In the recent judgment in Trump v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that, for reasons of separation of powers, a former president generally enjoys broad immunity from criminal prosecution for his official acts conducted during his term of office. 

This lecture will discuss the compatibilitiy of such immunities with international human rights law. We will start from the assumption that states are, in essence, free to organise their criminal justice systems independently, and to decide which breaches of the law should be criminalised and prosecuted. At the same time, it has long been recognised in international law that human rights violations must meet with an adequate legal response. This response need not always be criminal in nature, but at least serious acts like arbitrary killing or torture must be made a crime in domestic law. Allegations of such acts must be investigated and prosecuted effectively. This is not only for punishing those responsible, but also for stopping the violations, for identifying their root causes and preventing them from being repeated. 

Broad constitutional immunities for members of government, like the one established in the Trump case, seem difficult to reconcile with these requirements. They seem to facilitate abuses and create a gap in human rights protection. It is open to debate whether such a gap can be justified by legitimate considerations of constitutional separation of powers. 

Ralf Alleweldt is a Professor for Constitutional Law, European Law and International Human Rights Law at the Brandenburg State Police University in Oranienburg, Germany. Since 2005 he has worked as a law teacher at Yeditepe University Istanbul and the Universities of Constance, Potsdam and Munich, as well as at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt. He is regularly involved in training and research activities of the Council of Europe, and he has given human rights seminars in various countries of Eastern Europe and West Africa.  

Ralf’s research interests include constitutional justice, refugee law and international human rights law with a focus on police-related human rights, including the prevention of torture. His current research focuses on the duty to conduct effective investigations in international human rights law. 

Publications include:  Ralf Alleweldt/ Guido Fickenscher (eds.): The Police and International Human Rights Law, 2018; Ralf Alleweldt (ed.), Fair Treatment of Persons in Police Custody (forthcoming 2024); Avoiding another Brexit: the subsidiarity principle, the European Convention on Human Rights and the United Kingdom; Commonwealth & Comparative Politics 57 (2019), pp. 223-241; Preamble to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. In: Andreas Zimmermann (ed.), 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol (2nd ed. 2024); Prevention of torture in the Black Sea region: progress or stagnation? In: Ralf Alleweldt, Raphaël Callsen, Jeanne Dupendant (eds.), Human rights abuses in the contemporary world (2012), pp. 27-45. 

This seminar is being held at Deakin’s Burwood Corporate Centre (BCC) and via Zoom. 

For in-person RSVPs, please reach out directly to adi-events@deakin.edu.au to register your interest. 

For virtual attendance, please register via Zoom.