Report Launch

Rule of Law in Yemen: The Impact of the War on Yemen’s Justice System

Event Description

Yemen’s civil war has significantly altered the workings of its traditional justice systems, both formal and informal. As a result of the conflict, the justice system has fragmented alongside the lines of authorities in control of different areas of Yemen—the internationally recognized Republic of Yemen Government, Ansar Allah, and the Southern Transitional Council—creating a complex system of parallel legal structures. And while tribal customary law practices have a longstanding tradition that predates the establishment of the state, disputes are now more often resolved by customary law than through the formal judiciary in urban and rural areas alike. Furthermore, the ongoing conflict and resulting instability throughout the country have exacerbated pre-existing challenges to the rule of law and delivery of justice, with citizens in need of justice bearing the brunt of the problem. At the same time, the war has contributed to an increase in disputes.

This roundtable discussion delved into the recent Impact of the War on Yemen’s Justice System report's research methodology, key findings, and potential recommendations for judicial sector reform to offer a well-rounded look into the rule in Yemen today and in the years ahead. The Impact of the War on Yemen's Justice System was written in collaboration with DeepRoot, sponsored by the International Legal Assistance Consortium. This report launch will feature a conversation between the report's authors.

This event is part of the PILPG Thought Leadership Initiative. The Initiative focuses on prominent international law and international affairs topics and organizes monthly expert roundtables to share expertise and reflections from our work on peace negotiations, post-conflict constitution drafting, and war crimes prosecution.

Event Recording

Speakers

**Ethar Shaibany**
Ethar Shaibany is PILPG’s current Chief of Party for the Yemen program, overseeing the implementation of PILPG’s programming and partners relations in Yemen. She is an accomplished manager experienced in leading and implementing multifaceted development programming and research in complex post-conflict contexts. She has also worked as a solution-driven expert consultant for several national and regional programs focusing on gender justice, political empowerment and participation, peacebuilding, reconciliation, conflict resolution, countering violent extremism, and rule of law. She received her MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and her BSc from George Mason University. Ms. Shaibany is a Yemeni citizen and is fluent in Arabic and English.

**Mohammed Alshuwaiter**
Mohammed Alshuwaiter is a Legal Consultant for DeepRoot Consulting, specializing in international law, human rights, and Yemeni law. Mohammed has worked as a constitutional consultant with the Rapporteur of the Constitutional Drafting Committee, a legal researcher with the Ministry of Justice, and has provided consulting services to a number of international organizations, including the World Bank

**Rafat Ali Al-Akhali**
Rafat Ali Al-Akhali is a fellow of practice for strategic projects at the the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, where he is the Convenor of the Council on State Fragility and the Global Engagement Lead for the International Growth Centre’s State Fragility initiative (SFi).

As a co-founder of DeepRoot Consulting, Rafat has been closely engaged in advising key stakeholders on political, economic, and development priorities in Yemen.
Rafat previously served as Minister of Youth and Sports in the Government of Yemen from 2014-2015. Before being appointed as Ministwr, Rafat was leading the Policy Reforms team at the government’s Executive Bureau for Acceleration of Aid Absorption and Support for Policy Reforms. He has long experience working in the economic development field and with international development agencies.
Prior to joining the Yemeni government, Rafat has served as a Senior Consultant and Analyst for organizations such as PricewaterhouseCoopers and IBM in Canada, and was a member of the Accessions Division at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva where he participated in the accession process of several countries including Yemen.
Rafat earned his second Master degree in Public Policy (MPP) at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, UK. His first Master degree was in Business Administration (MBA) from Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC) Montréal, Canada.
Rafat is a member of the Young Global Leaders community at the World Economic Forum, and is chair of the board of Trustees of Resonate! Yemen Foundation.

**Emma Bakkum**
Emma Bakkum is Assistant Counsel at PILPG. She has worked for PILPG’s Netherlands Office since 2016, on questions related to human rights, international criminal law, and the domestic prosecution of international crimes. In addition, Ms. Bakkum coordinates the International Law Clinic at the Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam. She has previous experience as a researcher at the University of Amsterdam and as an intern with the United Nations Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Trials and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ms. Bakkum holds an LLB with a minor in conflict studies from Utrecht University, and an LLM in Law and Politics of International Security from the VU Amsterdam.

MODERATOR

Milena Sterio, the Charles R. Emrick Jr. - Calfee Halter & Griswold Professor of Law at Cleveland State University’s Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and Managing Director at PILPG is a leading expert on international law, international criminal law and human rights. Sterio is one of six permanent editors of the prestigious IntLawGrrls blog, and a frequent contributor to the blog focused on international law, policy and practice. In the spring of 2013, Sterio was selected as a Fulbright Scholar, spending the semester in Baku, Azerbaijan, at Baku State University. While in Baku, she had the opportunity to teach and conduct research on secession issues under international law related to the province of Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh. Serving as a maritime piracy law expert, she has participated in meetings of the United Nations Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia as well as in the work of the United Nations Global Counterterrorism Forum. Sterio has also assisted piracy prosecutions in Mauritius, Kenya and the Seychelles Islands. Sterio is a graduate of Cornell Law School and the University of Paris I, and was an associate in the New York City firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton before joining the ranks of academia full time. She has published seven books and numerous law review articles. Her latest book, “The Syrian Conflict’s Impact on International Law,” (co-authored with Paul Williams and Michael Scharf) was published by Cambridge University Press in 2020.