Dr Aldo Zammit Borda

Aldo is a former Maltese diplomat who specialises in Public International Law, International Criminal law and Counter-Terrorism. He has published extensively in this area.

aldo.zammitborda@aru.ac.uk

Background

Aldo is a Senior Lecturer in Law at ARU. He previously served as Acting Head of the Law School and led the school to perform strongly in the NSS and Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey. Also during his tenure the award-winning Law Clinic was established. Prior to this, he served as Director of Research Students responsible for the Doctoral students within the faculty. Before joining academic, Aldo was First Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malta. He also worked as a Legal Editor at the Commonwealth Secretariat. In 2013/14, he was a Research Associate, based at King’s College London, working on a EU FP7-funded project related to Counter-Terrorism.

Aldo obtained his PhD from Trinity College Dublin. He holds a Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Malta and a Master of Economic Science in European Economic and Public Affairs from University College Dublin. He is a Solicitor in England and Wales (non-practising) and an Advocate of the Courts of Malta. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a member of the Review Committees of the Newton Prize and the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship. In 2019, Aldo was awarded a prestigious British Academy/Leverhulme Small Grants award to conduct research in International Criminal Law.

Spoken Languages

• English
• Maltese
• Italian

Research interests

• Sources and approaches of public international law
• International criminal law and international crimes
• International criminal adjudication
• Comparative law and international law
• Law and history

Areas of research supervision

• Mr Mohonnad Al-Khamiseh on ‘The Principle of Responsibility to Protect’
• Ms Oriola Oyewole on 'The Treatment of Victims at the International Criminal Court'
• Mr Sajib Hosen on 'Judgements of International Crimes Tribunal(s) of Bangladesh'

Teaching

• Public International Law
• Current Legal Issues in the International Arena
• Legal Research Methods
• English Legal System/Legal Methods and Skills

Qualifications

• PhD in Law, Trinity College, University of Dublin (2014)
• Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching (Higher Education), ARU (2014)
• Postgraduate Diploma in Contemporary Diplomacy, University of Malta (2007)
• Master of Economic Science in European Economic and Public Affairs, University College Dublin (2005)
• Doctor of Laws, University of Malta (2003)
• Bachelor of Arts, University of Malta (2000)

Memberships, editorial boards

• Visiting Scholar, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg (March - April 2019)
• Fellow, The Higher Education Academy
• Solicitor (non-practicing), Solicitors Regulation Authority
• Advocate, Courts of Malta
• Member of the Board of Editors of the Commonwealth Judicial Journal, the Journal of the Commonwealth Magistrates' and Judges' Association (Editor between 2012-2019)

Research grants, consultancy, knowledge exchange

• Senior Trainer on Legislative Drafting, International Centre for Parliamentary Studies

Selected recent publications

Books edited    

Zammit Borda, A., 2011. Legislative Drafting. Abingdon: Routledge.

Zammit Borda, A., 2010. International Humanitarian Law and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in the Commonwealth. Abingdon: Routledge.

Book chapters

Zammit Borda, A., and Prosperi, L. 'A Partial View of History: ICTY Judgments as "Judicial Truths", in Carsten Stahn et al. (eds.), Legacies of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia: A Multidisciplinary Account (Oxford University Press, forthcoming).

Murphy, C. C., Zammit Borda, A. and Hoyte, L., 2015. Law Enforcement Perspectives on EU Counter-Terrorism Co-operation. In de Londras, F. and Doody, J. (Eds.). The Impact, Legitimacy and Effectiveness of EU Counter-Terrorism (Routledge).

Peer reviewed articles

Dakhil, V., Zammit Borda, A. and Murray, A., 2017. 'Calling ISIL Atrocities Against the Yezidis by their Rightful Name': Do they Constitute a Crime of Genocide?, Human Rights Law Review, 17, p.261.

Zammit Borda, A. Appraisal-Based and Flexible Approaches to External Precedent in International Criminal Law. Leiden Journal of International Law, 20, p.643.

Zammit Borda, A., 2015. How Do International Judges Approach Competing Precedent? An Analysis of the Practice of International Criminal Courts and Tribunals in Relation to Substantive Law. International Criminal Law Review, 15, p.124

Zammit Borda, A., 2015. The Notion of 'Persuasive Value' of External Precedent in International Criminal Law, Nordic Journal of International Law, 84, P.29

Zammit Borda, A., 2013. An Overview of the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal and Its Use of Discretion in Employment-Related Judgments. Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal, 13, p.313.

Zammit Borda, A., 2013. The Direct and Indirect Approaches to Precedent in International Criminal Courts and Tribunals. Melbourne Journal of International Law, 14, p.608.

Zammit Borda, A., 2013. The Use of Precedent as Subsidiary Means and Sources of International Criminal Law. Tilburg Law Review, 18, p.65.

Zammit Borda, A., 2013. A Formal Approach to Article 38(1)(d) of the ICJ Statute from the Perspective of the International Criminal Courts and Tribunals. European Journal of International Law, 24, p.649.

Zammit Borda, A., 2013. Precedent in International Criminal Courts and Tribunals. Cambridge Journal of International and Comparative Law, 2, p.287.

Zammit Borda, A., 2011. Decision-Making Patterns at the First Trial of International Criminal Courts: A Perspective on the ICC. Creighton International & Comparative Law Journal, 1, p.30.

Zammit Borda, A., 2010. Ecological Considerations relating to the Destruction of Chemical Weapons. Mediterranean Journal of Human Rights 14, p.215.

Recent presentations and conferences

• Invited Expert, Political Expediency and International Criminal Tribunals, Geoffrey Nice Foundation (February 2018)
• Presenter, Panel on Law, International Law and Collective Memory chaired by Professor Moshe Hirsh, Memory Studies Association, Copenhagen (December 2017)
• Guest Lecturer, Department of Law, Criminology and Sociology, Royal Holloway University (December 2017)
• Participant, Debacles Conference, Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for Procedural Law (November 2016)
• Guest Lecturer, Institute for Legal Studies, Hungarian Academy of Science, Budapest (June 2016)
• Presenter, Panel on Critical Assessments of International Courts, Canadian Council on International Law, Ottawa (November 2015)

Media experience

• BBC Radio 4 (The World Tonight) and BBC World Service interview on human rights and the freedom of expression (October 2017)
• Research on 'Yazidi genocide evidence mounting against Islamic State - legal experts' published by Reuters (May 2017), Daily Mail (May 2017) and Forbes (September 2018)
• Written evidence to the European Scrutiny Committee on the Post EU Referendum Consultation, UK Parliament, Ref. PRC0004 (26 October 2016)
• Research on the effects of terrorism (May 2016) and on South Africa's withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (October 2016) published on The Conversation
• Research on the need for a multi-layered approach to accountability for prosecuting Daesh fighters was published in Newsweek Europe and The Conversation (March 2016)
• Research profile featured in 'Ask an Academic' section, Cambridge News (February 2016)
• Research on the legality of the use of force in Syria was reported in The and in The Times supplement (The Brief). Interviewed on this subject on the Chris Mann Drivetime BBC Radio Cambridgeshire and The Dotty McLeod Breakfast Show, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire (November 2015)
• Interviewed on human rights and migration on the Ian Puckey programme, BBC Radio Essex (September 2015)
• Interviewed on human rights and freedom of expression on the Dave Monk Show, BBC Radio Essex and the BBC Mark Forrest Show, a radio programme broadcast to local BBC stations (June 2015)
• Research on European counter-terrorism measures was reported as an exclusive in The Express and Glasgow Daily Express. It was also reported in the Irish Examiner. Interviewed on Russia Today television 9 O'Clock New (May 2015)