-on experience at a non-governmental organisation dedicated to the investigation and litigation of UJ cases and support to survivors supplemented the research, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the topic. 

Keywords: universal jurisdiction, international criminal law, international justice.

 Katarina Velkov

Past actions, present obligations, future justice: reimagining responsibility in climate migration governance

Supervisor: Odysseas Christou
ORCID number: https://orcid.org/978-86-80578-04-0
 

Summary
This thesis proposes a novel conceptual framework for understanding and addressing the growing issue of climate-induced migration. Recognizing the urgent need for accountability and protection mechanisms, the research examines the evolving roles of states and non-state actors in this context. By employing a tripartite division of past, present, and future, the thesis offers a nuanced perspective on responsibility and roadmap for action.
Examining the “past” unveils the historical responsibility of states and how their actions have laid the groundwork for current obligations. The “present” highlights the dynamic nature of these roles, while also introducing multinational corporations as actors with increasing influence on climate change discourse. Looking towards the “future”, the thesis advocates for a deconstruction of the current system to develop a holistic ecosystem of players. This ecosystem should be grounded in shared responsibility, primarily among states and non-state actors, but also encompass additional elements. To test the theories of accountability, the research analysis case studies of climate litigation before national and international courts. Such analysis of legal precedents provides concrete examples of how theories of responsibility translate into actionable claims and potential avenues for redress.
Ultimately, this tripartite, interdisciplinary approach, relying on principles of human rights and climate justice, informs effective policy development and fosters forward-looking perspectives on building protection mechanisms for climate migrants and refugees.

Keywords: climate migration, human rights, climate justice, states, multinational corporations, climate litigation, international law.

Franca Viganò

The Italian Approach to Health and Homelessness. Perspectives on Policies and Services during the Covid-19 pandemic

Supervisor: Michela Lenzi
Iris page: https://www.research.unipd.it/cris/rp/rp266388 
ORCID number: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4902-3766
 

Summary
This research aims to investigate the reaction of Italian services for people experiencing homelessness to the spread of the pandemic and how this phenomenon affects healthcare and social policies. The study is divided in two main conceptual frameworks: one related to the macro level analysis of institutional contexts and policies, while the other focuses on the micro level analysis that observes which resources were activated and how policies are implemented within services during the years of the pandemic.
The objective of the macro level analysis is to understand how homelessness is represented in social and health measures in Italy during the period preceding the Covid-19 pandemic (2019-2020) and the period immediately after the initial outbreak (2020-2021). The analysis has been carried out with the help of the “What’s the Problem Represented to be?” approach by Carol Bacchi. The two Regions featured in this analysis are Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, with a specific focus on their two capitals: Milano and Bologna. Given the decentralisation of the Italian healthcare system, these Regions were chosen not only because of their high-performance levels, but also because of their differences and for their role as some of the primary recipients of the Covid-19 pandemic. The documents analysed are: Local Area Plans (Piano di Zona) for each city, Regional Guidelines, the normative framework surrounding these measures and, where applicable, National strategies used to approach marginalisation and healthcare. The micro level of analysis will be focused on semi structured interviews with public and private services that provide for basic needs, healthcare and housing solutions between Milan and Bologna. The interviews are directed towards services’ workers and institutions’ representatives (including municipalities) involved in the implementation of measures and planning processes. 

Key words: homelessness, health, policies, Italy, regions.