In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Topics

23 Nov

I've written before about Judge Sow's attempt to make a statement in open court criticizing Charles Taylor's conviction.  Now Judge Sow has given a lengthy interview to the New African magazine concerning the trial, his attempt to make the statement, and his punishment afterward.  As Bill Schabas points out today, "[n]othing comparable has ever appeared in the history of international criminal justice."  Judge...

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22 Nov

The cease fire in Gaza appears to hold, in what is seen as a test for the new Egyptian government's ability to influence Hamas. More than 20 people have been killed in a suicide attack on a Shiite procession in Rawalpindi, in northern Pakistan. The Taliban has claimed responsibility. After successfully capturing Goma, the rebels in Eastern Congo are vowing to march...

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21 Nov

Under India’s presidency, the UN Security Council debated the global phenomenon of maritime piracy on November 19.  The outcome was a presidential statement, not a resolution.  Although not binding, it highlights future trends in the Security Council's approach to piracy.   Unlike prior Security Council actions that have been region specific, Monday’s debate reflects the global dimensions of the issue...

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21 Nov

US Secretary of State Clinton has arrived in Israel to assist in the negotiation of a truce with Hamas. The UK has recognized the Syrian opposition coalition, but the US has adopted a wait-and-see approach. Polish authorities have arrested two men allegedly planning to bomb Parliament. Shortly before the fourth anniversary of the Mumbai attacks, India has executed the only militant surviving the...

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20 Nov

UK human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson has a confused, muddled, and revealing editorial in Bloomberg about how international law might help resolve the Iran nuclear crisis. While he describes the relevant law accurately, he fails to show how international law is doing much of anything to resolve the crisis.  Here is the relevant law, as he sees it: Israel has...

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20 Nov

Just a further quick note on the ICJ opinion yesterday (press release here)  on the long-running Colombia/Nicaragua dispute over sovereignty and control over certain Caribbean islands.  The ruling seems a mixed bag since it recognizes Colombia's sovereignty and rejects other Nicaragua submissions.  But Nicaragua is declaring victory. At first glance, I get nervous when courts (any courts, whether domestic or international) start...

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20 Nov

This analysis from Professor Matthew Happold offers very good reasons to doubt that Argentina can validly invoke the jurisdiction of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea in its dispute with Ghana. Putting aside Argentina's argument that it did not (or could not) waive its warship's immunity, Professor Happold points out that it is far from clear that...

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20 Nov

The ICJ has ruled against Nicaragua in the territorial and maritime dispute it had filed against Colombia, and rejected claims that Colombia violated international law. International pressure to reach a ceasefire after six days of conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza strip is building and there are signs that Israel is open to a diplomatic solution in which Egypt...

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19 Nov

Just in time for the holidays, the American Bar Association and Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism are releasing a volume of essays geared toward folks who work on or write about or teach national security and foreign policy, but need a primer on the relevant law. National Security Law in the News: A Guide for Journalists, Scholars, and Policymakers...

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19 Nov

President Obama's visit to Burma/Mynamar has centered the status of the country's Muslim minority Rohingya community which has been denied Burmese citizenship notwithstanding their historical presence in the country. (The issue gets a lot more coverage in the Muslim world than in the West.) Obama's speech today welcomed recent steps by the Burmese government "to address the issues of injustice and...

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