People

Dr Nathanael Tilahun

Senior Lecturer in International Law
Essex Law School
Dr Nathanael Tilahun

Profile

Biography

Nathanael joined Essex Law School as senior lecturer (associate professor) in international law in April 2023. Prior to that, he has held various academic positions since 2010 at Erasmus University Rotterdam (Netherlands), including most recently assistant professorship at Erasmus and Coventry Universities. He studied law in Rotterdam (PhD and LLM) and Mekelle, Ethiopia (LLB). Nathanael's research interest lies in the areas of international law relating to economic sanctions, peace and security, and financial crime. He has published on the use and limits of sanctions in promoting international law norms, on the EU global human rights sanctions regime, the accountability of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and the emergence of dynamic and experimental governance in global security. He has also broader interest in international institutional law, global governance structures, and critical and African approaches to international law. He has undertaken various consultancy works for national governments and international organizations, including the European Union, particularly in the area of sanctions reform. He is currently as Advisory Board member for the Swiss thinktank PoliSync Centre for International Policy Engagement, and Core Expert Group member of an international multi-stakeholder (governmental and non-governmental) sanctions reform project called Advancing Humanitarianism through Sanctions Reform (AHSR - sanctionsreformproject.org) He has held visiting faculty and research fellowship positions at University of California Berkeley, Queen Mary University of London, University of Cambridge, and Hofstra University (New York). He is a frequent speaker at international academic and policy conferences, including as an invited contributor to the annual symposium of Yale Journal of International Law (2023), and has been a guest lecturer at Sciences Po Paris, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and Kiel University (Germany). He has appeared on numerous national and international news media as expert commentator on sanctions and counter-terrorism topics, including an extended documentary (The Cost of Economic War) on BBC Radio 4 with world-leading subject experts.

Qualifications

  • PhD in International Law Erasmus University Rotterdam, (2015)

Appointments

University of Essex

  • Senior Lecturer in International Law, Essex Law School, University of Essex (3/4/2023 - present)

Other academic

  • Assistant Professor of Law, Centre for Financial and Corporate Integrity, Coventry University (1/7/2020 - 2/4/2023)

  • Assistant Professor of Public International Law, Erasmus School of Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam (1/11/2017 - 30/6/2020)

  • Lecturer in Public International Law, Erasmus School of Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam (1/12/2014 - 31/10/2017)

  • Visiting Scholar, Berkeley Law, Centre for the Study of Law and Society, University of California, Berkeley (1/2/2017 - 1/2/2018)

  • Visiting Scholar, Law School, Centre for Law and Society in a Global Context, Queen Mary University of London (1/9/2016 - 31/12/2016)

Research and professional activities

Conferences and presentations

Invited Plenary Speaker During the 150th Anniversary Symposium of the International Law Association

Invited presentation, Invited Plenary Speaker on the topic of 'international law on sanctions and humanitarian concerns' at the 150th Anniversary Conference of the International Law Association, Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, Paris, France, 20/6/2023

Teaching and supervision

Current teaching responsibilities

  • French Administrative Law (LW206)

  • Legal Research Skills (LW254)

  • Final Year Research Project (LW304)

  • Legal Research (LW360)

  • Dissertation - Law, Environment and Sustainability (LW532)

  • Dissertation � International Criminal Law (LW560)

  • Dissertation (LW600)

  • Dissertation: Law and Technology (LW627)

  • Conflict and the United Nations: the Law related to the Use of Force, Sanctions and Peacekeeping (LW806)

  • Dissertation (LW900)

  • Public International Law (LW902)

  • Academic Skills in International Law (LW949)

  • Dissertation (LW985)

  • Postgraduate research methods and professional development (LW987)

Publications

Journal articles (8)

Tilahun, N. and Okafor, O., (2024). “Humanizing” Economic Sanctions? Lessons from International Humanitarian Law. Yale Journal of International Law

Tilahun, N., (2023). The EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime: between Self Help and Global Governance. International Community Law Review. 25 (1), 3-35

Tilahun, N. and Yihdego, AG., (2023). Unsuccessful Implementation of the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines in Low Income Countries: The Case of Ethiopia. British Tax Review (2), 192-211

Tilahun, N., (2023). The EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime: between Self Help and Global Governance. INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY LAW REVIEW. 25 (1), 3-35

Tilahun, N., (2022). Resisting (US) Sanctions: A Comparison of Special Purpose Vehicles, Blocking Statutes and Countermeasures. Global Trade and Customs Journal. 17 (9), 380-388

Tilahun, N., (2021). What Is the Added Value of the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime?. European Foreign Affairs Review. 26 (3), 477-498

Ali, NT., (2019). States’ Varied Compliance with International Anti-money Laundering Standards for Legal Professionals. Nordic Journal of International Law. 88 (2), 280-307

Ali, NT., (2013). Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Treaty-Based Settlement of Terrorism-Related Disputes in the Era of Active United Nations Security Council Involvement. Erasmus Law Review. 6 (2), 79-92

Books (1)

Ali, NT., (2018). Regulatory Counter-Terrorism. Routledge

Book chapters (2)

Tilahun, N., (2021). The re-organization of the FATF as an international legal person and the promises and limits to accountability. In: Technocracy and the Law: Accountability, Governance and Expertise. 131- 153

Tilahun, N., (2020). Legal professionals as dirty money gatekeepers: The institutional problem. In: Assets, Crimes and the State: Innovation in 21st Century Legal Responses. 97- 110

Other (1)

Tilahun, N. and Okafor, O., (2023).Economic Sanctions and Humanitarian Principles: Lessons from International Humanitarian Law. Yale Journal of International Law,Yale Law School

Grants and funding

2023

Complex Questions of Business Accountability in Ukraine

Open Society Foundation

Contact

n.tilahun@essex.ac.uk
+44 (0) 1206 872087

Location:

4SB.5.10, Colchester Campus