In this first part of our conversation with Sabina Grigore, PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam, we explore how access to justice is shaped long before a case ever reaches a courtroom. Focusing on international criminal law and transitional justice, the episode examines the often-overlooked role of domestic prosecutors who investigate atrocity crimes committed beyond their borders.

Drawing on her PhD research, Sabina explains what it means to prosecute crimes from conflicts such as Syria and Ukraine at the national level in countries like Germany, France, Sweden, and the Netherlands. She describes prosecutors as powerful gatekeepers—deciding which cases move forward, whose testimonies are included, and what evidence ultimately shapes legal outcomes for victims and accused alike. Cooperation between states, EU institutions such as Eurojust, and international investigative mechanisms emerges as a crucial but complex element of this process.

The conversation also traces Sabina’s academic journey, from studying transitional justice in Romania to engaging with international criminal law more broadly. Reflecting on Romania’s post-communist legacy, she discusses how decades of silence, failed investigations, and political interference denied victims recognition and accountability—and how judgments from the European Court of Human Rights helped reopen questions of truth, responsibility, and redress.

Throughout the episode, one core message stands out: access to justice is not automatic. It depends on institutional choices, political will, and the individuals who operate within legal systems. By unpacking these dynamics, Sabina invites listeners to think more critically about where justice begins—and where it so often breaks down.

• What “domestic extraterritorial prosecution” means in practice
• Why prosecutors play a decisive role in determining access to justice
• How cooperation between states and institutions shapes atrocity cases
• What Romania’s post-communist experience reveals about transitional justice
• Why passion and purpose matter when pursuing long-term academic research

• International criminal law and transitional justice
• Domestic prosecution of international crimes
• Prosecutorial discretion and access to justice
• Cooperation between national and international legal actors
• Romania’s communist past and ECHR jurisprudence
• Academic pathways into human-rights-focused research

Sabina Grigore is a PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam, specialising in international criminal law. Her research focuses on domestic prosecutions of atrocity crimes committed abroad, with particular attention to prosecutorial cooperation and access to justice. Her academic work builds on extensive research into transitional justice, including Romania’s post-communist accountability processes and the role of the European Court of Human Rights.

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• 01:30 – Introducing domestic prosecution of international crimes
• 03:40 – Prosecutors as gatekeepers to justice
• 06:30 – Cooperation between states, Eurojust, and investigative mechanisms
• 10:20 – Romania’s transitional justice challenges
• 15:10 – Advice for aspiring PhD researchers

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In this second part of our conversation with Dr Fekri Dureab, physician-researcher at the Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, we move from surveillance systems and misinformation to some of the most difficult questions in public health: hunger, disease preparedness, and ethical decision-making in conflict settings.

Drawing on his work in Yemen, Somalia, and Iraq, Dr Dureab explains why planning for outbreaks in fragile health systems is never just a technical exercise. Even when strategies exist on paper, a lack of resources, infrastructure, and trained personnel can turn predictable health threats—such as cholera or measles—into full-blown crises. He reflects on his role in developing Yemen’s electronic disease early-warning system and why speed, simplicity, and local ownership can mean the difference between containment and catastrophe.

The conversation then turns to malnutrition and food insecurity, exposing the ethical dilemmas that arise when humanitarian aid meets chronic poverty. Through powerful field examples, Dr Dureab illustrates how short-term food assistance can unintentionally create harmful incentives, and why long-term, nationally supported food-security systems are essential for protecting children’s health and dignity.

Throughout the episode, one theme remains constant: sustainable solutions come from within communities. From training local health workers to strengthening national systems, Dr Dureab makes the case that public health is inseparable from human rights—and that awareness-raising is itself a form of action.

• Why outbreak preparedness in conflict zones often fails despite early warnings.
• How electronic surveillance systems can function even with weak internet and ongoing violence.
• The ethical dilemmas of food aid and why treating malnutrition alone is not enough.
• What Iraq’s long-standing food-ration system reveals about preventing undernutrition during conflict.
• How individuals outside the health sector can still contribute by raising awareness and amplifying lived realities.

• Disease preparedness in fragile and conflict-affected health systems
• Early-warning systems and rapid response in low-resource settings
• Capacity building and training local health professionals
• Malnutrition, hunger, and ethical dilemmas in humanitarian aid
• National food-security systems vs. emergency assistance
• Public awareness as a tool for advancing health and human rights

Dr Fekri Dureab – Medical doctor, PhD, and public-health researcher at the Heidelberg Institute of Global Health. His work focuses on health-systems strengthening, epidemic preparedness, nutrition, and disease surveillance in fragile and conflict-affected settings, including Yemen, Somalia, and Iraq. He has played a key role in developing Yemen’s electronic disease early-warning system and coordinating nutrition and emergency health programmes with the WHO.

• Heidelberg Institute of Global Health – https://globalhealth.uni-heidelberg.de
• Just Access Podcast – https://just-access.de/podcast
• Support Just Access – https://just-access.de/donate
• Contact the show – podcast@just-access.de

• 02:00 – Why preparedness plans collapse without resources
• 04:50 – Building early-warning systems during active conflict
• 10:00 – Hunger, malnutrition, and unintended consequences of aid
• 16:40 – Iraq’s food-ration system and lessons for long-term solutions
• 18:20 – Why awareness-raising is everyone’s responsibility

Help Just Access keep critical conversations alive—share this episode, leave a review, and support our work at https://just-access.de/donate.

Because everyone can be a human rights defender.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.