Darryl Robinson was a Hauser Scholar at New York University School of Law (LLM International Legal Studies), where he received the Jerome Lipper Award for outstanding achievement in international law. Prior to that, he was the Gold Medalist at the University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law, where he was a President's National Scholar.
He articled at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt in Toronto and clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada for Justice John Major.
He served as a Legal Officer at Foreign Affairs Canada from 1997-2004, providing legal advice and engaging in international negotiations concerning international human rights, humanitarian and criminal law. His work in the creation of the International Criminal Court and in the development of Canada's new war crimes legislation earned him a Minister's Citation and a Minister's Award for Foreign Policy Excellence.
He joined the International Criminal Court as an adviser to the Chief Prosecutor, from 2004 to 2006, helping to shape the first policies and strategies of the new institution. He was also involved in litigation, providing legal advice, negotiating cooperation agreements with the UN, Interpol and others, and strengthening external relations.
From 2006 to 2008, he was a Fellow, Adjunct Professor and Director of the International Human Rights Clinic at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. He was involved in an intervention at the Supreme Court of Canada in the Omar Khadr case, research for the Air India inquiry, and bringing a case to the European Court of Human Rights on behalf of a community of Roma who were expelled from their homes.
He joined Queen's University Faculty of Law in July 2008.
Research:
- International criminal justice
Recent Professional Achievements:
- SSHRC Partnership Grant on strengthing international criminal justice (2016-2021)
- SSHRC Insight Development grant on the theory of crimes against humanity (2016-2020)
- Foundation for Legal Reasearch grant on the scope of contemporary crimes against humanity
- Antonio Cassese Prize for International Criminal Law Studies (2013-15)
- Instructor on International Law at Foreign Affairs Canada (2012-)
- SSHRC Insight Development Grant for a project developing a cosmopolitan liberal account of international criminal law (2012-2015)
- SSHRC research grant, with three other Canadian law professors, to observe and assess the ICC Review Conference negotiations in Uganda (2010-2013)
- BLG research fellowship to examine contradictions of international criminal law (2010-11)
- Member of editorial boards or committees of the Journal of International Criminal Justice, Criminal Law Forum and the Transitional Justice Review
- Law Students' Society Teaching Award (2011)
Recent Publications:
Books
- An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, 3rd Edition (Cambridge University Press, 2014) (with Robert Cryer, Håkan Friman and Elizabeth Wilmshurst)
Articles
- "A Justification of Command Responsibility", Criminal Law Forum (2017)
- “The Tribunals and the Renaissance of International Criminal Law: Three Themes” (with Gillian MacNeil), 110 American Journal of International Law (2016)
- “Inescapable Dyads: Why the ICC Cannot Win”, 28 Leiden Journal of International Law (2015) 323
- “International Criminal Law as Justice”, 11 Journal of International Criminal Justice (2013) 699
- “A Cosmopolitan Liberal Account of International Criminal Law”, 26 Leiden Journal of International Law (2013) 127
- “How Command Responsibility Got So Complicated: A Culpability Contradiction, Its Obfuscation, and a Simple Solution” 13Melbourne Journal of International Law (2012)
- “Three Theories of Complementarity: Charge, Sentence or Process?” 53 Harvard International Law Journal Online (2012) 165
- “The Controversy over Territorial State Referrals and Some Reflections on ICL Discourse”, 9 Journal of International Criminal Justice (2011) 355-384
Book Chapters
- “Crimes Against Humanity: A Better Policy on ‘Policy’” in Carsten Stahn, ed, The Law and Practice of the International Criminal Court (Oxford University Press 2014)
- "The Inaction Scenario: Neglected Words and Missed Opportunities" in Carsten Stahn and Mohamed El Zeidy, eds, The International Criminal Court and Complementarity: From Theory to Practice (Cambridge University Press 2010)
Legal Submissions
- Amicus Curiae Submissions of Professors Robinson, de Guzman, Jalloh and Cryer on Crimes Against Humanity (Cases 003 and 004) (Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, 2016)
- Amicus Curiae Observations of Professors Robinson, deGuzman, Jalloh and Cryer (International Criminal Court Appeals Chamber, 2013)