[Eugene Kontorovich is Professor of Law at Northwestern Law. This post is cross-posted at The Volokh Conspiracy] In response to my post about Turkey's settlements, Kevin Jon Heller argues that from the perspective of International Criminal Court liability for "indirectly...
Eugene Kontorovich argues today at Volokh Conspiracy that Israel could minimize the likelihood of an ICC investigation into its transfer of Israeli civilians into the West Bank by emphasizing Turkey's similar transfer of Turkish civilians into Northern Cyprus, which it has been illegally occupying for more than four decades. Here are the key paragraphs: Cyprus was a state with clear borders...
[Jelia Sane is studying for the English Bar at City University, London. She holds an LLM in Public International Law from University College London and has previously interned at the ICC, the Centre for Justice and International Law, and the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.] The unanimous acquittal and subsequent release of Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui by Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal...
In the comments to my first post on the ICC and retroactive jurisdiction, Johnboy4546 suggested that the Palestinians might self-refer only the situation in the West Bank to the Court. Such a referral would have two clear advantages for the Palestinians: (1) it would prevent the OTP from investigating Hamas's rocket attacks, which are almost always launched from Gaza, as well...
I'm gearing up for a Spring Semester teaching at Temple's Tokyo campus. As part of my preparations, I've begun to read-into some of the maritime boundary disputes between China and Japan that have caused so much friction between the two nations of late. Recent news reports have emphasized (i) China's moves by air and sea to challenge Japanese control over waters...
According to Enough!, the OTP is investigating the actions of M23 and "other parties" in the DRC: In the aftermath of the March 23 Movement, or M23, seizure of Goma, the International Criminal Court, or ICC,Chief Prosecutor Fatoua Bensouda announced that her office is investigating "allegations of ICC crimes by members and leaders of M23, and by other parties taking advantage of the chaos...
In my essay on signature strikes, I criticize (and I'm not alone) the U.S. practice of considering military-age males in an area of known terrorist activity to be lawful targets. That signature, however, pales in comparison to the possibility that the U.S. is targeting "children with potential hostile intent," as well: The US military is facing fresh questions over its targeting policy in Afghanistan after...
A number of commentators have challenged my claim that Articles 11(2) and 12(3) of the Rome Statute would permit Palestine to accept the ICC's jurisdiction retroactively, whether as a member-state or on an ad hoc basis. Here, for example, is what my friend Jennifer Trahan wrote yesterday at IntLawGrrls: Even if an entity becomes a "state," should there be jurisdiction that...
I've been meaning to discuss the AP's recent claim that an obviously fraudulent graph provided to it by an unnamed country (almost certainly Israel) proves that Iran is trying to build a nuclear weapon. As is often the case, however, Glenn Greenwald beat me to it. If the AP were capable of shame, it would immediately retract the...
In the wake of today's long-overdue vote to upgrade Palestine to observer-state status, there seems to be persistent confusion concerning what would happen if Palestine ratified the Rome Statute. In particular, a number of commentators seem to think that it is unclear whether the ICC would have jurisdiction over crimes committed prior to Palestine's ratification. (See Colum Lynch at FP,...
The United Nations General Assembly is set to decide Thursday whether to upgrade Palestine to "non-member state" status, on par with the Vatican. The resolution will almost certainly pass, given that more than 130 states have already recognized a Palestinian state. The interesting question is whether powerful Western states will vote in favor of the resolution. France...
[Chris Jenks is an assistant professor of law at SMU Dedman School of Law. He previously served as chief of the US Army’s international law branch where his responsibilities included foreign criminal jurisdiction (FCJ) over US service members.] The U.S. and Afghanistan recently initiated formal discussions concerning the continued presence of U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2014, when Afghanistan is expected...
