In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Regions

04 Apr

The Kenyan government has filed a 30-page motion with the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber II arguing that recent improvements to the Kenyan criminal-justice system render the cases against the Ocampo Six inadmissible.  Here are the highlights of the reforms, from the motion's introduction (para. 2): 2. The Government's Application must be determined with a full understanding of the fundamental and far-reaching constitutional...

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04 Apr

The following is a guest-post written by Orde Kittrie, a professor at ASU's law school, and Sandy Spector, the deputy director of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.  They very much want input from OJ's readership, so please post your thoughts.  Our thanks to Orde and Sandy for contributing the post! Seven years after A.Q. Khan publicly confessed to...

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01 Apr

Critics of the Security Council's decision to refer the situation in Libya to the ICC normally argue that the referral denies Gaddafi the option of going into exile instead of fighting to the death.  That may or may not be true -- as I've noted previously, Max Boot's reliance on Charles Taylor's prosecution to make that argument fudges the actual...

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30 Mar

I wanted to call readers' attention to an upcoming web seminar on Libya held by Harvard's Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research.  The Program's web seminars are always excellent, and this one -- which features Luis Moreno-Ocampo and Nicholas Burns -- shapes up to be superb.  Here are the details: On Tuesday, April 5, 2011, the Program on Humanitarian...

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30 Mar

My colleague Anne Orford has a fascinating contribution today to the official blog of the London Review of Books questioning the universality of the supposedly universal international law that underlies the Security Council's authorization of military action in Libya.  Here is a taste: In 1954, Carl Schmitt bemoaned the destruction of European international law in the 20th century. According to...

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23 Mar

In a post today at Commentary, Boot argues that Taylor's arrest after going into exile makes it more likely that Gaddafi will fight to the death instead of negotiating a gracious exit from power: Once upon a time, an autocrat could step down and live out his days securely in the south of France or some other plush locale. That...

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11 Mar

With all the attention being paid to the situations in Libya and Kenya, the situation in Darfur has receded into the background.  (Par for the course, unfortunately, with Darfur.)  So it's worth noting that the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I has confirmed charges against two Darfuri rebels alleged to have orchestrated a September 2007 attack that killed 12 African Union peacekeepers: On...

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09 Mar

On March 7, a federal court in New York issued an anti-suit injunction order enjoining Ecuador plaintiffs from enforcing the $9 billion Ecuador judgment against Chevron. The injunction applies to all Ecuador plaintiffs and their counsel, including "directly or indirectly funding, commencing, prosecuting, advancing in any way, or receiving benefit from any action or proceeding, outside the Republic of...

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05 Mar

So, you're a state senator in the deep South.  You love freedom, which is why you're a Republican.  You know that Shariah (aka Shari'ah) is the enemy of freedom.  You also know that, although Shariah currently plays no role in the law of your state, it will eventually supplant the Constitution (sometime in the next four decades, you estimate) unless...

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02 Mar

Just a quick update to point out that Pennumbra, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review's online companion, has published the fourth and final installment of my debate with John Dehn on the targeted killing of Al-Aulaqi.  You can find the entire debate, including my just-published Closing Argument, here. My thanks to Pennumbra for inviting me to participate, and to John for...

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28 Feb

Moreno-Ocampo said the following today: The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court says information of attacks on civilians by forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi suggests they could constitute a crime against humanity. Luis Moreno Ocampo says he has assembled a team to collect more information and has been in contact with Libyan officials and army...

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