Céline Bardet

Céline Bardet is an international jurist specialising in international crimes, justice and security issues. She is the President of We Are NOT Weapons of War (WWoW), an NGO she founded in 2014, with the aim of transforming and developing field work techniques on wartime rape as well as  improving access to justice for victims. WWoW developed a secured digital tool, BackUp, that enables survivors to identify themselves to WWoW, to reach out to essential medical, social and/or judicial services and allows secured transfer of documentation and evidence, which are then safely stored and analysed in WWoW’s back office. She works as an independent expert for the United Nations, the European Union and institutions such as Interpol. 

Céline Bardet began her career at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in 1999. She then joined the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), where she worked on issues related to terrorism and organized crime. In 2004, she left international organisations to devote herself to long field missions, setting priorities on post-conflict justice, war crimes, and security issues. In 2007, she was appointed Legal Director and Advisor to the Principal Deputy High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Raffi Gregorian. She worked alongside victims and local institutions to develop a war crimes legal process. She particularly created a “war crimes unit” in Brčko, trained a team of prosecutors and police officers, and coordinated investigations and several war crimes trials. Her first book, Zones Sensible: Une femme en lutte contre les criminels de guerre, was published in April 2011. Follow her @CelineBardet.

Céline was profiled for ATLAS by Clara Gérard-Rodriguez, an international lawyer based in Paris. Read more about Clara's work at the end of the profile and follow her @ClaraGrrz.

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What drew you to working in international law? And what were your first steps? 

I did not choose to study law knowing what I wanted to do afterwards. It was a bit of a process of elimination. I was in law school in 1991-1995, when the Balkans War broke out. I became very interested in the conflict and the creation of the ICTY. I was listening to the news every day, reading everything I could about the Yugoslav states and societies. I had no special connection with the Balkans, but the particular brutality of the conflict really struck me and still does today. 

I have also always been interested in issues related to mass crimes. I grew up close to Moulins-sur-Allier, which is where the demarcation line between the Free Zone and the Occupied Zone was during World War II. My grandfather hid many people who wanted to cross into the Free Zone during the war and I spent my childhood listening to these stories. What I was most curious about was how an ordinary person becomes a perpetrator of mass atrocities. I read Hannah Arendt when I was 16 or 17 years old. 

There was no proper specialisation in international law in France in the 1990s, so after graduating from law school I joined the Institute of Higher International Studies in Paris and asked to write my thesis on the Drazen Erdemović case. This is how I started working on international law issues.

The beginning of my career was completely unplanned. I was doing voluntary work for Amnesty International in 1998 and the President of Amnesty France asked me to fill in for him at a conference at the ICRC in Geneva. I was terrified; I had never been to a conference, let alone spoken publicly! This is where I met Judge Claude Jorda, who was then presiding the Blaškić case. We chatted for a bit and it turned out that he had read my Master's thesis. He asked me to come work for him at the ICTY. I could not join immediately since I did not have any meaningful work experience, but I eventually started working with him in January 1999. I had never thought about working there before: even though I was very interested by the ICTY and following every trial, it seemed inaccessible.

I stayed at the ICTY for about two years. I left at the end of the Blaškić trial and moved to New York. I started working at the UNODC shortly after but what I really wanted to do was field work. I left the UN in 2004 and then worked in the Balkans for about 10 years.

What have been the high points of your career thus far?

The two and half years I spent working as the Legal Director and Advisor to Mr. Raffi Gregorian in Bosnia and Herzegovina are definitely one of the highest points. I created the first war crimes unit in Bosnia and conducted the first trial for wartime rape in a national jurisdiction in Brčko. This was a fascinating experience and I had almost full autonomy. I learned everything from Raffi Gregorian. He is an extraordinary person, on top of being a brilliant professional and manager. He taught me that successful leadership could be made of loyalty, ethics, courage and rightness.  

Generally speaking, I consider the 10 years I spent in the field as a high point. Although I worked at the ICTY, the field is where I learned what really is the impact of a conflict on a society and what differences post-conflict legal procedures can make.

Working at the ICTY in 1999 was also a high point in the sense that everything was very new. There were only about 100 people working on few cases… Nothing was actually set up yet, but everyone was incredibly motivated. People were not there to tick a box in their career strategy but because of pure interest and motivation. It felt like we were creating modern international law and a brand new legal system, which was incredibly exciting and inspiring.

The creation of my NGO, We Are NOT Weapons of War, in 2014, is also a real achievement. WoWW is the result of everything I have learned working both in international organisations and in the field. It was also inspired by witnessing the lack of visibility and of efficient responses for wartime sexual violence survivors. I am proud to have co-organised the Stand Speak Rise Up Forum with Denis Mukwege, at the initiative of HRH The Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, in March 2019. It was the first event to ever put survivors at the centre of conversations as active participants and not solely as victims. WWoW pursues an innovative approach and rather looks like a non-profit start up than a classic NGO in its day-to-day functioning. I strongly believe that, in the area of conflict-related sexual violence and of justice in general, much is yet to be created and imagined.

What are some of the challenges that you faced coming up in your career? 

I did not expect that creating an NGO would be such a difficult and challenging process. I had a very clear idea of what I wanted to do, I was already a public figure in a way, and yet the administrative and financial side of things was dragging. It may be naive, but I realised that it is not because you have visibility and that people are interested in what you say that they will give you money to do it… 

People often ask me if I faced more challenges because I am a woman. The truth is, although I work in the fields of criminal investigation and mass-crime prosecutions, which remain very masculine, I never really perceived being a woman as an obstacle. Of course, I dealt with sexist remarks and comments, but I never felt like I was being underestimated or not taken seriously. 

It may be because I never questioned my own legitimacy to work in this field. I never doubted that I was where I belonged. I also got lucky: Raffi Gregorian is the most feminist man I know, he trusted me to do the work and the fact that I was a woman was never a question.

Leaving the ICTY has also been a challenge, in the sense that I was quite disenchanted when I left. I started working at the ICTY when I was 27, I had a very idealistic vision of what international institutions were. Realising after two years that things were not quite as bright has been pretty hard. Although leaving felt like a failure, I knew that I could not fit in this system. 

At the end of the day, I believe that challenges shape your career. I would not be here today if I had not left the ICTY to do fieldwork. 

Do you have any advice for people, particularly women, hoping to work in international law in the future? 

Self-limitation and self-doubt are your worst enemies. I have been offered jobs – first at the ICTY and then in Bosnia – I would have never applied to, because they seemed inaccessible. Women tend to question their abilities more than men. Be aware of this and do not doubt yourself too much. This does not mean be overconfident or take jobs you are not competent for, but be aware of your own capacities: they are often much bigger than you think.

I remember one day, when I was at the ICTY, Judge Jorda called me in his office after a meeting during which I had not dared to speak. He told me, in his heavy southern-French accent: “Ms. Bardet, do you know the difference between you and me? 30 years of experience”. It struck me, because we tend to think that people with senior positions are more intelligent or more competent than us. But most of the time, what they are is simply more experienced. This sentence has been one of the best life guidance I have had. I learned that we can all make a difference, regardless of our experience, as long as we dare to step forward.

Know and trust yourself. There are things you may feel like doing but do not actually suit your personality. For example, a lot of students tell me they want to do field work. But field work is not for everyone, it is often the subject of unrealistic expectations, nearing fantasy, and many people end up being unhappy in the field. The same applies to international institutions: you can dream of them and yet feel miserable working there. 

I realise this is a bit of a “Catch 22” because you learn with age and experience; sometimes you have to try things to realise they do not work for you. But listen to yourself and don’t be afraid to leave an environment that doesn’t suit you. If you feel unhappy, there is probably a reason. 

Do not strategize your career too much. A lot of people will tell you what to do and when: they will tell you to study abroad in a prestigious school, to take the Bar, to get domestic experience… All of these can help of course, but they are not a prerequisite, or something to obsess about. Although it is important to listen to advice, it is even more important to listen to yourself. That being said, looking at careers of people you look up to can be a great tool. Profiles such as the ones published on the ATLAS website are a great source of inspiration. They can also be reassuring: you’ll realise that careers are very rarely linear and that challenges, or even mistakes, often open doors to opportunities.

Céline was profiled for ATLAS by Clara Gérard-Rodriguez, an international lawyer called to the Paris Bar. After working as a Case Manager/Legal Assistant in trials before the International Criminal Court with the Defence (Prosecutor v. William Ruto) and Legal Representative of Victims (Prosecutor v. Ahmad Al-Faqi Al-Mahdi), she joined the Criminal Law Department of the Parisian firm FTMS Avocats where she notably works on universal jurisdiction and business human rights cases. She is admitted on the ICC List of Assistants to Counsel and regularly gives lectures on Human and Gender Rights. She is also on the governing board of KÂLÎ, a French NGO providing legal assistance to female asylum seekers. She holds a LL.M in Public International Law from the University of Amsterdam and a Masters in International Relations from Sciences Po Toulouse. Follow her @ClaraGrrz.