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Dr Jasmin Nessa

Lecturer in Law

Law, Criminology & Policing

a headshot of Jasmin Nessa

Department: Law, Criminology & Policing

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Profile

Biography

Dr Jasmin Johurun Nessa is a Lecturer in International Law at Edge Hill University and a University Teacher at the University of Liverpool.

She is also the Co-General Editor of the Digest of State Practice at the Journal on the Use of Force and International Law since 2020, where she researches and writes on matters relating to international peace and security, particularly issues of jus ad bellum. Prior to this role, Jasmin served as the Middle East and North Africa Regional Coordinator for the journal from 2017 to 2020.

Additionally, Jasmin serves as a Research Assistant to Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC, focusing on matters related to public international law and Palestine.

Jasmin’s doctoral thesis, titled “The Evidentiary Standard of Self-Defence in International Law”, presents the first in-depth comprehensive analysis of the evidentiary standards for self-defence within international law. This work facilitates a deeper understanding of how self-defence claims are proven under international law and fills a critical gap in both academic scholarship and the practical application of international law for policymakers and international law practitioners. Underpinned by a comprehensive empirical study of a vast dataset covering over 75 years of verbatim United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting records, her thesis systematically maps and analyses state practices, International Court of Justice (ICJ) jurisprudence, and scholarly discourse from the period 1945 to 2022. Jasmin passed her PhD viva voce with no corrections.

Research Interests

Jasmin’s research interests are in the fields of international peace and security, the use of force and self-defence in international law, and international humanitarian law.

Publications

Podcasts

Conferences Papers Presented (Selected papers)

  • ‘Proving Self-Defence at the ICJ: Making Sense of the Court’s Application of Evidentiary Standards’, International Law and the Regulation of Resort to Force: Exhaustion, Destruction, Rebirth? Faculty of Law, Palacký University Olomouc, Czechia, 14-15 September 2023. 
  • ‘The ICJ and the Evidentiary Standards of Self-defence’, 3rd Biennale Hamburg Young Scholars’ Workshop in International Law, Institute for International Affairs, University of Hamburg Faculty of Law, Germany, 20th-21st September 2019. 
  • ‘Self-defence and Evidence: How Loud Does Silence Speak?’, 17th Doctoral Seminar 2018, Irish Centre for Human Rights, NUI Galway, 23rd-27th April 2018. 
  • ‘Self-defence, Terrorist Actors & Evidentiary Standards’, The Notion of Change in International Law and Human Rights, 2nd Post Graduate Conference in International Law and Human Rights, University of Liverpool, 26th-27th March 2018.
  • ‘The Evidentiary Standard of Self-defence in International Law’, The Politics of International Studies in an Age of Crisis, European International Studies Association’s 11th Pan-European Conference on International Relations, Barcelona, 13th-16th September 2017
  • ‘Self-defence and State Practice: Who Cares About Evidence?’, Liverpool and Sociology Postgraduate Conference, University of Liverpool, 13th-14th September 2017.
  • ‘US and UK Speech on the Use of Force: Analysing the Discourse’, Words of Violence: Discourses of Abuse in Conflict, Crisis and States of Emergency, University of Liverpool, 24th July 2017
  • ‘The Neglected Evidentiary Standard of Self-defence Under International Law: Is the Media Spotlight Shining Bright Enough on States?’, The Interwoven Relationship of Law and Media, Aberystwyth University Department of Law and Criminology, 30-31 March 2017.
  • ‘Self-defence Against Non-State Actors in International Law: Is there an Emerging Evidentiary Standard?’, Liverpool and Sociology Postgraduate Conference, University of Liverpool, 14th-15th September 2016.
  • ‘An International Crisis: Self-Defence in the Face of Modern Terrorism’, International Law and Human Rights in Crisis? Inaugural Postgraduate Conference in International Law and Human Rights, University of Liverpool, 14th-15th June 2016.
  • ‘Article 51 of the UN Charter and Non-State Actors: How has the Law Developed Since the November 2015 Paris Attacks?’, Law: Shifts and Stasis, Midlands Postgraduate Research Conference in Law, University of Birmingham, 29-30th April 2016.
  • ‘The Use of International Law in Response to the Threat Faced by the Non-State Actor, Deash’, Changing Society…Changing Law? Postgraduate Conference Aberystwyth University Department of Law and Criminology, 17-18 March 2016.