gbdiwi@pmu.edu.sa
S096
Dr. Ghuna Bdiwi is an Assistant Professor of Law with academic and professional experience spanning Canada and the Middle East. Her work reflects a comparative and interdisciplinary approach informed by common law, civil law, international law, and legal practice.
She has published extensively in international peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes in the fields of international law, human rights, international criminal law, and transitional justice. Her scholarship has received international recognition, including selection for inclusion in the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Library’s International Humanitarian Law Bibliography.
Dr. Bdiwi has practiced law in both Canada and the Middle East and has legal training across both common law and civil law traditions. She has also been consulted by the United Nations on matters relating to her areas of expertise, reflecting the practical and policy relevance of her academic work.
She has participated in prominent international academic and professional conferences in North America, Europe, and the Middle East, contributing to discussions on international justice, accountability, human rights, refugee protection, and transitional justice.
She has taught law at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and has supervised numerous graduate research projects, with a particular emphasis on legal research, analytical writing, and critical legal reasoning.
Her academic and professional work bridges legal scholarship, legal practice, teaching, and international policy, with a particular focus on accountability, business, and human rights.
Education:
Doctor of Philosophy in Laws (Ph.D.), Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto, Canada, 2021.
Master of Laws (L.L.M.) in Common Law, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto, Canada, 2020.
Master of Laws (L.L.M.), Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto, 2014.
Master of Banking and Finance, Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV, Bordeaux, France, 2009.
Bachelor of Laws (L.L.B.), Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon, 2002.
Accreditations
Certificate of Qualification, National Committee on Accreditation (NCA), Federation of Law Societies of Canada, 2021.
Selected Diplomas and Professional Training
2018, Diploma in Federalism, Decentralization and Conflict Resolution, University of Fribourg, Switzerland.
2018, Nuremberg Academy for Young Professionals, International Nuremberg Principles Academy, Germany.
2009, Diploma in Comparative Law, Foundation for Continental Law, Civil Law Initiative, France.
2007, Diploma in International Public Relations, London School of Public Relations, United Kingdom.
2026, “Reshaping Corporate Social Responsibility under Vision 2030: Assessing Saudi Women’s Participation in the Workplace,” Manchester Journal of Transnational Islamic Law & Practice 22 (2): 198-206.
2023, “Should We Call for Criminal Accountability During Ongoing Conflicts?”, Journal of International Criminal Justice 21 (4): 719–734. https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqac037
2022, “Thickening Autocracy in Non-Democratic States: Changing Demographics in Syria to Maintain Authority”, Arab Law Quarterly 36 (4/5): 476-493. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27227421
2022, “Forced Displacement as a Crime Against Humanity: Can the Rohingya Criminal Case at the ICC Bring Any Justice to the Syrian Refugees” in James C Simeon, ed., Serious International Crimes, Human Rights and Forced Migration (New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group). https://www.routledge.com/Serious-International-Crimes-Human-Rights-and-Forced-Migration/Simeon/p/book/9780367556235
2022, “Resorting to the International Court of Justice to Hold the Syrian Government Accountable for Violating Its Obligations Under the United Nations Convention Against Torture”, Hikama Journal of Public Administration and Public Policy 109 (published in Arabic and English). https://hikama.dohainstitute.org/ar/issue04/Pages/hikama04-2022-issue.pdf
2019, “The R2P Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: Analyzing Canada’s Response to the Syrian Conflict: Accountability for Responsibility”, Canadian Journal on the Responsibility to Protect – University of Toronto, 1: 29-38.
Selected Commentary and Policy Writing
June 2020, “How Much Can We Count on International Economic and Legal Measures to Bring the Syrian Conflict to an End? Reflections from the Caesar Act and Trials in Absentia”, Quid Justitiae. https://www.quidjustitiae.ca/fr/node/1689.
December 2019, “ICC Assembly of States Parties Symposium: Between the 18th ICC ASP and the 71st Anniversary of the UDHR … Can Hope Rise Again?”, IntLawGrrls https://ilg2.blog/2019/12/05/icc-assembly-of-states-parties-symposium-between-the-18th-icc-asp-and-the-71st-anniversary-of-the-udhr-can-hope-rise-again/
November 2019, “Chasing Justice” 2019, 3 PKI Global Justice Journal 79, online: https://globaljustice.queenslaw.ca/news/chasing-justice.
November 2019, “Attempting Justice Within Conflict: How Has Syria Influenced the Contemporary Conceptions of Transitional Justice?”, Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, online: https://timep.org/commentary/analysis/attempting-justice-within-conflict-how-has-syria-influenced-the-contemporary-conceptions-of-transitional-justice/
Selected Conference Presentations and Invited Participation
December 2025, “Assessing Saudi Women’s Empowerment and Participation in the Labour Market”, Sustainable Justice: Law, Environment, and Other Pathways to Achieving SDG No. 16, Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University.
May 2025, “Transitional Justice in Syria: Prospects and Challenges,” Faculty of Law, University of Damascus, Syria.
January 2025, “Humanitarian Imperative and Transitional Justice in Syria,” Human Rights Research and Education Centre, University of Ottawa.
October 2022, “Forced Displacement and International Law,” CARFMS22: Crisis and Forced Migration: Manifestations of Power in a Changing World, Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies.
November 2019, “Advancing and Integrating Legal Scholarship in and on the Middle East,” the Middle East Studies Association 55th Annual Meeting, New Orleans.
June 2018, “Quest for Justice: Does Society Have the Right to Punish in the Absence of a Credible Criminal Justice System?” Annual Conference, Law and Society Association, Toronto.
February 2018, “Developing Syrian Laws Forum” Syrian Legal Forum, Paris, France [invited as one of 25 Syrian lawyers and judges to contribute to the development of the Syrian laws].
May 2017, “Do We Really Need Justice? Exploring the Impact of Accountability During Civil Wars,” McGill University, Montréal, Canada.
April 2017, “Is It Justifiable to Punish During Ongoing Conflicts? The Syria Dilemma,” Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
October 2016, “Is the Responsibility to Protect Still Alive After Syria?” the Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, Carleton University, Ottawa.
July 2016, “Are Calls for Criminal Accountability in Societies in the Midst of Civil Wars, as Opposed to Societies in Post-Conflict Transition or Ongoing Social Peace, Justified?” Institute for Global Law and Policy, Harvard University, Madrid, Spain.
May 2016, “Why Now? How Is Justice Even Possible Without a Criminal Justice System? The Case of Ongoing War in Syria,” Toronto Group Conference, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto.
April 2016, “The Syrian Refugee Crisis: Causes and International Responses,” Law and Society Network, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada.
June 2015, “The Responsibility of the International Community to Protect Syrian Citizens,” ATLAS Agora, Association of Transnational Law Schools, Université de Montréal, Canada.
Research Fellowships
2025-Present, Research Fellow, Human Rights Research and Education Centre, University of Ottawa, ON.
2020-Present, International Fellow, National Institute of Military Justice, Washington DC, USA.
2017-2018, Graduate Research Fellow, Centre for Refugee Studies, York University, Toronto, ON.
2017-2019, Graduate Fellow, Canadian Council on International Law, Ottawa, ON.
2015-2016, Graduate Fellow, Nathanson Centre on Transnational Human Rights, Crimes and Security, York University, Toronto, ON.
2014-2015, Graduate Fellow, Canadian Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, University of Toronto, ON.
Research Awards and Prizes
2022-2023, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Participant, University of Ottawa.
2020, Hon William Z Estey Teaching Fellowship in Law, York University.
2020, Harley D Hallett Graduate Scholarship, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University.
2017, Hon William Z Estey Teaching Fellowship in Legal Research and Writing, York University.
2016, Hon William Z Estey Teaching Fellowship in Law, York University.
2016, John Peters Humphrey Fellowship Award in International Human Rights or International Organization, Canadian Council on International Law.
2015, Harley D Hallett Graduate Scholarship, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University.
2014, Harley D Hallett Graduate Scholarship, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University.
2013-2020, York University Graduate Scholarship, York University.
Dr. Bdiwi has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in Public International Law, International Relations and the Law, International Humanitarian Law, Alternative Dispute Resolution, International Economic Law, International Banking and Finance, and Legal Research and Writing.
Research interests
Public International Law; International Relations; International Human Rights Law; International Criminal Law; International Humanitarian Law; Transitional Justice; International Dispute Settlement; State Responsibility and Accountability.
Teaching Interests
Public International Law; Public Policy, International Relations; International Economic Law; International Banking and Finance; International Business Transactions; Alternative Dispute Resolution; Legal Research and Writing.
