New Guest Lecturer at KIU: Anna Slavko

Anna Slavko is an Associate Professor at the Department of International, European and Comparative Law in Sumy State University (Ukraine). Her research interests focus on transitional justice, the protection of human rights during crises, as well as international humanitarian and international criminal law. She has implemented several Erasmus + Jean Monnet projects dedicated to EU values, migration law, and freedom of expression. Alongside her academic work, Anna has collaborated as a political analyst with the Civil Network OPORA and serves as a member of the Council on Internally Displaced Persons (IDP Council) under the Sumy City Council.

Anna’s research interests:

• Transitional justice
• Values of the EU Law
• Jurisprudence of ECtHR

In winter semester 2026 Anna will be teaching 3 seminar courses at the European University Viadrina:

1. Transitional Justice in Ukraine: Law and Politics during and after war

This course provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary introduction to the theory, legal frameworks, and practical mechanisms of Transitional Justice (TJ). Designed for master’s students, the course explores how societies emerging from armed conflicts, mass human rights atrocities, or authoritarian regimes confront legacies of past abuses.

Students will critically examine the four pillars of Transitional Justice: criminal prosecutions, truth-seeking mechanisms, reparations, and guarantees of non-recurrence (institutional reform and vetting) and prospectives of their implementation in Ukraine. The course places special emphasis on contemporary challenges, including the interplay between international and domestic law, the right to truth, informational security, memory politics, and the application of TJ frameworks to ongoing conflicts and post-conflict reconstruction.

Tuesdays, 20.10.2026 – 02.02.2027
4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
GD 311, Gräfin-Dönhoff-Building, Europaplatz 1, 15230 Frankfurt (Oder)
No sessions: 22.12.2026 & 29.12.2026

2. The Right to Truth

This course offers an in-depth, interdisciplinary exploration of emergence, normative evolution, and practical enforcement of the Right to Truth (droit à la vérité) in modern international law and global politics. Originally developed to address enforced disappearances and gross human rights violations in Latin America, the Right to Truth has transformed into an autonomous human right and a cornerstone of democratic accountability, transitional justice, and informational security.

Students will examine both the individual dimension (the right of victims and their families to know the fate of missing persons and the circumstances of atrocities) and the collective dimension (the right of society to an accurate historical record, protection against state-sponsored disinformation, and access to archives) of the right to truth. The course critically addresses modern challenges, including memory politics, the criminalization of historical denialism, the role of digital evidence/open-source intelligence (OSINT), and the protection of cognitive security during ongoing conflicts and post-conflict transitions.

Thursdays, 15.10.2026 – 04.02.2027
9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
AM 202, Auditorium Maximum, Logenstraße 4, 15230 Frankfurt (Oder)
No sessions: 24.12.2026 & 31.12.2026

3. Human Rights in Times of Crisis

This course examines the complex legal, political, and operational challenges of protecting human rights during state emergencies, armed conflicts, public health crises, and environmental disasters. Designed for master’s students, the course explores how international human rights law (IHRL) adapts to conditions of severe societal stress, where states are forced to balance national security and public order against their international human rights obligations.

Wednesdays, 14.10.2026 – 03.02.2027
2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
GD 302, Gräfin-Dönhoff-Building, Europaplatz 1, 15230 Frankfurt (Oder)
No sessions: 23.12.2026 & 30.12.2026

The courses are available on viaCampus under the section ‘Courses’ via the following link.