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The capacity of national and international criminal justice institutions to investigate and prosecute the most serious international crimes has been significantly strengthened as a result of Professor Bekou's research. They gain, through `legal tools', universal access to legal information and to analytical legal frameworks which facilitate the efficient and effective administration of international criminal justice. By offering access to knowledge, skills and expertise, the International Criminal Court as well as States, e.g. the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Sierra Leone are empowered to overcome the key challenges restricting their ability and capacity to pursue justice for atrocities.
Professor Cryer's research on International Criminal Law has changed how the human rights of refugees are protected under International Law. First, it has significantly influenced Canadian jurisprudence in this field. Prior to the July 2013 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Ezkola v Canada, refugee claimants had been excluded from Canada on the basis of their association with others, rather than because they were individually responsible for the commission of international crimes. The Supreme Court of Canada relied directly on Cryer's research to develop a new test to determine eligibility for refugee status. Secondly, Cryer's research has helped to shape the revised 2003 UNHCR guidelines on the application of exclusion clauses, which will be published in 2014. Beneficiaries of the research include the UNHCR and all States which implement the UNHCR's guidelines on refugee status, and individuals who would previously have been denied refugee status.
A key challenge for Western policy makers and legal practitioners in formulating justice and security responses to mass atrocity in the African Great Lakes region is to understand the political, social and cultural causes of conflict, and the manner in which past conflicts can be resolved and potential future conflicts prevented. Phil Clark's research sheds much-needed light on these issues, and assesses the nature and impact of both local and international transitional justice responses. This research has prompted his active engagement with international judicial processes and debates on aid policy, encouraging international actors to be more aware of local dynamics around conflict and justice, with the wider aim of maintaining the vulnerable stability of post-conflict nations in Africa.