Thomas Obel Hansen

Thomas Obel Hansen (@obelhansen) is currently (2023-24) appointed the Maria Zambrano Distinguished Researcher with the Carlos III University in Madrid, Spain. He is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Law at Ulster University and a member of the Transitional Justice Institute (TJI) since January 2016. Thomas obtained his LLM (2007) and PhD in Law (2010) from Aarhus University Law School in Denmark. He has previously worked with the United States International University in Nairobi and as a consultant on assignments relating to international law, human rights and transitional justice in the country and the broader region.

Thomas’ research focuses on transitional and international justice, including doctrinal as well as socio-legal and international relations perspectives on justice responses to serious violations. Prior and ongoing research projects examine issues relating to accountability for environmental crimes; transitional justice theory and standardization; the politics and legitimacy of international justice; the role of civil society in accountability processes; and various doctrinal studies in international criminal law. Thomas has researched and written about these topics regarding the UK, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Iraq, Palestine and elsewhere. His research has been published with leading international law reviews such as George Washington, Notre Dame and Melbourne and human rights journals such as the International Journal of Human Rights and the International Journal of Transitional Justice. He is also on LinkedIn.