Tobias Freeman is a lawyer and investigator with more than a decade of experience in the fields of international crime, criminal justice and human rights. He currently leads the legal and policy team of the Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights in Italy, an independent non-government, non-profit law and policy organisation. Over more than 46 years, the Institute has established itself as a centre of excellence for technical assistance, training and research across the Mediterranean Region.

Tobias specialises in international criminal justice, the fight against organised crime, illicit trade and corruption, as well as international law enforcement and judicial cooperation. He is a Rostered Expert with Justice Rapid Response, which facilitates the rapid deployment of criminal justice and related professionals to investigate atrocity crimes. He has also served as a Building Integrity Expert with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

Tobias has extensive experience in planning and conducting complex, large-scale investigations into the commission of the most serious international crimes and related violations of international law. Prior to joining the Siracusa International Institute, he co-founded the International Crimes Evidence Project (ICEP) with leading international criminal justice experts and conducted an independent, impartial investigation into the Sri Lankan armed conflict. This investigation was guided by an expert committee chaired by John Ralston, former Chief of Investigations at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. ICEP’s investigation contributed to galvanising global consensus on the need for accountability in Sri Lanka, preserved the most extensive and rigorously analysed evidence-base for future investigations and prosecutions, and was instrumental to the establishment in 2014 of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ (OHCHR’s) comprehensive investigation on Sri Lanka. Tobias has since advised UN investigators, diplomats and NGOs on transitional justice and accountability issues.

Tobias conducted his legal training in the busy litigation practice of the New South Wales Crown Solicitor’s Office, the leading provider of legal services to the State Government. He has gained experience working with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ Regional Office in Canberra, the International Commission of Jurists Australia, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, the Sydney Centre for International Law, and the Refugee Advice and Casework Service.

Tobias is an alumnus of the University of Sydney Law School and Institute for International Criminal Investigations in The Hague. He is admitted as a lawyer to the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Australia.