The 2005 Specialization Course on 'Terrorism's New Wars and ICL's Responses' was held in Siracusa from May 22 to June 1, and was sponsored by the International Association of Penal Law (Paris, France); International Human Rights Law Institute, DePaul University College of Law (Chicago, IL, USA); University of Palermo Faculty of Law (Palermo, Italy); University of Nantes Faculty of Law (Nantes, France); University of the Basque Country, Basque Institute of Criminology (San Sebastian, Spain).

The Course was attended by sixty eight participants from all over the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia and the Middle East. English was the official language of the course. These individuals are recent law graduates, practitioners, academics or students, currently pursuing higher education or careers in the fields of international criminal law and international relations. Twenty-eight different countries and thirty universities were represented among the participants involved in the Specialization Course. The course was taught and attended by fifteen distinguished faculty members coming also from prominent international organizations as the United Nations.

The Specialization Course consisted of two parts, which included all day lecture sessions that were followed by several days of a moot court competition. At the end all the participants attended 14 working sessions for a total of 42 actual academic contact hours. The lectures involved the following topics: Terrorism’s Diverse Manifestation and the International Legal Framework, Terrorism and Laws of War, Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction, Illegal and Questionable Contemporary Practises in Combating terrorism: Targeted Assassination (Extra-Judicial Executions), Torture, Extra-Judicial Transfer of Detainees to States Where Torture is Practised, and Kidnapping; Legal Regimes Applicable to Terrorism; Conflicts between National Jurisdictions and International; International Cooperation in Penal Matters Against Terrorism; Curtailing IHL, International Human Rights and Domestic Civil Rights in the Name of Combating Terrorism; Terrorism Financing; The Role of United Nations and Other International Organizations.

The second part of the course involved a moot court competition entitled ‘The Case concerning Terrorism financing’. During this competition, the participants were divided into teams of three or four, and each team argued before the International Court of Justice for either the Applicant or Respondent. The oral arguments took place before panels of faculty member judges, and involved legal issues that may emerge in the future as the International Criminal Court begins to adjudicate cases. The moot court competition culminated with a semi-final round, which involved the top four teams, and the final competition that included the two winning teams from the semi-final round. Both of these rounds occurred before a panel of judges that consisted of participating faculty. Moot court competition awards were given to the winning Respondent team, and to the Applicant runners up.

The winners of the competition were the Respondent Team:

- Ms Regina Rauxloh (Germany),

- Mr Tarek Mohanna (Egypt),

- Mr Vincent Roobaert (Belgium),

- Ms Ayse Dicle Ergin (Turkey).

The second best team winners were:

- Mr Laurent LaFleur (Germany),

- Ms Barbara Concolino (Italy),

- Ms Christina I. Doria (Canada/US),

- Ms Romana Schweiger (Austria).

At the conclusion of the Specialization Course, there was an awards ceremony. Ms Heba Morayef (Egypt), Ms Regina Rauxloh (Germany), Mr Laurent Jacques Maurice Lafleur (Germany) and Mr Vincent Roobeart (Belgium) were awarded with the best overall oralist award. Moreover, every participant in the Specialization Course received a certificate in international criminal law.