In association with the International Commission of Jurists

International Criminal Law

01 Sep

[Kate McInnes is a Vancouver-based criminal defence lawyer and the Principal at Arendt Chambers, Canada's first and only law firm practicing exclusively in international human rights law and international justice] The creation of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (STCAU), a court embedded within the Council for Europe framework, marks a historic effort in securing accountability for...

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13 Aug

[Isabelle Bienfait is a programme co-ordinator at eyeWitness to Atrocities] Two recent convictions of Syrian nationals for crimes committed during the civil war merit attention. On 16 June 2025, Syrian-born Alaa M. was convicted by a Frankfurt court for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed at several medical and military facilities. A few weeks earlier, on 28 May 2025, a...

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08 Aug

[Alexander Heinze is an Acting Professor at the University of Bremen and lecturer at the University of Göttingen] Part 1 of this post examined the Trial Chamber V’s remarkably efficient case management approach in Yekatom and Ngaïssona, highlighting how flexibility became the key to handling an exceptionally complex trial with nearly 20,000 exhibits and 174 witnesses. I explored the Chamber’s innovative...

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08 Aug

[Alexander Heinze is an Acting Professor at the University of Bremen and lecturer at the University of Göttingen] On 24 July 2025, Trial Chamber V (TC V) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued its 1,600-page Judgment in the Yekatom and Ngaïssona case, convicting both former Anti-Balaka leaders of a catalogue of war crimes and crimes against humanity—including murder, persecution, forcible...

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08 Aug

[Mohamed Hanafy (associate researcher and advocacy officer) and Juliette Rémond Tiedrez (associate legal adviser) both work with the International Commission of Jurists’ Middle East and North Africa programme] This post is based on the Q&A Libya’s acceptance of the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction: stakes and implications published by the International Commission of Jurists in July 2025. On 12 May 2025, the Government of...

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08 Aug

[Ananya Bhargava (she/her) is a law student at Jindal Global Law School] Introduction Historically in situations of war, international law has maintained fidelity to a strictly parochial understanding of what constitutes “use of force.”  This understanding adheres to the normative belief that “use of force” solely includes armed force. Any deviation from this belief would invariably lead to the unsettling of definite...

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08 Aug

[Donna Cline is a US-licensed criminal practitioner and lead for the Environment Mobile Justice Team at Global Rights Compliance, where she works closely with Ukrainian prosecutors to ensure accountability for war crimes. Julia Tétrault-Provencher is a Canadian lawyer (Quebec Bar) and international lawyer with the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Mobile Justice Team at Global Rights Compliance in Ukraine.] Legal practitioners and scholars...

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08 Aug

[Dr. Emma Irving, M.A., LL.M. and Sabrina Rewald, J.D., LL.M. are co-founders of the Fénix Foundation, a non-profit leveraging technology to advance peace, justice, and accountability, and consultants in international criminal law, human rights and technology] The authors led the research and development of the Leiden Guidelines and the Hala Protocol. On 24 July 2025, ICC Trial Chamber V found Alfred Yekatom and Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona guilty of a...

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07 Aug

[Gaiane Nuridzhanian is an associate professor at The Arctic University of Norway (UiT)] The legal principle of ne bis in idem proclaims that no one shall be tried twice for the same matter. This principle finds expression in a variety of ne bis in idem rules that define the specific parameters of the prohibition on repeat trial. While the ne bis...

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07 Aug

[Nandor Knust is an associate professor of law at the Arctic University of Norway (UiT)] Gaiane Nuridzhanian’s The Principle of Ne Bis in Idem in International Criminal Law offers a comprehensive examination of the ne bis in idem principle in the realm of international criminal law. Drawing from her extensive academic and professional background, Nuridzhanian provides an in-depth analysis of how this...

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06 Aug

[Dr Daniel R. Ruhweza is a senior lecturer and head of the Department of Law and Jurisprudence at the Makerere University School of Law] Gaiane Nuridzhanian’s The Principle of ne bis in idem in International Criminal Law examines the common law principle of double jeopardy as established in the Rome statute under Article 20 as a legal principle. This Statute establishes...

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