Adrián Agenjo Aguado
Ph.D. Candidate and Teaching Fellow in International Criminal Law
Universitat de Barcelona · Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
I research the limits of individual criminal responsibility in international criminal law, particularly in relation to neutral contributions, complicity, economic participation in international crimes and genocidal intent.
International Criminal Law · Criminal-Law Theory · Transitional Justice
Barcelona · Berlin
About
Adrián Agenjo Aguado is a Ph.D. candidate and FPU Teaching Fellow at the Universitat de Barcelona and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. His dissertation, supervised by Professors Víctor Gómez Martín, Rosa Ana Alija Fernández and Florian Jeßberger, examines neutral contributions in international criminal law.
His research lies at the intersection of international criminal law, criminal-law theory and transitional justice. He is particularly interested in complicity, the financing of international crimes, corporate and professional participation in atrocity crimes, genocidal intent, universal jurisdiction and accountability for historical violations.
Before beginning his doctoral research, he worked at the Constitutional Court of Spain, the Office of the Prosecutor of the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, Cuatrecasas and Irídia Human Rights Defence Centre.
He holds postgraduate degrees from the London School of Economics, the Universitat de Barcelona, Universitat Pompeu Fabra and Universidad Internacional de Valencia. He graduated first in his class from the Double Degree in Law and Criminology at Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
Research and Publications
My work examines how general principles of criminal responsibility operate in situations of collective violence, institutional complexity and apparently ordinary professional activity.
- 01
Neutral Contributions
The conditions under which ordinary professional, commercial, organisational or institutional conduct may become criminally relevant under international criminal law.
- 02
Complicity in International Crimes
The causal, normative and subjective limits of individual responsibility for assisting collective criminal projects.
- 03
Financing of International Crimes
The potential criminal responsibility of financiers, corporations and economic actors connected to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
- 04
Genocidal Intent
The meaning of the intention to destroy a protected group and the relationship between individual intent, collective campaigns and patterns of destruction.
Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- 2025
La financiación de crímenes internacionales como forma de complicidad: fundamentos y límites dogmáticos de la atribución causal y normativa de la responsabilidad penal.
Financing International Crimes as a Form of Complicity: Doctrinal Foundations and Limits of the Causal and Normative Attribution of Criminal Responsibility.
Revista Jurídica de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, no. 52, pp. 69–111
First Prize for the Best Published Article, RJUAM, 2026
- 2025
Killer Robots: A Review of Lethal Autonomous Weapons under International Human Rights Law.
ELSA Law Review, vol. XII, issue 2, Legacy Collection, pp. 49–64
Book Chapters
- Forthcoming 2027
La Ley de Memoria Democrática Española choca ante el Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos: el caso Carles Vallejo.
The Spanish Democratic Memory Law before the European Court of Human Rights: The Carles Vallejo Case.
In a collective volume coordinated by the Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales.
- Forthcoming 2027
El error de prohibición y su regulación en la Corte Penal Internacional: tres patologías.
Mistake of Law and Its Regulation at the International Criminal Court: Three Pathologies.
Contribution to the research project: Más allá del delito: la importancia del quién, el cómo, el cuándo y el porqué en la imposición del castigo.
- 2023
When Society Decides Who Dies: The National Consensus Criteria in the Case Law of the Supreme Court of the United States.
In The Death Penalty in a Global Context, Forum for Global Human Rights and Oxford Amicus, pp. 71–80
Academic and Professional Commentary
- 2026
Which Immunity for Nicolás Maduro? Personal Immunity, Inviolability, and the Implausible Exceptions the US Might Claim.
EJIL:Talk!, January 2026.
- 2025
From Contract to Combat: Individual Criminal Liability of PMSC Personnel and Its Integration into Emerging Treaty Frameworks.
Opinio Juris, Symposium on Private Military and Security Companies, July 2025.
- 2024
Expanding the Limits of Genocidal Intent: A Protective Interpretation.
Völkerrechtsblog, May 2024.
- 2024
Lavender Unveiled: The Oblivion of Human Dignity in Israel's War Policy on Gaza.
Opinio Juris, April 2024.
- 2023
The Revival of Criminal Prosecution of Francoism Crimes in Spain: A New Opportunity for Hope?
Opinio Juris, November 2023.
Edited Volumes
- 2023
Responsabilidad penal en contextos anómalos.
Criminal Responsibility in Anomalous Contexts.
Co-editor with Juan Pablo Montiel and Roque Martín Salvoni Collado. Editores del Sur, 302 pages.
Academic & Professional Appointments
- December 2025 — Present
Ph.D. Candidate and Teaching Fellow — FPU Predoctoral Fellowship
Universitat de Barcelona · Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Dissertation: Neutral Contributions in International Criminal Law
Supervisors
- Prof. Víctor Gómez Martín
- Prof. Rosa Ana Alija Fernández
- Prof. Florian Jeßberger
Teaching
- Foundations of Criminal Law and Criminal Liability
- Crime Policy
- Offences against Individual and Collective Legal Interests
- International Criminal Court Moot Court
- March 2025 — December 2025
Research Clerk
Constitutional Court of Spain
- September 2024 — February 2025
Trainee Lawyer — White-Collar Crime and Investigations
Cuatrecasas S.L.P.
- February 2024 — July 2024
Legal Fellow — Human Rights Litigation and Transitional Justice
Irídia Human Rights Defence Centre
- June 2023 — October 2023
Legal Intern — Office of the Prosecutor
United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals
Consultancy and Advisory Work
I provide independent academic, legal and policy consultancy in areas connected to international criminal law, human rights, transitional justice and institutional accountability. Projects may include specialised research, expert analysis, policy development, training and support for litigation or advocacy teams.
Services
- 01
Legal Research and Expert Memoranda
Specialised legal research and written analysis concerning international criminal law, international human-rights law, criminal responsibility and transitional justice.
- 02
International Criminal Law and Accountability
Analysis of modes of liability, complicity, neutral contributions, corporate involvement in international crimes, immunities and International Criminal Court doctrine.
- 03
Human Rights and Transitional Justice
Research and strategic support concerning historical crimes, procedural obligations to investigate, universal jurisdiction, memory laws and proceedings before international human-rights bodies.
- 04
Corporate and Economic Participation
Research on corporate accountability, economic contributions to international crimes, private military and security companies and the responsibility of commercial or professional actors.
- 05
Policy and Legislative Analysis
Legal and policy analysis for international organisations, civil-society organisations, research institutions and public bodies.
- 06
Training and Academic Programmes
Lectures, workshops, seminars, moot-court training and tailored capacity-building sessions for universities, institutions and professional teams.
Selected Advisory Experience
TRIAL International
Legal and policy recommendations concerning the international regulatory framework for private military and security companies.
Irídia Human Rights Defence Centre
Research and legal work connected to proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights concerning historical human-rights violations in Spain.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
Expert input concerning Spanish firearms regulation and legislative responses to firearms-related gender-based violence.
Discuss a project
For consultancy enquiries, institutional collaborations, expert research, workshops or speaking engagements, please provide a brief description of the project, expected scope and proposed timeline.
Consultancy is considered on a project-by-project basis. Information published on this website is for academic and professional information only and does not constitute legal advice or create a lawyer–client relationship.
Teaching & Mooting
Teaching
- Foundations of Criminal Law and Criminal Liability
- Crime Policy
- Offences against Individual and Collective Legal Interests
- International Criminal Law
- Modes of Liability
- International Criminal Court Moot Court
Mooting
International Criminal Court Moot Court
- Coach, Universitat de Barcelona, 2026
- Results: First Place · Best Memorial for the Legal Representation of Victims · Best Overall Memorial Average
Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court
- Participant, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2020 and 2021
- Coach, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2022
- Coach, London School of Economics, 2023
- Judge, Spanish National Rounds, 2024, 2025 and 2026
Nuremberg Moot Court
- Coach, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, 2025
- Result: Semi-finalists
Curriculum Vitae
A complete academic CV with the full list of publications, presentations, awards, education and appointments is available as a PDF.
Download CV (PDF)Contact
For academic correspondence, research collaborations, consultancy projects, expert analysis, conferences, teaching or editorial enquiries:
adrianagenjo@ub.edu