In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Recent Posts

30 Nov

Reports suggest that the Japanese government will resume whaling in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica early next year.  This news is causing lots of teeth-gnashing and anger in Australia and New Zealand, whose governments had brought and won a recent International Court of Justice decision finding Japan's previous whaling program in violation of the International Whaling Convention.  The news also reveals (again) the...

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29 Nov

Announcements The coordinators are pleased to announce the establishment of the Ghent Rolin-Jaequemyns International Law Institute (GRILI). The Institute builds on a long tradition in the area of international law at Ghent University and brings together ca. 30 faculty members and doctoral and post-doctoral researchers. Its activities span the entire realm of public international law, ranging from the law of armed conflict...

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26 Nov

Happy Thanksgiving.  As those of us in the United States celebrate our Thanksgiving holiday, it is of course imperative to remember that many people outside our country are facing serious problems and perilous circumstances. In response to the terror attacks in Paris (and in Mali), the government of UK Prime Minister David Cameron has once again called on British lawmakers to...

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25 Nov

Last week, the U.S. Congress passed the US Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015 (or the "Space Act"), which will authorize private U.S. companies to own and sell resources they extract from objects in space. Supporters (and detractors) are calling this historic, because it is the first time the U.S. government has plainly authorized commercial exploitation of outer space...

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24 Nov

Only a “truther” who denies that al-Qaeda was responsible for 9/11 could doubt the international law basis for holding al Bahlul accountable for his role in this completed war crime. So Peter Margulies argues in his latest attempt to defend the indefensible: al-Bahlul's conviction for the non-existent war crime of conspiracy as an inchoate offence. To describe the accusation as offensive...

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23 Nov

Your weekly selection of international law and international relations headlines from around the world: Africa Mali's president has questioned claims that al-Mourabitoun, an al-Qaeda linked group, was responsible for last week's assault on a luxury hotel in the capital Bamako. Plans by the Senegalese government to prohibit women from wearing full-body veils, amid growing security concerns, have sparked debate within the majority-Muslim country. Al Jazeera investigates...

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23 Nov

Announcements Guest Researchers – Focus on the Environment and the International Judiciary: PluriCourts invite researchers in the field of law, political science, and philosophy with a focus on the environment and the international judiciary to apply for visiting research fellowship. The positions as guest researchers can vary between 3 to 12 months. We encourage applicants to apply as soon as possible and...

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18 Nov

I had the honor and pleasure of testifying today before the U.S. Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee.  The topic of the hearing was "Examining International Climate Negotiations" and the upcoming conference in Paris. My own contribution argued that an agreement with legally binding emissions reduction obligations should be submitted to the Senate as a treaty rather than as a...

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18 Nov

A couple of years ago, I praised the winning design for the ICC's permanent home but acknowledged that I preferred a different one. I'm happy to report that I was wrong, at least aesthetically: the Court's new headquarters are absolutely beautiful. Here are a few photos: You can tell the Court's staff is eager to move into their new home, because there is...

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17 Nov

As I was researching a new essay on complementarity, I stumbled across a fantastic article in the Chinese Journal of International Law by Paidrag McAuliffe, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Liverpool School of Law. Here is the abstract of the article, which is entitled "From Watchdog to Workhorse: Explaining the Emergence of the ICC's Burden-sharing Policy as an Example of...

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