In association with the International Commission of Jurists

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15 Mar

A couple of weeks ago, I noted that the Pre-Trial Chamber had ordered Libya to return the documents it wrongfully seized from Melinda Taylor during her privileged meeting with Saif Gaddafi. I also predicted that Libya would try to avoid complying with the order by filing various motions challenging the Pre-Trial Chamber’s decision. Guess what? Libya has filed two motions in response,...

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15 Mar

French President Hollande has joined the UK's David Cameron in calling on the EU to lift the arms embargo on Syria, to enable them to arm the rebels. Israel's military intelligence chief has warned against arming the rebels and has claimed that Iran is sponsoring a Hezbollah-run "people's army" of 50,000 to fight in Syria on the side of the government forces. The UK's Justice...

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14 Mar

This according to a bizarre -- and bizarrely inaccurate -- article in the Jerusalem Post. How many errors can you find? An Israeli law firm on Thursday formally announced its request to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensada, to open a criminal investigation into violations by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and nine members of Hamas for war...

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14 Mar

In testimony to Congress, US groups have complained about protectionist policies in India. The US has asked Ukraine not to renegotiate its WTO commitments, worrying that it might inspire other WTO members to do the same. President Obama has appointed Deborah Jones as the next US ambassador to Libya. India's Supreme Court has issued a notice to Italy's ambassador barring him from leaving India without its permission,...

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13 Mar

The US Air Force has stopped releasing statistical data on drone strikes in Afghanistan and has erased previoiusly published statistics from its website. The UK warned Argentina that it would always be ready to defend its citizens on the Falkland Islands after they voted nearly unanimously to remain British. Iran plans to "sue Hollywood" about the Oscar-winning film Argo, which Iran claims...

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13 Mar

Ken noted last week that Lawfare has been hosting an ongoing debate over Ryan Goodman's fascinating new article "The Power to Kill or Capture Enemy Combatants," which is forthcoming in the European Journal of International Law. I contributed a long post criticizing Goodman's claim that Art. 35(2) of the First Additional Protocol -- which provides that "[i]t is prohibited to employ...

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13 Mar

Like many young, lefty international lawyers, one of my intellectual heroes is Philippe Sands. He is a remarkable scholar and an equally gifted advocate, and he puts both to good use no matter how unpopular the position or client -- as his representation of the Libyan government in its challenge to the admissibility of the case against Saif Gaddafi demonstrates. Above...

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12 Mar

OJ's own Duncan Hollis has been awarded the American Society of International Law's "Certificate of Merit for High Technical Craftsmanship and Utility to Practicing Lawyers and Scholars" for his edited volume The Oxford Guide to Treaties. (Other honorees this year are Jeremy Waldron and Petros C. Mavroidis.) From the citation: The Oxford Guide to Treaties brings clarity to a topic of central...

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12 Mar

The ICC has dropped the charges against Francis Muthaura, Uhuru Kenyatta's co-accused, because of issues with procuring evidence and witness testimony. Twelve more bodies have been fished out of the river near Aleppo in Syria, bringing the total body count to well over 80, many with bullet wounds to the head. An African Union-brokered deal has re-opened the oil trade between Sudan and South...

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11 Mar

Lex Specialis was a topic of much discussion during the ILC debates on the Responsibility of International Organizations.  The central issue was this:  how broad is the provision, and does it give IOs carte blanche to derogate from or contract around the residual rules of responsibility?   I've just posted an article on SSRN here that gives my take.  Here is the...

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11 Mar

North Korea reacted with another threat of a nuclear attack after the US and South Korea performed joint military exercises. Residents of the Falklands Islands started voting on Sunday on a sovereignty referendum that has already been rejected by Argentina. Reuters has a piece on the Khmer Rouge trials at the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia alleging justice delayed may be...

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10 Mar

I'm grateful to Ken, Wells Bennett, and Marcy Wheeler for speculating that my April 2010 blog post on 18 USC 1119, the foreign-murder statute, is the post referred to in today's New York Times article on the behind-the-scenes machinations that culminated in the CIA using a drone to kill Anwar al-Awlaki. I imagine they are correct; the post fits the timeline...

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