I have just uploaded a new essay to SSRN, entitled "The International Commission of Inquiry on Libya: A Critical Analysis." The essay is a chapter of a book on international commissions of inquiry that is being edited by the LSE's Jens Meierhenrich. Here is the introduction: This chapter provides a critical assessment of the International Commission of Inquiry on Libya, established...
This week on Opinio Juris we provided a forum to two guest posters, Gabor Rona and Michael W. Lewis, who continued their earlier conversation on targeted killing over at Lawfare. In his first post, Gabor asked whether the politicians and military leaders in charge of defining the criteria for targetability will take a more liberal attitude because their own risk is zero and argued...
When I wrote my account of Melinda Taylor and her team's detention, I somehow missed this gem in the OPCD's response: 381. The inability of the particular prosecution authorities assigned to the case of Mr. Gaddafi to conduct credible or effective investigations and prosecutions is amply demonstrated by the fact that these same prosecution authorities claimed that an ordinary swatch watch...
[Gabor Rona is the International Legal Director for Human Rights First and he is responding to a post by Michael W. Lewis] OK, let's forget about drones for a sec. After all, drones are simply a form of targeting. And targeting in war is a good thing. (Since killing is legal in war under certain circumstances, the alternative to targeted killing...
For various family reasons, I have been mostly off-line during the last few months, but I could not let slip by the sad news of the passing of Sir John Keegan, the renowned military historian and author of many works that certainly shaped my thinking and, I would guess, that of many readers. The Telegraph, for which he served as...
Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has quit as Syria's peace envoy after becoming frustrated with "finger-pointing" at the UN while the battle in Syria rages on. IPS offers more context here. China has expressed its regret. Meanwhile, a UN resolution on Syria goes to the General Assembly today, criticizing the Security Council for failing to take action and denouncing the use of...
Of all my writing, my article on the relationship between national due process and the Rome Statute's principle of complementarity is almost certainly the most unpopular. (Except in the OTP.) My thesis is a simple one: the failure of a national investigation or prosecution to live up to international standards of due process does not make a case admissible before...
Syria's president Al-Assad has praised the government forces, but is keeping a low profile. US president Obama has signed a secret order to provide support to rebel forces in Syria. A video has emerged of men, allegedly loyal to the Syrian regime, being lined up in Aleppo being shot point-blank by rebel forces. In a recent report, Amnesty International has accused members of...
The OPCD has filed its formal response to Libya's admissibility challenge. It's a monster of a brief -- 92 pages -- so it will take a number of posts to deal with it adequately. In this first post, I want to pull together the various sections of the brief that provide unprecedented detail concerning Melinda Taylor's detention. Before I do,...
[Michael W. Lewis is a Professor of Law at Ohio Northern University where he teaches International Law and the Law of War.] I want to thank Gabor for continuing a discussion started over on Lawfare a couple of weeks ago and to thank Opinio Juris for allowing me an opportunity to respond. As I had the last word on Lawfare I...
Fighting rages on in Syria's Aleppo, trapping many citizens inside the embattled city. The tens of thousands who have managed to escape have become refugees, many struggling to find shelter and food. Libya's Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is seeking a trial in The Hague at the ICC, rather than in Lybia. His lawyers say a fair trial in his home country is...
Calling all junior faculty members...
