Speaker details

Biography

Dr William (Bill) Wiley has over twenty years’ experience as a practitioner in the field of International Criminal and Humanitarian Law (ICHL) secured in wars or post-conflict situations in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe. He is the founder and Executive Director of the non-profit Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA), a criminal-investigative body currently employing roughly 150 personnel with the dual mission of (i) preparing prosecution briefs to a criminal law-standard of evidence in response to allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by the belligerent parties to various conflicts whilst (ii) supporting domestic law-enforcement and prosecutorial bodies applying universal jurisdiction. The CIJA has been engaged in Syria vis-à-vis the Assad regime since 2011, expanding its operations to encompass Islamic State forces in Syria as well as Iraq in 2014. 2019 shall witness the further expansion of CIJA operations to Myanmar, Libya and Nigeria, where (in the case of Nigeria) the CIJA shall work alongside domestic authorities seized with the Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa movements. Wiley previously served with the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Section of the Department of Justice of Canada as well as the Offices of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court. He was additionally international law adviser at the Iraqi High Tribunal during the trials of Saddam Hussein and other senior Baathist leaders. In an earlier life, Wiley served as an infantry officer in the Canadian Army. He holds graduate degrees in history and law from Oxford, Leiden and York.