In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Courts & Tribunals

29 Apr

This seems like a nice, uncontroversial way to buttress the ICC Prosecutor's Office: ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo today announced the appointment of Professor Jose Alvarez as his Office’s Special Advisor on International Law. “Professor Alvarez is one of the leading academics in international law,” said Prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo. “He has written extensively on the law-making powers of international organisations and on the...

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28 Apr

Adding to our already energetic discussion about the ICC and Kampala is the WSJ Editorial Board's contribution today.  I share many of the editorial's skeptical views of the ICC and I think even Kevin would not find any "lies" in this article.  Here is the crux of their critique, which I mostly share: From the Balkans to East Timor to the...

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22 Apr

Did the ICJ ruling on Uruguay and Argentina help to resolve the dispute? Sort of.  There are some pesky protestors, though, who are not exactly convinced by the ruling. Both sides said Tuesday's decision by the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands gave them what they need to resolve their differences, with Argentina taking heart from a part of the...

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21 Apr

This seems like a bad idea for a number of reasons that are too obvious to go into here. BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentine human rights groups are turning the tables on Spain, hoping to open a judicial probe of murders and disappearances committed during the Spanish Civil War and the early years of Gen. Francisco Franco's dictatorship. Lawyers representing Argentine relatives...

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15 Apr

During the recent "nuclear summit" in Washington, Dutch prime minister Peter Balkenende proposed the creation of a new international tribunal to enforce and punish violations of nuclear non-proliferation agreements.  Putting aside the fact that this is a blatant effort to put another international court in his hometown (the Hague), I agree with Prof. Göran Sluiter that this is a dumb...

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12 Apr

I rarely get to blog about the relationship between my two favorite things -- professional basketball and international law -- so I would be remiss if I failed to comment on the latest problem to afflict the New Jersey Nets, one of the worst teams in the NBA.  The Nets are in the process of being sold to Mikhail Prokhorov,...

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01 Apr

Add another African case to the ICC's docket. The International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, has given its prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo the green light to investigate the role of senior politicians in Kenya's post-election violence that killed 1,300 Kenyans in 2008. The decision allows Mr. Ocampo to take the next step, which would be passing down indictments against senior Kenyan politicians, some...

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11 Mar

It is always unpleasant to get lectured by foreign governments about "violating international law", but this is something U.S. government officials should be used to.  Still, it must be galling for the new U.S. administration to be lectured by Brazil's president over U.S. non-compliance with a WTO ruling on cotton subsidies. The United States must comply with a World Trade Organization...

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