In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Author: Kevin Jon Heller

23 Jun

Last week, Adrian Hilton -- a self-described "conservative academic, theologian, author and educationalist" -- published a vicious hit-piece in The Spectator about SOAS. It's entitled "A School of Anti-Semitism?", and the name basically says it all. According to Hilton: "[p]retty much all student societies at SOAS have no choice but to conform to the Islamo-Marxist orthodoxy"; "the entire student body defines...

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18 Jun

I am delighted to announce that OUP has just published Mark Kersten's new book, Justice in Conflict: The Effects of the International Criminal Court's Interventions on Ending Wars and Building Peace. Here is the press's description: What happens when the international community simultaneously pursues peace and justice in response to ongoing conflicts? What are the effects of interventions by the International Criminal Court...

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16 Jun

On behalf of Doughty Street Chambers, I want to publicise two Memorials -- one in the Hague and one in London -- that will be held in the next few weeks for John Jones QC, beloved friend and colleague, who tragically passed away in late April. Here is the information: In order to celebrate the life and many personal and professional...

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22 May

Just when I thought I was beyond being genuinely horrified, Roving Bandit called my attention to a story in Der Spiegel that almost defies words: The ambassadors of the 28 European Union member states had agreed to secrecy. "Under no circumstances" should the public learn what was said at the talks that took place on March 23rd, the European Commission warned...

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20 May

Nothing quite beats a good treatise. Until recently, however, students and scholars of international criminal law had few worthy choices -- the best for students being Cryer et al's An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure and the best for scholars being Werle's Principles of International Criminal Law. Those books now have serious competition. Over the past few months, OUP has published two...

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19 May

The game in question -- from which the screenshot is taken -- is entitled Liyla and the Shadows of War. Here is how the gaming magazine Hardcore Gamer describes it: Liyla and the Shadows of War is a short, dark game about exactly what the title implies. You play as a father running home through a war zone attempting to collect...

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04 May

Does anyone have an idea of what would be a fair hourly rate for someone to cite-check -- both for substance and for accuracy of citation -- a leading international law treatise published by a leading university press? Rates in pounds, dollars, or euros would be most appreciated!...

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03 May

I read with great interest Jens's excellent post about whether the US attack on the MSF hospital in Kunduz was a war crime. I agree with much of what he says, particularly about the complexity of that seemingly innocuous word "intent." But I am not completely convinced by his argument that reading intent in the Rome Statute to include mental states other than...

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20 Apr

It is with great sadness -- and ongoing shock -- that I report the unexpected passing of John Jones QC, one of the great international lawyers. Accomplishments are not important at a time like this, but here is a snippet from his Doughty Street International profile to give readers  a sense of what a spectacular barrister John was: John has acted as Counsel in...

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18 Apr

I had the pleasure about a week ago to discuss Syria with David Remnick for the New Yorker Radio Hour. Most of the questions, not surprisingly, focused on whether I thought there was any realistic prospect that Assad would face justice. (My answer: probably not.) The show went live a couple of days ago -- I was traveling and didn't...

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08 Apr

As readers no doubt know, on Tuesday the ICC's Trial Chamber declared a "mistrial" in the case against William Ruto and Joshua Arap Sang. The decision likely puts an end to the fiasco of the Ocampo Six -- now the "Ocampo Zero," to borrow Mark Kersten's nicely-turned expression -- although the Trial Chamber dismissed the charges "without prejudice," leaving the door open for the...

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