In association with the International Commission of Jurists

International Humanitarian Law

14 Apr

[Jonathan O’Donohue is a consultant on international justice and human rights, formerly a Legal Advisor at Amnesty International. Be sure to also read Ewan Brown and William H. Wiley at Justice in Conflict.] The vacancy announcement circulated globally in August last year emphasizes the extensive skills and experience that the next International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor must bring to the role but...

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13 Apr

[Kate Vigneswaran is a Senior Legal Advisor with the International Commission of Jurists. She previously worked in the Immediate Office of the Prosecutor and OTP Appeals Division at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Melinda Taylor is currently acting as Lead Counsel for the Defence of Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud before the ICC, and...

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12 Apr

[William Schabas is a Professor of international law at Middlesex University London and Professor of international criminal law and human rights at Leiden University. Have a look at Justice in Conflict for a symposium post from Douglas Guilfoyle.] Article 42(3) of the Rome Statute specifies that the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court shall ‘be highly competent in and have extensive...

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11 Apr

[Tom Dannenbaum is an Assistant Professor of International Law at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Make sure to also have a look at Geoff Dancy's post over at Justice in Conflict: Evaluating the ICC's Chief Prosecutor.] Almost two decades into its existence, the ICC is ensnared in a spiral of deteriorating credibility and legitimacy. Reversing that decline will be among the...

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10 Apr

[Stephen A. Lamony is an International Law specialist, ex-Head of Advocacy and Policy at CICC, and ex-Senior Foreign Policy Advisor at Amnesty International. Be sure to also check out the latest contribution at Justice in Conflict from Christian De Vos and Mariana Pena: Electing the Next ICC Prosecutor: A Generational Opportunity.] Prosecutors in international criminal tribunals investigate, charge and prosecute individuals who are...

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09 Apr

[Elizabeth Evenson is an associate International Justice director at Human Rights Watch.] Widespread international crimes and the failure of governments to prosecute them make the International Criminal Court necessary. But translating the court’s mandate into action has been fraught with challenges. Significant setbacks in prosecution cases, gaps in communication between the court and affected communities, outstanding arrest warrants, and limited resources, among other factors, have constrained...

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08 Apr

[David M. Crane was the Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone from 2002 until 2005.] I have had the rare privilege of being one of four individuals to actually found an international tribunal, literally from the ground up, and manage it to success. The international war crimes for West Africa, called the Special Court for Sierra Leone, has been taunted as one...

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08 Apr

[Luis Moreno Ocampo is the Founding Chief Prosecutor of the ICC (2003-2012)]. In late 2020, the third International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor will be appointed. One thing is certain: she/he will face new challenges. Should the new Prosecutor open an investigation in Venezuela? Or against British personnel in Iraq? Burundi, Philippines or Georgia? What should be the focus of the Afghanistan and Palestine investigations? At the beginning of...

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08 Apr

[Kevin Jon Heller is Associate Professor of Public International Law at the University of Amsterdam and Professor of Law at the Australian National University; Mark Kersten is a Senior Consultant at the Wayamo Foundation and creator of the blog Justice in Conflict; Patryk I. Labuda is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; and Priya Pillai...

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04 Apr

[Fabricio Guariglia is Director of Prosecutions, Office of the Prosecutor, International Criminal Court. The opinions in this article are solely the author’s and should not be attributed to the Office of the Prosecutor or the International Criminal Court.] As we move further into the uncertain, our offices turned virtual, our children at home, our social habits transformed, our concerns for ourselves and others guiding our daily routines,...

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04 Apr

[Solon Solomon is a Lecturer in the Division of Public and International Law at Brunel University London School of Law.] There is no question that Israel has an obligation to alleviate the health crisis that COVID-19 may trigger in the Gaza Strip. After all, according to the jurisprudential line taken by the Israeli Supreme Court, the State cannot allow the emergence of a humanitarian crisis in post-disengagement Gaza....

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10 Mar

[Jennifer Trahan is a Professor at the NYU Center for Global Affairs.] On March 5, 2020, the International Criminal Court’s Appeals Chamber issued an extremely significant ruling authorizing the opening of the Afghanistan investigation.  The decision is important in that it confirms the Prosecutor’s discretion in evaluating whether or not to proceed “in the interests of justice” under Article 53(1)(c) of the Rome Statute, thereby allowing the Afghanistan...

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