KIU visiting lecturer Dr Anna Slavko teaches on transitional justice and human rights in times of crisis
How can the judiciary, in the aftermath of a war, overcome social divisions, address injustices and contribute to peace and democracy? These are the questions being explored by Dr Anna Slavko, a legal scholar from Sumy State University, who will be teaching as a visiting lecturer at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder) during the 2026/27 winter semester, which is about to begin. Her visit, organised as part of the Interdisciplinary Ukrainian Studies Network (KIU), forms part of the current semester’s theme: Transitional Justice.
During her visiting lectureship, Anna Slavko is offering three seminars. In an ‘Introduction to Transitional Justice’, she explores with students how societies deal with the legacy of past abuses following armed conflicts, massive human rights violations or authoritarian regimes. Using Ukraine as a case study, the seminar examines the feasibility of the four pillars of transitional justice: prosecution, truth-seeking, reparations and guarantees of non-repetition.
Another seminar offers an interdisciplinary examination of the ‘right to truth’ in modern international law and global politics. On the one hand, students examine the individual dimension – that is, the right of victims and their families to learn the fate of missing persons and the circumstances surrounding atrocities. They also address the collective dimension of society’s right to an accurate historical record, protection against state-sponsored disinformation and access to archives.
Finally, a third course deals with ‘human rights in times of crisis’. In this course, Anna Slavko discusses with students how international human rights law adapts to situations of severe social strain, in which states are forced to balance national security and public order against their international human rights obligations.
Anna Slavko is available to journalists for interviews and background discussions on the topics mentioned.
Please contact her by email at presse@europa-uni.de
Heide Fest
About the author
At her home university in Sumy, in north-eastern Ukraine, Anna Slavko is an associate professor in the Department of International, European and Comparative Law. Her research interests centre on transitional justice, values in EU law and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. Alongside her academic work, she contributes her expertise as a political analyst at the non-governmental organisation Opora and serves on the Council for Internally Displaced Persons within the Sumy City Council.
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