Dr. Claudio Pala is an international lawyer with extensive experience in international missions, rule of law reform, and accountability. He currently serves as Head of the International Crimes Component at the EU Advisory Mission (EUAM) Ukraine in Kyiv and Deputy Lead Coordinator of the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA), where he provides strategic advice and capacity-building support on the investigation and prosecution of international crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Prior to his work in Ukraine, Dr. Pala held senior positions in international rule of law missions, including Head of the Criminal Justice Unit at EUBAM Libya and Head of the Rule of Law and Human Rights Department at the OSCE Presence in Albania, where he led projects supporting justice sector reform, human rights protection, and transitional justice initiatives.

Dr. Pala previously served for several years with the EULEX Mission in Kosovo, including as Chief EULEX Prosecutor, where he supervised international prosecutors and prosecuted serious crimes such as war crimes, organized crime, and corruption before appellate and supreme courts.

Alongside his professional work, Dr. Pala is actively engaged in academic teaching and research, in the field of international criminal law, transitional justice, and human rights fact-finding. He contributes as a human rights researcher with ReportOut, documenting human rights violations against sexual minorities. He is also Co-Chair of the ASIL Interest Group on Transitional Justice and Rule of Law and a member of the Coordinating Committee of the ESIL Interest Group on International Criminal Justice.

Qualifications

PhD in Criminal Law and Procedure, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Italy, 2008

LLM in International Organizations, International Criminal Law and Crime Prevention, UNICRI/University of Turin, Italy, 2008

University Degree in Law, University of Cagliari, Italy, 1997

Research Interests

International criminal law, Transitional Justice, International Humanitarian Law, International Human Rights Law, Human Rights Fact-Finding, Rule of Law Reform and Justice Sector Capacity Building in Post-conflict Environments