PrintNeil Kritz
Senior Scholar in Residence, Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution
Contact
Phone: (202) 429-3888
E-mail: nkritz@usip.org
Issue Areas: Rule of Law
Neil J. Kritz is the Institute's first Senior Scholar in Residence in the Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution, where he is focusing primarily on analyzing and advising on efforts to strengthen the Palestnian Justice system.
Previously, Kritz directed USIP’s Rule of Law Center of Innovation, which focuses on advancing peace through the development of democratic legal and governmental systems. Kritz conducts ongoing research, writing and consultation on the question of how societies deal with a legacy of past abuses. He has provided advice and organized conferences on questions of war crimes and mass abuses in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and South Africa.
From 1990 to 1991, at the request of the Russian Constitutional Commission, Kritz coordinated two expert reviews of the draft Russian constitution. He led Institute working groups on humanitarian law, constitution-making and the administration of justice during peacekeeping operations. Since 1999, he has directed a project on Palestinian-Israeli legal dialogue and cooperation. At the request of the U.S. Department of Defense, Kritz prepared a curriculum on international law and the promotion of democracy for use in training U.S. and foreign military officials. He has studied and written on the advancement of the rule of law through regional organizations such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Before coming to the Institute, Kritz served as special assistant to the chairman at the Administrative Conference of the United States. He holds a J.D. from American University’s Washington College of Law.
Multimedia
- Iraq Constitution Making: What Happens Now? (August 2005)
Publications:
- Constitutional Reform in Iraq: Improving Prospects, Political Decisions Needed
USIPeace Briefing (September 2007) - Iraq's Constitutional Process: Shaping A Vision for the Country's Future
Special Report 132 (January 2005) - "A Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Bosnia and Herzegovina: An Idea Whose Time has Come," International Law Forum (Vol. 3, 2001).
- "Progress and Humility: The Ongoing Search for Postconflict Justice," Post-Conflict Justice, edited by M. Cherif Bassiouni (Transnational Publishers, 2002).
- "Where We Are and How We Got Here: An Overview of Developments in the Search for Justice and Reconciliation," in The Legacy of Abuse: Confronting the Past, Facing the Future, edited by Alice H. Henkin (The Aspen Institute, 2002).
- "Peace-building and State-building in Post-Conflict Situations: Promoting the Rule of Law," Peacemaking into the 21st Century, edited by Chester Crocker and Fen Osler Hampson (USIP Press 1996).
- Transitional Justice: How Emerging Democracies Reckon with Former Regimes, editor, Vol. I General Considerations Vol. II Country Studies Vol. III Laws, Ruling, and Reports (USIP Press 1995).
- "The CSCE in the New Era," Journal of Democracy (Vol. 4, No. 3, July, 1993).
- Comments and Recommendations on the Draft Constitution of the Russian Federation (USIP Press 1991).
- Ratification of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide , co-authored with Charles D. Smith (Conflict Analysis Center, 1984).
Other:
- "Constitution-Making Process: Lessons for Iraq," Testimony before a Joint Hearing of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs (June 25, 2003).
- Rebuilding the Justice System in Afghanistan
Peace Watch, February 2002
Publications & Tools
 |
USIP convened a group of distinguished experts to discuss the way ahead after the Palestinian Authority moved forward with its application for U.N. membership. Progress has been made in recent years in Palestinian state-building, but how or if the two sides approach the negotiating table now remains far from clear. Countries: Israel and the Palestinian Territories
| Issue Areas: Mediation and Facilitation, Negotiation and Diplomacy
|
 |
The U.S. Institute of Peace continues to follow the developments in Egypt and the Middle East. Read about USIP's work on Christian-Muslim relations in the Middle East, work on national security issues, democratization, and more. Countries: Africa, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Economics and Conflict, Political Reform, Religion and Peacemaking
|
 |
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has resigned on Feb. 11 after weeks of peaceful protests. USIP takes a comprehensive look at the situation and its implications. Countries: Egypt
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Political Reform, Religion and Peacemaking
|
 |
Confronting the Truth shows how countries, which have experienced massive human rights violations, have created official, independent bodies known as truth commissions. |
 |
Congressional Testimony by Neil Kritz, director of the Rule of Law Program. |
 |
How Emerging Democracies Reckon with Former Regimes, Volume III: Laws, Rulings, and Reports Issue Areas: Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities, Rule of Law
|
 |
How Emerging Democracies Reckon with Former Regimes, Volume II: Country Studies Issue Areas: Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities, Rule of Law
|
 |
How Emerging Democracies Reckon with Former Regimes, Volume I: General Considerations Issue Areas: Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities, Rule of Law
|
Events
 |
October 7, 2011
On September 23, President Mahmoud Abbas submitted an application to the U.N. Secretary-General for Palestine's admission as a full state member of the United Nations. What is needed to move the peace process forward? Is the diplomatic track in sync with the Palestinian state-building effort? What are the options for U.S. policy. |
|
September 29, 2010
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's government is midway through an ambitious two-year plan to build the necessary infrastructure for a viable Palestinian state. One-year on, our panelists assess its progress. This event, co-sponsored with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, marked the launch of a new U.S. Institute of Peace series on The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Internal Challenges on the Road to Peace. Countries: Israel and the Palestinian Territories
| Issue Areas: Mediation and Facilitation, Rule of Law
|
|
 |
September 1, 2010
The book “Transitional Justice in Balance: Comparing Processes, Weighing Efficacy,” by Tricia D. Olsen, Leigh A. Payne and Andrew G. Reiter is a groundbreaking effort to strengthen the empirical, theoretical and policy foundations of the field of transitional justice. |
 |
February 24, 2009
Issue Areas: Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities, Rule of Law
|
 |
December 19, 2008
A public event co-sponsored with the International Organization for Migration Countries: Iraq
|
 |
February 5, 2008
Issue Areas: Mediation and Facilitation
|
 |
July 19, 2007
Victims Unsilenced: The Inter-American Human Rights System and Transitional Justice in Latin America
|
 |
May 7, 2002
|