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Civitas Maxima is extending its work to Sudan, where the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

On August 12, 2026, the 2nd Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of the Canton of Bern issued a procedural decision in the appeal brought by Alan White against his May 2025 conviction for defamation of Civitas Maxima Director Alain Werner.

Recently there was an important development in the field of corporate accountability that is worth highlighting.

TRIAL International, in collaboration with Civitas Maxima, the CJA, the ECCHR, the FIDH and REDRESS, published the latest edition of the Universal Jurisdiction Annual Review (UJAR).

Civitas Maxima is pleased to share that 2026 marks the 10-year anniversary of our partnership with the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights (Geneva Academy).

In January, Civitas Maxima endorsed the Initiative for Disability Inclusion in the Convention on Crimes against Humanity.

UPDATE – Since our December publication, an English translation of the judgment of the Swiss Court recognizing the Director of Civitas Maxima as a victim of defamation is now available.

On May 27, 2025, the criminal division of the Jura-Bernois Seeland Regional Court in Switzerland found Mr. Alan White, a U.S. national, guilty of acts of defamation committed in July 2021 against the Director of Civitas Maxima.

Universal jurisdiction – the ability for national courts under certain circumstances to prosecute international crimes committed abroad – is frequently praised as offering a “last resort”.

On October 31, the Legal Affairs Committee of the National Council decided to continue its work on the preliminary draft of the federal law on the inclusion of torture in the Swiss Criminal Code, paving the way for its consideration by Parliament.

The first challenge arises from the differing definitions of enforced disappearances found in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

In 2009, the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) released its final report where it made several recommendations designed to promote justice and reconciliation in post-war Liberia.