Nwamaka Rosemary Okany is a Lecturer-in-Law and a Research Associate of the Department of Public International Law and European Law, Faculty of Law, University of Amsterdam. She is also Lecturer-Tutor within the PPLE (Politics, Psychology, Law and Economics) programme of the University.
Okany’s legal career began in the Republic of Nigeria where she obtained her first law degree and is licensed to practice as Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. She holds a Bachelor of Laws degree (With Distinction) from the University of Nigeria (1998), a Master of Laws degree (LL.M)(Cum Laude) in International Law from the University of Utrecht (2001) and an Advanced Diploma in Public International Law (Magda Cum Laude) from the Institute of Public International Law and International Relations of Thessaloniki, Greece (2003).
Before joining the University of Amsterdam, Okany worked as a solicitor at the Enugu-based commercial law firm of C.H.C. Nwanya and Co. and was a legal assistant at the Office of the Prosecution of the United Nations Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, The Hague. At the University of Amsterdam, she has held the posts of Graduate Research and Lecturing Assistant (2003 - 2007), Lecturer in Public International Law (2007 - 2008) and Research Associate and Lecturer (2008 till date). As Lecturer in Public International Law, Okany has taught and coordinated teaching activities for the Masters courses State Responsibility in International Law and International Dispute Settlement. In the Spring of 2006, she was Resident Visiting Fellow at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, University of Cambridge, The United Kingdom.
Okany has guest lectured on international law at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, University of Cambridge (The United Kingdom), the University of Groningen (The Netherlands) and the University of Utrecht (The Netherlands). She has been a speaker at professional conferences around the world including in The Republic of China, The United States and Switzerland. Her professional affiliations include The International Law Association (ILA), The Society of International Economic Law (SIEL), The Royal Netherlands Society of International Law (KNVIR), The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), The Dutch Arbitration Association (DAA), The ICC Young Arbitrators Forum and The Ius Commune Research School (a Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences accredited collaboration between The Universities of Amsterdam, Maastricht, Utrecht and Leuven). Okany is fluent in Dutch, English, Igbo and West African Creole and has a basic knowledge of French.
Alongside her other research activities, Okany is carrying out PhD research at the University of Amsterdam. Her PhD examines the responsibility of governments in International law for acts of autonomous State-owned corporations as well as private entities performing functions that have been privatized or outsourced by governments.
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Okany's current research interests lie both in the field of general public international law and at the intersection between public international law and 3 specialized regimes of international law: international investment law, human rights law and the Law of The European Union.
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Okany is a member of the Expert Group on Secondary Liability for International Crimes and Serious Human Rights Violations (SLIC) funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO)
For other ancilliary activities, visit her Linkedin webpage at Linkedin NR Okany