I've spent a lot of time thinking about treaties. And I've read lots and lots of them over the years. From time to time, however, I encounter something I find truly novel on the treaty front. A case in point, was this story in IT World yesterday. It refers to pending negotiations between the United States and Germany on an agreement...
The United Nations Secretary General’s fifth Report on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) was released last week. This Report is titled “State Responsibility and Prevention” and focuses generally on governance mechanisms and early warning. It also mentions the situation in Syria, stating that “[r]ecent events, including in the Syrian Arab Republic, underline the vital importance of early action to prevent...
Another person who should know better has misrepresented the ICTY's specific-direction requirement: Owen Bowcott, a legal correspondent for the Guardian. Here is the sub-headline of his new article on the impact of the Perisic judgment: Legal experts say proof that accused 'specifically directed' atrocities now required after tribunal acquits Serbian commanders. And here is the first paragraph of the article: Generals and politicians...
[Aqsa Mahmud graduated from the University of Michigan Law School and currently practices as a government attorney in Washington, DC] The international community’s application (or nonapplication) of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) to the recent Arab conflicts highlights notable limits to R2P. R2P is a relatively new doctrine that holds States responsible for protecting their populations and, where the sovereign fails, allows...
On July 10, counsel for Al-Senussi filed a motion with the Pre-Trial Chamber complaining that Libya had announced it would begin Al-Senussi's trial no later than the end of Ramdan -- August 7 -- despite the fact that Libya's admissibility challenge was still pending before the ICC. On August 5, Libya filed its response, arguing that it has no obligation...
Following-up on Kevin's post that illustrated the increasing temperature anomalies of the world's climate, I want to point out a recent study pointing to evidence of a link between increasing global temperatures and a rise in violent crime and larger-scale conflicts, such as wars. Smithsonian.com reports: Now, in the most comprehensive analysis of the work on climate change and armed conflict...
As a progressive, I'm delighted that Bradley Manning was acquitted of aiding the enemy but horrified that he was convicted of espionage. Ethically, Manning is a hero, not a spy. As a law professor, though, I think it's critically important to get the law right -- and unfortunately, many commentators are simply misstating what the Espionage Act says and how courts...
As I recently noted, the Appeals Chamber has rejected Libya's request to suspend its obligation to surrender Saif Gaddafi to the ICC pending resolution of its admissibility appeal. Libya, of course, has no intention of complying with that obligation. Indeed, it admitted as much today: According to Libya’s Justice Minister Salah al-Marghani, Seif, who is being detained in the Libyan city...
Peter has responded at Lawfare to my most recent post. I think we've taken the argument about as far as we can, so I'll give Peter the last word. Suffice it to say that, according to Peter's new post, there is nothing wrong with an appellate court upholding a defendant's conviction (1) for a non-existent war crime -- conspiracy; (2)...
As I was doing some research for my posts on the al-Bahlul amicus brief, I came across a superb student note in the Michigan Journal of International Law written by Alexandra Link. It's entitled "Trying Terrorism: Material Support for Terrorism, Joint Criminal Enterprise, and the Paradox of International Criminal Law," and here is the (very long) abstract: In 2003, the United States...
I noted in the update to my response to Margulies that the Hamdan military commission rejected the government's argument that JCE is a viable alternative to conspiracy as an inchoate crime. It's worth adding that the Khadr military commission rejected the same argument. A brief filed by Khadr provides the necessary background (pp. 2-3; emphasis mine): On 2 February 2007, the Office...
Peter's reply is posted at Lawfare, and it addresses both my criticisms (here and here) and Steve Vladeck's (here). The reply is largely non-responsive to the points that I made in my posts; most of it is dedicated to establishing that the evidence presented at trial is sufficient to conclude that al-Bahlul participated in a JCE to commit 9/11 --...
