One hundred and ten years ago next month, British geographer Halford Mackinder presented a paper at the Royal Geographical Society in London entitled “The Geographical Pivot of History,” setting out the basic tenets of what we now call “geopolitics.” Strategic thinking during the Cold War was in part framed by geopolitical ideas such as the struggle over key territory in...
The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) at the ICC just released its 2013 Report on Preliminary Examination Activities. There is much to chew over in the report, but what is most striking is the OTP's slow-walking of its preliminary examination into crimes committed in Afghanistan. The OTP divides preliminary examinations into four phases: (1) initial assessment, which filters out requests for...
The Assembly of States Parties (ASP) has adopted three new rules of procedure -- RPE 134 bis, ter, and quater -- designed to minimize the obligation of accused to be physically present at trial. The OTP will almost certainly challenge the new rules. So will any of them survive judicial review? Rule 134bis Rule 134bis concerns video technology: 1. An accused subject to a summons...
Two of the four men arrested on suspicion of witness tampering and manufacturing evidence in the Bemba case appeared before the Court today, along with Bemba himself. Not surprisingly, defence counsel for the defence counsel focused on the various ways in which the arrests will prejudice Bemba's case: Meanwhile, defense lawyers for the accused stated that the new charges had harmed...
Article 51(4) of the Rome Statute: The Rules of Procedure and Evidence, amendments thereto and any provisional Rule shall be consistent with this Statute. Article 63(1) of the Rome Statute: The accused shall be present during the trial. New Rule 134ter of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence: An accused subject to a summons to appear may submit a written request to the Trial Chamber...
I don't have any insights to offer on the big news this weekend, that legally-non binding-UNSC-resolution-violating agreement in Geneva. But I did want to note one other big sort-of-law news item from the other side of the world: China's announcement that it is drawing an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea, including over the disputed Diaoyu/Senkaku...
A flurry of news today over the announcement that Iran has cut a deal with six major world powers -- the Permanent 5 members of the UN Security Council -- the US, Russia, China, France and the UK -- plus Germany. The text of the 'Joint Plan of Action' is also widely available (see here or here). My first reaction on...
The ICC has announced that four individuals associated with the Bemba case, including Bemba's lead counsel and case manager, have been arrested on suspicion of witness tampering and manufacturing evidence: On 23 and 24 November 2013, the authorities of the Netherlands, France, Belgium and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) acting pursuant to a warrant of arrest issued by Judge...
A few days ago, in response to reports of an imminent deal between P5+1 and Iran concerning Iran's uranium enrichment, Tyler Cullis and Ryan Goodman debated whether Iran has a "right" to develop nuclear power for civilian purposes. Tyler argued that Iran does, citing (inter alia) Art. IV of the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT): Nothing in this Treaty...
[This Post has been updated]. One of the main benefits of attending a conference (rather than just reading descriptions of its proceedings), is the chance to have face-to-face exchanges with individuals you normally never get a chance to meet. One of the unusual aspects of the Asian Society of International Law is that it draws lawyers from many different Asian...
A couple of days ago, I blogged about proposals that will soon be debated at the ICC's Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to excuse Kenyatta and Ruto from having to be physically present at trial. Colum Lynch has kindly posted the text of the two proposals, both of which would amend Rule 134 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence (RPE)....
As Mark Kersten discusses today at Justice in Conflict, one of the reasons the Security Council rejected Kenya's request to defer the Kenyatta and Ruto prosecutions is that it believes the issue of their presence at trial is better addressed by the Assembly of States Parties. Here is how Mark summarizes what could happen at the ASP: At this year’s ASP,...
