In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Recent Posts

19 Jul

[Sari Bashi is the executive director of Gisha, an Israeli human rights organization protecting the right to freedom of movement in the occupied Palestinian territory] Last week, a committee appointed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to recommend disposition of about 100 Israeli outposts in the West Bank established in violation of Israeli military zoning laws released its conclusions (English summary...

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19 Jul

Fighting is still raging in Damascus, where yesterday many officials were killed by bombing attacks in Syria's capital city. Meanwhile, China remains silent  on its position ahead of a UN Security Council vote threatening with non-military sanctions. Al Jazeera offers the profiles of the slain ministers as well as an analysis of how these deaths will affect the regime. Foreign Policy outlines "Assad's...

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18 Jul

It looks increasingly likely.  Mali has formally self-referred the situation in the country to the ICC and the OTP has already opened a formal preliminary investigation.  Here is yesterday's statement from Fatou Bensouda: Today I received a delegation from the Government of Mali led by the Minister of Justice, H.E. Malick Coulibaly. The delegation transmitted a letter by which the Government...

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18 Jul

It’s not news that the United States has been actively using armed force in Yemen for some time. The Bush Administration reportedly launched a first drone strike against alleged Al Qaeda targets in the country (with the Yemeni government’s cooperation) back in 2002, and of course multiple reports have described the Obama Administration’s use of drones in the country...

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18 Jul

The United States Naval War College’s International Law Department has digitally published Volume 88 of its International Law Studies Blue Book series, entitled "Non-International Armed Conflict in the Twenty-First Century" and it may be downloaded for free from the Blue Book link on the Naval War College International Law Department’s Stockton Research Portal. Additionally, a direct link to the .pdf file...

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18 Jul

The UN Security Council prepares for a new vote on Syria today, amidst raging battles in Damascus and tension between Russia and the West. Among the battles, a suicide attack in Damascus has killed the Syrian Minister of Defense. Foreign Policy looks in-depth into whether it matters that the ICRC has labeled the violence in Syria a non-international armed conflict. For more from Lawfare on...

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18 Jul

I want to call readers' attention to David Frakt's excellent essay on direct participation in hostilities as a war crime.  Here is the abstract: This article addresses, in part, the question of what to do with civilian direct participants in hostilities who are not killed by opposing armed forces, but are captured. Specifically, the article address the potential criminal prosecution of...

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17 Jul

Via an e-mail from Dan Joyner I learned today about a new blog he's founded -- Arms Control Law.  Here's the pitch from one of the inaugural posts: As the name suggests, this blog will be devoted to discussion and analysis of arms control law subjects. I wanted to start this blog because all of the current blogs in the arms...

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17 Jul

The ICJ is set to deliver its judgment in Belgium v. Senegal, this Friday, July 20, 2012. The press release from the Court is found here. The UN Security Council has condemned the rebel attacks in eastern Congo and demanded an end to outside support for the conflict on the Rwanda-Congo border. The African Union has urged the group Mali Ansar Dine...

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16 Jul

It's official. US ratification of UNCLOS is dead (at least for this year).  And, perhaps more significantly, the treaty was sunk by two senators, Robert Portman and Kelly Ayotte, both of whom appear to be on Republican nominee Mitt Romney's vice-presidential short list.  Their announcements, in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, brings the number of announced U.S....

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16 Jul

Two quick research-related items.  First, I'm pleased to report that the 2011 Digest of United States Practice is now available on the State Department website.  Here's the description from today's press release: The digest provides the public with a record of the views and practice of the Government of the United States in public and private international law. The official edition...

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16 Jul

The sudden announcement that North Korea's military chief was relieved of his duties for health reasons has spurred rumors about a possible power struggle. Cambodia and Thailand have announced that they will redeploy some of the troops stationed at the Preah Vihar temple from Wednesday onwards, to comply with last year's order of the ICJ. Maritime disputes between China and Japan and China and the Philippines continue. Foreign Policy points...

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