In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Regions

12 Dec

On 11 December 2019, Myanmar presented its case before the International Court of Justice, in the matter of provisional measures brought by The Gambia in relation to the Rohingya, under the Genocide Convention. Even though the hearings were for a specific determination – that of provisional measures – the arguments presented by Myanmar are a glimpse of the legal strategy...

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11 Dec

Yesterday The Gambia commenced its arguments in the case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice, relating to the application of the Genocide Convention and the Rohingya. After filing its application on 11 November, in which The Gambia initiated the case at the ICJ and also asked the court to order interim measures of protection, the hearings over three days are for a specific purpose – to...

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10 Dec

If there is one thing we can agree on is that recognition of belligerency is in disuse – that it is a relic of the 19th century and that it died off sometime before the Spanish Civil War, right? Recognition of belligerency either “fell into desuetude” or is in a state of “current total disuse”. In fact, says Prof. Sivakumaran, “at least since 1949, and more...

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04 Dec

As readers are no doubt aware, the OTP has once again declined -- now for a third time -- to open an investigation into Israel's violent attack on the MV Mavi Marmara. That decision was wholly expected; the only question was how the OTP would deal with the Appeals Chamber's recent decision in the Comoros situation, in which the Chamber...

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26 Nov

[Alexandra Lily Kather, is a Legal Advisor, International Crimes and Accountability Program, European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR). Silvia Rojas Castro is a ECCHR Critical Legal Trainee, International Crimes and Accountability Program, and Vandita Khanna is ECCHR Critical Legal Training Alumn*, International Crimes and Accountability Program.] 75 years after the Malaya Lolas (“Free Grandmothers”) were sexually enslaved by the...

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25 Nov

[Solon Solomon is a Lecturer in the Division of Public and International Law at Brunel University London School of Law.] The last few days have seen a renewed legal interest in both sides of the Atlantic concerning the legality of the Israeli settlements. On November 12, the European Union’s court, the ECJ, held that products coming from these settlements must be labelled accordingly....

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22 Nov

I've been meaning to write for a while now about Stefan Talmon's brilliant new article for the Chinese Journal of International Law, which is entitled "The United States under President Trump: Gravedigger of International Law." It's rare you see an international lawyer of Talmon's eminence and care give an article such a provocative title, so you know he must be...

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19 Nov

The past week has been a momentous one for the Rohingya, in their quest for justice and accountability.  On Monday 11 November, The Gambia filed an application at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) alleging violations of the genocide convention against Myanmar. On 13 November, a case was filed in Argentine domestic courts on the basis of what is termed ‘universal jurisdiction’ against members...

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13 Nov

On 11 November 2019, The Gambia filed an application at the International Court of Justice against Myanmar, alleging violation of obligations under the Genocide Convention.  This legal step has been in the works for some time now, with the announcement by the Gambian Minister of Justice that instructions had been given to counsel in October to file the application. As a result, the application has been...

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08 Nov

Over at Just Security, my friend Adil Haque has written a fantastic post on self-defense and non-state actors. Adil’s main point is that Article 51 of the UN Charter does not apply to armed attacks by non-state actors given its “Latin American origin”. He explains how it should be read in accordance with the Act of Chapultepec, which referred only to inter-state uses of force. I highly...

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06 Nov

On October 22, Jay Sekulow -- best known as one of Trump's lawyers -- filed a request to submit observations concerning the Afghanistan appeal on behalf of the European Centre for Law & Justice (ECLJ), the European branch of the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ), an ultra-right NGO. The Appeals Chamber granted the request on October 24, despite...

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06 Nov

At the International Conclave on Justice and Accountability for the Rohingya organized by the Centre for Peace and Justice (BRAC University), the Asia Justice Coalition and the International Institute of Social Studies on 18 October 2019, the Minister of Justice for The Gambia announced that he had instructed counsel on 4 October to proceed to file an application at the International Court of Justice (ICJ)...

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