In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Author: Jessica Dorsey

28 Mar

Thailand has started peace negotiations with the Muslim separatists in its southern provinces. UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon has argued that Mali needs an 11,000-strong peacekeeping force and a parallel force for combat and counter-terrorism operations. Bush v. Gore in Africa? Kenya's Supreme Court has started hearing evidence to resolve the disputed presidential elections earlier this month. Theresa May, the UK's Home Secretary, has lost the appeal against a decision...

|
27 Mar

At the Arab League summit yesterday, a member of the opposition to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad took his vacant seat, a move that was met with applause from Arab heads of state.  The BRICS have reached a deal approving a development bank that would rival Western-backed financial institutions. In his first appearance before the ICC yesterday, Congolese suspect Bosco Ntaganda has denied...

|
26 Mar

Following last week's apology, Israel and Turkey have started negotiations on compensation to the families of the victims of Israel's botched raid on the Mavi Marmara in 2010. During their annual summit, starting in Durban today, the leaders of the BRICS are set to approve the establishment of a new development bank and currency fund to compete with the World Bank and the IMF. Russian officials...

|
25 Mar

The EU has approved a new bailout for Cyprus. The leader of Syria's opposition has resigned. The Syrian crisis has also triggered a political crisis in neighboring Lebanon, as this article in the FT explains. The UN has reported that at least 35 have been killed over the weekend in Lubumbashi in southeast Congo when militia attacked the city before surrendering to UN troops. Violence in Mali continues as the army battles...

|
22 Mar

Italy has promised India that the two Italian marines facing murder charges over the killing of two Indian fishermen mistaken for pirates will return to India today, after promises were made that the special court set up to rule on their case will respect their fundamental rights. Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Russia, President Putin has said that the two...

|
21 Mar

NATO and the Afghan government have reached an agreement on the phased withdrawal of US special forces from Wardak province, near Kabul. A Zimbabwean court has denied bail to a high profile human rights lawyer arrested over the weekend on charges of obstruction of justice during police searches. After reaffirming ties with Israel, US President Barack Obama faced Palestinian discontent while visiting the occupied West Bank,...

|
20 Mar

For more on M23 leader Bosco Ntaganda's surrender to the US Embassy in Rwanda Monday, the Armed Groups and International Law blog has a background piece here, Justice in Conflict talks about it at length here, the BBC coverage of the ICC's welcoming his surrender is here and Reuters talks about the US' efforts in transferring him to the ICC here.  In...

|
19 Mar

Bosco Ntaganda, the leader of the M23 rebel group in the DRC, turned himself into the US Embassy in Kigali, Rwanda yesterday. Ntaganda is wanted by the ICC for charges including recruiting and using child soldiers, murder, rape and sexual slavery, and persecution. Counsel for Kenyan Uhuru Kenyatta asked the ICC yesterday to drop charges against his client for a lack of...

|
18 Mar

Burma's President is visiting Australia where the government has pledged aid as well as increased defense co-operation. Lawyers for Kenya's President-Elect Uhuru Kenyatta will argue later today at the ICC that charges against their client should be dropped. Also later today, the UN Human Rights Council is slated to discuss the report of its fact-finding commission on Israeli settlements in the West Bank. India's Supreme Court has extended its...

|
17 Mar

Calls for Papers The Jersey Legal Information Board presents Law Via the Internet: Free Access to Law in a Changing World on September 26-27, 2013. The conference will address the impact of online publishing on e-democracy, access to law and the rule of law, e-learning, privacy and open government in legal publishing, and emerging patterns of information access and usage.Deadline for Proposals: March 31, 2013. Abstracts...

|
15 Mar

French President Hollande has joined the UK's David Cameron in calling on the EU to lift the arms embargo on Syria, to enable them to arm the rebels. Israel's military intelligence chief has warned against arming the rebels and has claimed that Iran is sponsoring a Hezbollah-run "people's army" of 50,000 to fight in Syria on the side of the government forces. The UK's Justice...

|
14 Mar

In testimony to Congress, US groups have complained about protectionist policies in India. The US has asked Ukraine not to renegotiate its WTO commitments, worrying that it might inspire other WTO members to do the same. President Obama has appointed Deborah Jones as the next US ambassador to Libya. India's Supreme Court has issued a notice to Italy's ambassador barring him from leaving India without its permission,...

|