09
Jun
The Post “#Theorizing While Black”
We have removed the post to avoid duplication. To see Wumi Asubiaro-Dada's response to Richard Wilson's post about Affective Justice, please see Medium here. ...
Author: Kevin Jon Heller
03
May
ATLAS Writes an Open Letter to the Committee Electing the ICC Prosecutor and the ASP
ATLAS is the premier organization working to promote the careers of women in international law. So they need to be taken seriously they write an open letter on behalf of more than 7,400 women international lawyers demanding a robust process for addressing sexual misconduct claims against candidates for the next Prosecutor of the ICC. Here is the opening paragraph of...
27
Apr
“No Neutral Men”: Sharma’s Reductionist Response to My Post
Dhruv Sharma responded today at Justice in Conflict to my recent post arguing that the next ICC Prosecutor should come from the P-3. I wasn't planning on responding, because the post generally caricatures what I wrote. But I have to say something about one of Sharma's arguments that is particularly mistaken and dangerous. Here is what he writes after noting...
16
Apr
ICC Prosecutor Symposium: The ASP Should Choose a Prosecutor from the P-3
This has been an exceptional symposium, so it's difficult to know what to add. As many of the contributors have noted, the next Prosecutor, whoever she is, has to be a jack-of-all-trades: a skilled lawyer, so she can oversee effective investigations and prosecutions; a talented administrator, so she can herd the hundreds of cats that populate her office; and a...
13
Mar
Thou Shalt Not Take Opinio Juris’s Name in Vain!
My colleagues and I really like the name of our blog. And so, apparently, do others! A new Italian blog has just started that also calls itself Opinio Juris. It appears to cover issues of international law and politics as well, which makes its name more than a little frustrating. You'd think the blog could have chosen a different name,...
09
Mar
The Appeals Chamber Got One Aspect of the Afghanistan Decision Very Wrong
I wanted to wait a few days to write this post, because in almost every respect I wholeheartedly endorse the Appeals Chamber's recent decision in the Afghanistan situation. The AC corrected fundamental legal errors by the Pre-Trial Chamber concerning the scope of the authorized investigation and the required nexus for war crimes. And, of course, the AC reaffirmed in no...
22
Feb
The ICC Takes Time Limits Seriously! (If You’re Palestinian)
Last Thursday, Pre-Trial Chamber I issued its decision concerning which states, individuals ,and organizations will be permitted to submit observations on the OTP's request for a jurisdictional ruling in the Palestine situation. The PTC granted leave to 43 of the 45 potential amicus curiae. It denied one request (para. 52) because the individual who submitted it did so on behalf...
17
Feb
The OTP Lets Australia off the Hook
A couple of years ago, I helped GLAN and the Stanford International Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Clinic prepare a 115-page communication to the OTP regarding Australia's unconscionable treatment of refugees and asylum seekers detained on Nauru and Manus Island, Papua New Guinea. Here is the key paragraph from the Executive Summary: The communication finds that there is a reasonable basis...
21
Jan
My Glenn Greenwald Story
I just opened twitter to learn that federal prosecutors in Brazil have charged Glenn Greenwald with cybercrimes: RIO DE JANEIRO — Federal prosecutors in Brazil on Tuesday charged the American journalist Glenn Greenwald with cybercrimes for his role in the spreading of cellphone messages that have embarrassed prosecutors and tarnished the image of an anti-corruption task force.In a criminal complaint made public on...
17
Jan
New Article About the (Il)Legality of a Bloody Nose Strike Against North Korea
I have posted a draft of the article, which is forthcoming in International Law Studies, the great journal published by the US Naval War College, on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In early 2018, media began to report that the United States was debating whether to “react to some nuclear or missile test with a targeted strike against a North Korean...
12
Dec
Aung San Suu Kyi Could Probably Be Prosecuted for International Crimes
On Monday, a group of Nobel Peace laureates issued a remarkable public statement not only condemning Aung San Suu Kyi for actively denying that Myanmar has committed international crimes against the Rohingya, but also calling for her to be prosecuted for those crimes herself: As Nobel Peace laureates, we call on Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, to...
07
Dec
The Rome Statute’s Flawed Amendment Regime — Starvation in NIAC Edition
On Friday, the Assembly of States Parties unanimously adopted a Swiss proposal to extend the war crime of starvation to non-international armed conflict (NIAC). Previously, for reasons that seem to be largely accidental, the war crime only applied in international armed conflict (IAC). The new war crime is, of course, a welcome development. There is no justification for ever using starvation...