Roger Lu Phillips, a Lecturer at Catholic Law and the legal director of the Syrian Justice and Accountability Center in Washington, D.C., was recently quoted in The New York Times. His comments were regarding a trial held in Germany, in which an ISIS fighter was convicted for the death of an enslaved five-year-old girl, and the capacity of the universal jurisdiction principle. Phillips teaches Catholic Law’s International Criminal Law course and will be teaching the course this coming spring semester.

The New York Times
Date: November 30, 2021
By: Christopher F. Schuetze
ISIS Fighter Convicted in Death of Enslaved 5-Year-Old Girl

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Roger Lu Phillips, the legal director of the Syrian Justice and Accountability Center in Washington, said that European courts have the obligation to prosecute such crimes if the perpetrators are in Europe. But he warned that single trials under the universal jurisdiction principle were not enough when dealing with crimes committed by the Islamic State.

“The capacity of these courts is really a drop in the bucket when compared with the magnitude of crimes committed by ISIS,” said Mr. Phillips. “A more comprehensive process must be pursued, such as a special court for ISIS.”

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