Australian humanitarian and military law expert Professor Tim McCormack has been appointed as Special Adviser on International Humanitarian Law to Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Professor McCormack, from the Melbourne Law School at the University of Melbourne will help the Office of the Prosecutor to develop a solid understanding of complex legal issues such as indiscriminate attack, proportionality and command responsibility. He will also provide advice on the application and interpretation of international humanitarian law in relation to crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court, as well as on general principles of criminal law and legal issues related to military structures.

"It's a great honour and a big responsibility, but something that I'm very keen to do," says Professor McCormack.  "I've been involved for twenty years in researching international humanitarian law and enforcement of the violations of that law, as well as the prosecution of war crimes. I've been teaching about it, writing about it and publicly advocating it for a number of years."

"Now to be given this opportunity, it's something I can't say no to, I have to take it up and do the best I can with it."

More information about the announcement can be found at http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/hague.