Lawyering Peace

This episode of the Lawyering Peace podcast focuses on one of the most crucial pillars of peace building in Ukraine: gender equality and the central role of women in shaping a just and durable peace. 

Dr. Paul R. Williams speaks with Dr. Khrystyna Kit, chairwoman of the Ukrainian Women Lawyers Association JurFem and expert adviser to the Prosecutor General’s Office on conflict related sexual violence. Drawing on more than fifteen...

Can an investment fund become a cornerstone of peace?

In this episode of Lawyering Peace, Dr. Paul R. Williams speaks with Henry Scott, a partner at Milbank and a leading authority on international project finance, about the United States Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, a first of its kind vehicle jointly launched by Washington and Kyiv.

Henry explains how this groundbreaking framework blends in-kind equity, strategic f...

What happens when a nuclear power plant becomes a battlefield?

In this episode of Lawyering Peace, Dr. Paul R. Williams speaks with Dr. Dmytro Koval — Co-Executive Director of Truth Hounds and Associate Professor of International Law at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy — about the weaponization of Ukrainian nuclear infrastructure in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

Drawing on Truth Hounds’ groundbreaking report “In a Nuclear Prison”,...

What happens when the battlefield moves online?

In this episode of Lawyering Peace, Dr. Paul R. Williams speaks with Dr. Anna Mysyshyn, a Ukrainian legal scholar and expert in AI ethics, cybersecurity, and digital governance. As the Founder of the Institute of Innovative Governance, Anna has helped shape Ukraine’s legal and strategic response to one of the most digitally complex wars in modern history.

Together, they explore the in...

What does true accountability look like in the face of unprovoked aggression?

In this episode of Lawyering Peace, Dr. Paul R. Williams sits down with Dr. Anton Korynevych, Director of the Department of International Law at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and one of the key legal architects of the proposed Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.

Together, they explore the groundbreaking legal and dip...

What does it take to build lasting peace — and secure it?

What kind of security guarantees can truly deter renewed aggression?

In this episode of Lawyering Peace, Dr. Paul R. Williams is joined by Lesia Ogryzko, Director of the Sahaidachnyi Security Center, and Julian Braithwaite, former UK Ambassador to the UN and WTO, to unpack what a post-war security framework for Ukraine could and should look like.

Together, they explore how t...

What does it take to create an international reparations mechanism? How can individuals and institutions contribute to a future justice process—one claim at a time?

In this latest episode of Lawyering Peace, Markiyan Kliuchkovskyi, Executive Director of the Register of Damage for Ukraine, joins Dr. Paul R. Williams to discuss one of the most innovative legal accountability efforts emerging from Russia’s war of aggression.

The Regis...

What are the legal and political pathways for using frozen Russian assets to compensate Ukraine?

And why has the transfer of these assets become a litmus test for the rules-based international order?

In this episode of Lawyering Peace, Ukrainian diplomat and legal expert Mykola Yurlov joins Dr. Paul R. Williams to discuss how frozen Russian sovereign assets could - and should - be used to support Ukraine’s reconstruction and delive...

What does international law owe to Ukraine´s deported children? Why is Russia’s forced transfer of Ukrainian children a defining issue for global justice?

In this episode of Lawyering Peace, Ukrainian international legal experts Dr. Yulia Ioffe and Dr. Kateryna Rashevska join Dr. Paul R. Williams to discuss the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia and Russian-occupied territories—a policy many argue constitutes genoc...

What does it take to negotiate peace when your opponent uses diplomacy as a tool for delay and manipulation? What lessons can we draw from the Minsk process to design a more durable peace in the future?

In this episode of Lawyering Peace, Ukrainian lawyer and mediator Yuna Potomkina joins Dr. Paul R. Williams to reflect on the  shortcomings of past negotiations and the essential principles for shaping future peace talks between Ukr...

What do negotiations look like when one party to peace talks never intended to negotiate in good faith? What can we learn from peace talks that didn’t lead to peace?

In this episode of Lawyering Peace, former Danish diplomat Ivan M. Nielsen joins Dr. Paul R. Williams to reflect on his role as Denmark’s Special Envoy to the Syrian Opposition during the UN-backed Geneva peace talks.

Nielsen offers an insider's view of the Geneva proc...

Why does the crime of aggression matter for Ukraine and international peace?

How can a Special Tribunal hold Russian leaders accountable? In this episode of Lawyering Peace, Ukrainian international lawyer Dr. Gaiane Nuridzhanian joins the conversation to explain the case for a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.

Dr. Nuridzhanian walks us through the evolution of the debate surrounding the crime of aggress...

How is Ukraine reforming its judiciary while defending itself from Russian aggression?

What role does judicial reform play in Ukraine’s pursuit of EU membership and democratic transformation? In this episode, Prof. Tetyana Antsupova joins Dr. Paul R. Williams on the Lawyering Peace podcast.

Prof. Antsupova—former Supreme Court judge of Ukraine and British Academy Research Fellow—shares personal and professional reflections on the ...

Is the system of international law today capable of effectively achieving justice and accountability for Ukraine?

How can accountability be made central to a future peace process—and not sacrificed for short-term political gain?

In the latest episode of the Lawyering Peace podcast, Oleksandra Matviichuk, Nobel Peace Laureate and Head of the Center for Civil Liberties, joins Dr. Paul R. Williams to discuss the pursuit of justice and...

How has Russia used conflict-related sexual violence as a tool in its war of aggression? 

What does meaningful justice for survivors of Russia’s conflict-related sexual violence look like? In this episode, Dr. Kateryna Busol joins Dr. Paul R. Williams on the Lawyering Peace podcast.

Dr. Busol explores the widespread and systematic use of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) by Russian forces in Ukraine. Dr. Busol explores how ...

How can Ukraine protect its territorial integrity in peace negotiations? 

What role does the international community play in ensuring that no territory is lost? In this episode, Ambassador Elayne Whyte Gómez of Costa Rica and member of PILPG’s Circle of Former Ambassadors, and Professor Kushtrim Istrefi of Utrecht University and PILPG Senior Peace Fellow, join the conversation. 

Ambassador Gómez and Professor Istrefi explore ques...

In this episode of Lawyering Peace, we are joined by Mykola Stetsenko, President of the Ukrainian Bar Association, who speaks about the pivotal role of private sector investment in Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction. The conversation explores key industries primed for growth—agriculture, manufacturing, IT, energy, and logistics—as well as investment mechanisms such as public-private partnerships and industrial parks.

Stetsenko expla...

Our second guest in our Series on Prospects for Peace in Ukraine is Dr. Ivan Horodyskyy, Vice-President of the Ukrainian Bar Association and Director and Cofounder of the Dnistrianskyi Centre for Law and Politics, where he manages projects related to compensation for Ukrainians for damages caused by Russian aggression. 

Since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion, Ukraine and its allies have called for Russia to bear responsibility for...

Tune in for insights from Professor David Crane, Founding Chief Prosecutor of the UN Special Court for Sierra Leone. 

This episode discusses David’s recent blog post with PILPG, in which he explores a potential ceasefire model for Ukraine, inspired by the successful Multinational Force and Observers established for the Sinai Peninsula. The conversation also covers the rise of power-centric diplomacy, the future role of the UN, and ...