In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Recent Posts

11 Dec

Yesterday The Gambia commenced its arguments in the case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice, relating to the application of the Genocide Convention and the Rohingya. After filing its application on 11 November, in which The Gambia initiated the case at the ICJ and also asked the court to order interim measures of protection, the hearings over three days are for a specific purpose – to...

|
10 Dec

If there is one thing we can agree on is that recognition of belligerency is in disuse – that it is a relic of the 19th century and that it died off sometime before the Spanish Civil War, right? Recognition of belligerency either “fell into desuetude” or is in a state of “current total disuse”. In fact, says Prof. Sivakumaran, “at least since 1949, and more...

|
09 Dec

[Natasha Arnpriester an attorney with the Open Society Justice Initiative, where she focuses on criminal justice reform, anti-torture and citizenship. You can find her on Twitter: @NatashaArnpr] On 8 November 2019, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations and highest court for disputes between states, ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear Ukraine’s case against Russia for violations under...

|
07 Dec

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...

|
04 Dec

As readers are no doubt aware, the OTP has once again declined -- now for a third time -- to open an investigation into Israel's violent attack on the MV Mavi Marmara. That decision was wholly expected; the only question was how the OTP would deal with the Appeals Chamber's recent decision in the Comoros situation, in which the Chamber...

|
27 Nov

On Thursday 29 November 2019, Professor Anne Orford (Melbourne Law School) will deliver the Fifth T.M.C. Asser Lecture at the Peace Palace in the Hague. Asser Institute researchers Taylor Woodcock, Dr. Antoine Duval and Dr. Dimitri Van Den Meerssche had the opportunity to speak with Professor Orford about her ambition to place the social question (back) on the agenda of international law(yers). A...

|
26 Nov

I have posted the first draft on SSRN. The article is entitled, intending to be provocative, "Genuine" Unilateral Humanitarian Intervention -- Another Ticking Time-Bomb Scenario. Here is the abstract: The activation of the crime of aggression at the ICC has renewed interest in one of the oldest and most fraught questions of the jus ad bellum: whether a state is entitled...

|
26 Nov

[Alexandra Lily Kather, is a Legal Advisor, International Crimes and Accountability Program, European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR). Silvia Rojas Castro is a ECCHR Critical Legal Trainee, International Crimes and Accountability Program, and Vandita Khanna is ECCHR Critical Legal Training Alumn*, International Crimes and Accountability Program.] 75 years after the Malaya Lolas (“Free Grandmothers”) were sexually enslaved by the...

|
25 Nov

[Solon Solomon is a Lecturer in the Division of Public and International Law at Brunel University London School of Law.] The last few days have seen a renewed legal interest in both sides of the Atlantic concerning the legality of the Israeli settlements. On November 12, the European Union’s court, the ECJ, held that products coming from these settlements must be labelled accordingly....

|
25 Nov

[Mattia Pinto is a PhD Candidate and teaching assistant in the Law Department at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). His PhD research analyses the role that human rights play in fostering and legitimising penal expansion. Diletta Marchesi is a PhD Fellow for fundamental research of the Research Foundation – Flanders at the KU Leuven Institute of...

|
24 Nov

The judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) continue to attract attention, sometimes for all the wrong reasons. Their suit before the International Labour Organisation for a salary increase as reported by the New York Times, and questionable legal judgements such as Pre-Trial Chamber II’s decision to deny the Prosecutor’s request to open a much needed, and clearly warranted investigation...

|
24 Nov

Call for Papers The University of Michigan Law School invites junior scholars to attend the 6th Annual Junior Scholars Conference, which will be held on 17-18 April 2020, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The conference provides junior scholars with a platform to present and discuss their work with peers, and to receive detailed feedback from senior members of the Michigan Law faculty. The Conference...

|