In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Author: Priya Pillai

24 Aug

There are a few anniversaries of note in 2022, which should prompt us to deeper conversations and more concerted action. It is the 10th anniversary of the forced Rohingya exodus from Myanmar, with 25 August marking the 5th Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the entry into force of the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court. This year,...

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22 Jul

The International Court of Justice has just read its judgment on preliminary objections in the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (The Gambia v. Myanmar). This is a brief note based on the reading of the judgment, based on my twitter thread ‘live tweeting’ the judgment and does not delve into the details of the legal argumentation...

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14 Jul

It has been a busy time at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the past few months, particularly in relation to cases based on the Genocide Convention. At the moment, there are two ongoing cases relating to this convention – Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (The Gambia v. Myanmar) and Allegations of Genocide...

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06 May

Dear Reader,  As you might have seen on twitter, on a very rainy Friday afternoon, having come to the end of my workday, I spied the ICJ press release for a new hearing on provisional measures – this time, on the Questions of jurisdictional immunities of the State and measures of constraint against State-owned property (Germany v. Italy). Germany instituted proceedings on 29 April 2022...

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07 Oct

[Priya Pillai is a lawyer and international law specialist. She has worked at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) headquarters in Geneva, at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and with various civil society organizations on implementation of international law.] This is an opportune moment to examine the representation of women (in an inclusive sense) in expert bodies or institutions....

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27 Sep

It has now been over six months since the coup by the Myanmar military on 1 February 2021. There are multiple crises at the moment in Myanmar – mass atrocities being committed by the security forces on a daily basis, a devastating Covid-19 pandemic, ongoing armed conflicts in various parts of Myanmar, the continued marginalization of many minorities, and proceedings at international courts related to...

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06 Aug

In 2019, as a result of mass mobilization and popular protest against Omar Al Bashir and his administration, Sudan embarked on a process of transition. Currently, there is a transitional administration in place – a civilian and military administration – with a new cabinet announced early this year, as a result of the Juba Peace Agreement of 3 October 2020, relating to Darfur and...

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11 Feb

The news from Myanmar since 1 February 2021 has been stark – the Myanmar military or the “Tatmadaw” has detained politicians and activists including Aung San Suu Kyi, declared a year-long state of emergency in which the senior general and head of the army, Min Aung Hlaing is essentially in charge of the country. There are reports coming in of force being used against...

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22 Dec

The International Court of Justice has just issued a press release, relating to the implementation of provisional measures orders before the court. This new development is important, and relates directly to The Gambia v Myanmar, before the court currently, and a case in which the ICJ has issued an order for provisional measures on 23 January 2020.  What’s new? First, a bit about the development. Based...

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29 Sep

On 18 September, the Netherlands announced that it was initiating legal proceedings against Syria, based on the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT).  This move by the Netherlands brings many issues to the fore: the first is the scale and magnitude of torturebeing committed in Syria, documented in many reports and most recently in a court cases in Germany (under the aegis of...

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