The fifth edition of the Owada Chair Symposium, that was held in Leiden on 14 and 15 October 2025, highlighted the law and politics of international criminal justice.

In today’s world, with major geopolitical shifts and heightened international violence, how far can international law and international courts effectively counter war crimes and crimes against humanity? Is international criminal justice doomed to be utopian; or what needs to happen to make it a reality? Can international courts and their supporters resist the efforts of powerful states to delegitimate them and interfere with their functioning?

This year’s keynote speaker, Dr. Fatou Bensouda, explored these crucial questions, based on rich experience as Lead Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague between 2012 and 2021.