[Ralph Janik teaches international law at the University of Vienna, Faculty of Law and Webster Private University Vienna. He specializes in the interplay of international law and international relations. Twitter: @RalphJanik] The crisis in Venezuela could enter a new phase. Juan Guaidó recently flirted with the idea of a US intervention on his behalf when he refrained from ruling out to...
I was delighted to comment on an important new report by Rosana Garciandia and Philippa Webb on State Responsibility for Modern Slavery at the UN on January 31. Contemporary forms of slavery continue to be a major challenge in the 21st century. International law prohibits slavery, human trafficking and forced labour, and states are generally committed to eliminating these human rights abuses....
[Carlos Arturo Villagrán Sandoval is a PhD Candidate at Melbourne Law School. His doctoral thesis considers Comparative Regional Integration with particular emphasis on Central-America. He is currently representing civil society actors in a constitutional injunction against the Presidential decision to denounce the CICIG treaty.] The CICIG is a pioneering international body, created between Guatemala and the UN, with broad reaching effects...
Two posts this week addressed different legal aspects of the current political crisis in Venezuela. Kevin Jon Heller kicked off the week with a post on the advantages of Venezuela adopting the aggression amendments to the ICC Statute in light of the recent saber rattling by certain states to enforce, through military means if necessary, Juan Guaidó’s claim to the...
Call for Papers The Norwegian Centre for Human Rights (NCHR) is organizing a one-day conference on "Protecting Community Interests under International Law: Challenges and Prospects for the 21st Century," which will take place on Monday, 3 June 2019, in Oslo, Norway. This conference aims at providing insights on the role and function of international law in a framework of increased global governance by...
This week has seen news of potential use of amnesty laws in three countries – the Central African Republic, Guatemala, and Venezuela. Here, nuances are important to highlight. In CAR, with the peace agreement under wraps initially, early news reports indicated the push for a ‘blanket’ amnesty, i.e. exemption from international crimes, including crimes against humanity and war crimes. Other reports...
[Ralph Janik teaches international law at the University of Vienna, Faculty of Law and Webster Private University Vienna. He specializes in the interplay of international law and international relations.] Guaidó versus Maduro. Virtually every state has had something to say about the political stalemate in the once-third oldest democracy outside of the industrial world. We are once again witnessing a clash...
[Bashar H. Malkawi is Dean and Professor of Law at the University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. He holds S.J.D in International Trade Law from American University, Washington College of Law and LL.M in International Trade Law from the University of Arizona.] China’s rising economic preeminence has been stunning, firmly ensconcing China as the second most powerful world economy replacing previously...
At Lawfire, my friend Charlie Dunlap has a long post arguing that the mission to kill Osama bin Laden was consistent with both the jus ad bellum and the jus in bello -- a response to a recent Stephen Carter op-ed that raises questions about the mission. I agree with much of what Charlie says, particularly about the jus in bello...
[Carlos Lopez is a Senior Legal Adviser at the International Commission of Jurists] The world trade regime is in crisis. Embattled by attacks on its core elements by powerful trading and economic powers, the institutional framework of rules and mechanisms that govern most of world trade are pushed towards a reform path (some would call it “modernization”). The directions of reform...
[Fernanda G. Nicola is a Professor of Law at the American University Washington College of Law, the Director of the Program on International Organizations, Law and Diplomacy, and Permanent Visiting Professor at iCourts, University of Copenhagen.] Europe is in turmoil, with European Union leaders struggling to respond to the political and economic fall out of the no-deal Brexit, the threat of...
As I've noted before, the jurisdictional regime at the ICC for aggression is exceedingly narrow. In essence, the Court will have jurisdiction over an act of aggression only in the following situation: 1. The aggressor is a member of the Court, has ratified the aggression amendments, and has not opted out of the Court's jurisdiction. 2. The victim is a member of...