Christoph Sperfeldt
Biographic Data
| ID | 1354508 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Christoph Sperfeldt |
| GIVEN NAMES | Christoph |
| FAMILY NAME | Sperfeldt |
| SIGNATURE | SPERFELDT C |
| AFFILIATIONS | Macquarie University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5573-6566 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 35 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 16 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Introduction
Invisible populations and legal blind spots
Risks of statelessness in Indonesia often arise not from dramatic crises but from everyday dealings with the state. Birth registration, marriage recognition, and identity documents can become practical barriers that leave some people unable to prove or exercise their citizenship
Constitutional Coup-Proofing
The persistence of military coups in the Global South raises new questions in terms of how constitution-makers use constitutions to prevent, deter or resist a coup and to what effect. In this article, we examine how constitution-makers respond to the threat of future military coups. Building on and extending the literature on coup-proofing, we argue that coup-proofing is not only a political strategy but can also be a legal one. We define constit…
Sally Frances Low. Colonial Law Making
violence of empire and racist assimilation.Such disconnection calls out for alternative intimacies that do not rely on familial reproduction of trauma nor identitarian forms of being and belonging.This book makes a necessary intervention in Critical Refugee Studies, reorienting the field toward future configurations of intimacies.It should be included in undergraduate and graduate curricula addressing refugees, empire, racialization, kinship, and…
Statelessness, genocide and mass deportations on trial
Citizenship and statelessness among mobile maritime populations
Mobile maritime peoples have lived itinerant lifestyles across Southeast Asia for centuries. In times where non-state spaces are diminishing and individual rights depend increasingly on a recognised legal identity, their livelihoods and traditions are affected by state practices surrounding citizenship. Drawing on fieldwork in southern Thailand, this paper explores how the lives of the Moken have been affected by the way state-based legal identit…
Practices of Reparations in International Criminal Justice
Combining interdisciplinary techniques with original ethnographic fieldwork, Christoph Sperfeldt examines the first attempts of international criminal courts to provide reparations to victims of mass atrocities. The observations focus on two case studies: the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, where Sperfeldt spent over ten years working at and around, and the International Criminal Court's interventions in the Democratic Republic …
Legal identity in the sustainable development agenda
The issue of legal identity has in recent years seen a rapid ascent on the agendas of policymakers. Most significant was its inclusion into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which now aim to ‘provide legal identity for all’ by 2030. A proliferation of registration and identification initiatives has accompanied the implementation of this goal, with little scholarly scrutiny. This article casts legal identity as an emerging site of scholarly…
Minorities and Statelessness
More than 75 per cent of the world’s known stateless belong to minorities. Building upon ethnographic research conducted between 2008–2017, this paper considers the case of ethnic Vietnamese minority populations in Cambodia. Members of this group are long-term residents, having been born and raised in the country for generations, with the exception of the period during the Khmer Rouge regime when they were forcibly deported to Vietnam. Since thei…
Civil Society and Transitional Justice in Asia and the Pacific
Over the last two decades, civil society has helped catalyse responses to the legacies of violent conflicts and oppressive political regimes in Asia and the Pacific. Civil society has advocated for the establishment of criminal trials and truth commissions, monitored their operations and pushed for take-up of their recommendations. It has also initiated community-based
Achievements and Legacies of the Khmer Rouge Trials
This article is an edited transcript of a panel discussion that was held in Melbourne in December 2017. The panel comprised four speakers, each with significant professional experience working at Cambodia’s hybrid tribunal, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). This panel was the first time such key insiders have come together outside of Cambodia and in an academic context to reflect on more than 10 years of the Court’s ope…
The trial against Hissène Habré
The establishment of the Extraordinary African Chambers to try former Chadian President Hissène Habré has been hailed as a novel form of prosecuting international crimes in Africa. The Court’s establishment marked the end of more than two decades of persistent lobbying by a network of victim associations and civil society organisations – a phenomenon that is referred to here as ‘networked justice’. This article shows that the characteristics of a…
Rome’s Legacy
This article examines the negotiations that led to the incorporation of reparations provisions into the legal framework of the International Criminal Court ( icc ). Building upon a review of the travaux préparatoires and interviews, it traces the actors and main debates during the lead-up to the Rome Conference and the drafting of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, explaining how and why reparations were included into the Rome Statute. In doing…
From the Margins of Internationalized Criminal Justice
Journal Article From the Margins of Internationalized Criminal Justice: Lessons Learned at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia Get access Christoph Sperfeldt Christoph Sperfeldt * * The author is Regional Programme Coordinator at the Asian International Justice Initiative. He has worked in Cambodia, with the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), as Senior Advisor to the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee betw…
Cambodian Civil Society and the Khmer Rouge Tribunal
The creation of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), often referred to as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, has given new impetus to Cambodia's transitional justice process. The case of Cambodia illustrates how relatively strong and proactive local civil society organizations can support and complement the work of an internationalized criminal court. Working primarily at the intersection of the Court and Cambodian society, these a…
Collective Reparations at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia
One of the most distinct features of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) is that it combines an extensive victim participation scheme with a reparations mandate, although civil parties are limited to seeking ‘collective and moral reparations’. This article looks at recent developments in the ECCC’s collective reparations mandate and the result of the Court’s first trial in which no tangible reparations were awarded to civi…
Legal identity in the sustainable development agenda
The issue of legal identity has in recent years seen a rapid ascent on the agendas of policymakers. Most significant was its inclusion into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which now aim to ‘provide legal identity for all’ by 2030. A proliferation of registration and identification initiatives has accompanied the implementation of this goal, with little scholarly scrutiny. This article casts legal identity as an emerging site of scholarly…
Practices of Reparations in International Criminal Justice
Combining interdisciplinary techniques with original ethnographic fieldwork, Christoph Sperfeldt examines the first attempts of international criminal courts to provide reparations to victims of mass atrocities. The observations focus on two case studies: the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, where Sperfeldt spent over ten years working at and around, and the International Criminal Court's interventions in the Democratic Republic …
Cambodian Civil Society and the Khmer Rouge Tribunal
The creation of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), often referred to as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, has given new impetus to Cambodia's transitional justice process. The case of Cambodia illustrates how relatively strong and proactive local civil society organizations can support and complement the work of an internationalized criminal court. Working primarily at the intersection of the Court and Cambodian society, these a…
Collective Reparations at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia
One of the most distinct features of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) is that it combines an extensive victim participation scheme with a reparations mandate, although civil parties are limited to seeking ‘collective and moral reparations’. This article looks at recent developments in the ECCC’s collective reparations mandate and the result of the Court’s first trial in which no tangible reparations were awarded to civi…
Civil Society and Transitional Justice in Asia and the Pacific
Over the last two decades, civil society has helped catalyse responses to the legacies of violent conflicts and oppressive political regimes in Asia and the Pacific. Civil society has advocated for the establishment of criminal trials and truth commissions, monitored their operations and pushed for take-up of their recommendations. It has also initiated community-based
Achievements and Legacies of the Khmer Rouge Trials
This article is an edited transcript of a panel discussion that was held in Melbourne in December 2017. The panel comprised four speakers, each with significant professional experience working at Cambodia’s hybrid tribunal, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). This panel was the first time such key insiders have come together outside of Cambodia and in an academic context to reflect on more than 10 years of the Court’s ope…
From the Margins of Internationalized Criminal Justice
Journal Article From the Margins of Internationalized Criminal Justice: Lessons Learned at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia Get access Christoph Sperfeldt Christoph Sperfeldt * * The author is Regional Programme Coordinator at the Asian International Justice Initiative. He has worked in Cambodia, with the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), as Senior Advisor to the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee betw…
Citizenship and statelessness among mobile maritime populations
Mobile maritime peoples have lived itinerant lifestyles across Southeast Asia for centuries. In times where non-state spaces are diminishing and individual rights depend increasingly on a recognised legal identity, their livelihoods and traditions are affected by state practices surrounding citizenship. Drawing on fieldwork in southern Thailand, this paper explores how the lives of the Moken have been affected by the way state-based legal identit…
Rome’s Legacy
This article examines the negotiations that led to the incorporation of reparations provisions into the legal framework of the International Criminal Court ( icc ). Building upon a review of the travaux préparatoires and interviews, it traces the actors and main debates during the lead-up to the Rome Conference and the drafting of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, explaining how and why reparations were included into the Rome Statute. In doing…
Cambodian Civil Society and the Khmer Rouge Tribunal
The creation of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), often referred to as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, has given new impetus to Cambodia's transitional justice process. The case of Cambodia illustrates how relatively strong and proactive local civil society organizations can support and complement the work of an internationalized criminal court. Working primarily at the intersection of the Court and Cambodian society, these a…
Collective Reparations at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia
One of the most distinct features of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) is that it combines an extensive victim participation scheme with a reparations mandate, although civil parties are limited to seeking ‘collective and moral reparations’. This article looks at recent developments in the ECCC’s collective reparations mandate and the result of the Court’s first trial in which no tangible reparations were awarded to civi…
From the Margins of Internationalized Criminal Justice
Journal Article From the Margins of Internationalized Criminal Justice: Lessons Learned at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia Get access Christoph Sperfeldt Christoph Sperfeldt * * The author is Regional Programme Coordinator at the Asian International Justice Initiative. He has worked in Cambodia, with the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), as Senior Advisor to the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee betw…
Rome’s Legacy
This article examines the negotiations that led to the incorporation of reparations provisions into the legal framework of the International Criminal Court ( icc ). Building upon a review of the travaux préparatoires and interviews, it traces the actors and main debates during the lead-up to the Rome Conference and the drafting of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, explaining how and why reparations were included into the Rome Statute. In doing…
The trial against Hissène Habré
The establishment of the Extraordinary African Chambers to try former Chadian President Hissène Habré has been hailed as a novel form of prosecuting international crimes in Africa. The Court’s establishment marked the end of more than two decades of persistent lobbying by a network of victim associations and civil society organisations – a phenomenon that is referred to here as ‘networked justice’. This article shows that the characteristics of a…
Achievements and Legacies of the Khmer Rouge Trials
This article is an edited transcript of a panel discussion that was held in Melbourne in December 2017. The panel comprised four speakers, each with significant professional experience working at Cambodia’s hybrid tribunal, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). This panel was the first time such key insiders have come together outside of Cambodia and in an academic context to reflect on more than 10 years of the Court’s ope…
Civil Society and Transitional Justice in Asia and the Pacific
Over the last two decades, civil society has helped catalyse responses to the legacies of violent conflicts and oppressive political regimes in Asia and the Pacific. Civil society has advocated for the establishment of criminal trials and truth commissions, monitored their operations and pushed for take-up of their recommendations. It has also initiated community-based
Minorities and Statelessness
More than 75 per cent of the world’s known stateless belong to minorities. Building upon ethnographic research conducted between 2008–2017, this paper considers the case of ethnic Vietnamese minority populations in Cambodia. Members of this group are long-term residents, having been born and raised in the country for generations, with the exception of the period during the Khmer Rouge regime when they were forcibly deported to Vietnam. Since thei…
Legal identity in the sustainable development agenda
The issue of legal identity has in recent years seen a rapid ascent on the agendas of policymakers. Most significant was its inclusion into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which now aim to ‘provide legal identity for all’ by 2030. A proliferation of registration and identification initiatives has accompanied the implementation of this goal, with little scholarly scrutiny. This article casts legal identity as an emerging site of scholarly…
Practices of Reparations in International Criminal Justice
Combining interdisciplinary techniques with original ethnographic fieldwork, Christoph Sperfeldt examines the first attempts of international criminal courts to provide reparations to victims of mass atrocities. The observations focus on two case studies: the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, where Sperfeldt spent over ten years working at and around, and the International Criminal Court's interventions in the Democratic Republic …
Citizenship and statelessness among mobile maritime populations
Mobile maritime peoples have lived itinerant lifestyles across Southeast Asia for centuries. In times where non-state spaces are diminishing and individual rights depend increasingly on a recognised legal identity, their livelihoods and traditions are affected by state practices surrounding citizenship. Drawing on fieldwork in southern Thailand, this paper explores how the lives of the Moken have been affected by the way state-based legal identit…
Constitutional Coup-Proofing
The persistence of military coups in the Global South raises new questions in terms of how constitution-makers use constitutions to prevent, deter or resist a coup and to what effect. In this article, we examine how constitution-makers respond to the threat of future military coups. Building on and extending the literature on coup-proofing, we argue that coup-proofing is not only a political strategy but can also be a legal one. We define constit…
Sally Frances Low. Colonial Law Making
violence of empire and racist assimilation.Such disconnection calls out for alternative intimacies that do not rely on familial reproduction of trauma nor identitarian forms of being and belonging.This book makes a necessary intervention in Critical Refugee Studies, reorienting the field toward future configurations of intimacies.It should be included in undergraduate and graduate curricula addressing refugees, empire, racialization, kinship, and…
Statelessness, genocide and mass deportations on trial
Introduction
Invisible populations and legal blind spots
Risks of statelessness in Indonesia often arise not from dramatic crises but from everyday dealings with the state. Birth registration, marriage recognition, and identity documents can become practical barriers that leave some people unable to prove or exercise their citizenship
Political science (12 works) · Law (10 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Cambodian History and Society (9 works) · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography (8 works) · Law (8 works) · Politics (8 works) · Criminology (5 works) · Economic Justice (5 works) · International law (5 works)