In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Technology

24 Nov

Announcements Top international lawyers to draft definition of 'Ecocide': International lawyer Philippe Sands QC and international judge Justice Florence Mumba are to co-chair an expert drafting panel on the legal definition of “ecocide” as a potential international crime that could sit alongside War Crimes, Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity.  Launching with preparatory work this month, and set to draft the definition...

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08 Nov

Call for Papers University of Michigan Law School Virtual Junior Scholars Conference: The University of Michigan Law School invites junior scholars to attend the 7th Annual Junior Scholars Conference, which will take place virtually on 16-17 April 2021. The conference provides junior scholars with a platform to present and discuss their work with peers, and to receive detailed feedback from senior members of the...

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06 Nov

[Vanessa Sant'Anna Bonifacio Tavares is a PhD candidate in Interdisciplinary International Studies (IIS) at the Vienna School of International Studies. The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect any official position.] In about 90 days, the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) shall enter into force, proscribing nuclear weapons use, threat of use, testing, development, production, possession,...

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29 Oct

[David L. Sloss is the John A. & Elizabeth H. Sutro Professor of Law at Santa Clara University. He is currently writing a book about information warfare and social media, to be published by Stanford University Press.] Disinformation on social media poses a threat to liberal democracies around the world. Recent decisions by Twitter and Facebook to limit distribution of a New York Post article...

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28 Oct

[Dapo Akande, Antonio Coco, Talita de Souza Dias, Duncan B. Hollis, Harold Hongju Koh, James C. O’Brien and Tsvetelina van Benthem.] Election insecurity constitutes a dangerous global threat. Thirteen prominent intelligence experts stated, in a brief filed in U.S. federal court, that: “Over the last several years, evidence has emerged that Moscow has launched an aggressive series of active measure campaigns to interfere...

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28 Oct

[Adriano Iaria is a Humanitarian Advocacy Officer for the Italian Red Cross and a faculty member of the Master’s course in Intelligence and Security for Link Campus University in Rome, Italy. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author's employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.] Last May, in the midst of the ongoing...

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19 Oct

Events On 21 October 2020, the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute is co-hosting a virtual side event with the UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights to mark the launch the following day of her pathbreaking new report to the General Assembly on CLIMATE CHANGE AND CULTURAL EXTINCTION: A Human Rights Crisis. The negative impacts of climate change on the enjoyment...

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16 Oct

[Tamsin Phillipa Paige is a Lecturer at Deakin Law School. Douglas Guilfoyle is an Associate Professor at UNSW Canberra and Rob McLaughlin is a Professor at the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources & Security, University of Wollongong.] In Part One of this blog series we considered the ways in which international law addresses severing submarine data cables outside armed conflict,...

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05 Oct

[Lena Trabucco is a Research Assistant at the Centre for Military Studies at the University of Copenhagen. She is also a PhD candidate at Northwestern University and the University of Copenhagen.] On September 16, 2020, the US Defense Department (DoD) announced the launch of the AI Partnership for Defense – a multi-national partnership which will “engage military and defense organizations from more than...

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20 Sep

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has been in discussions with Facebook regarding the human rights impact of Facebook’s operations around the world, with a particular emphasis on situations such as Myanmar, where there are credible reports of international crimes. This Q&A is a result of the ongoing deliberations and is focused on Myanmar and Facebook’s approach to the multiple legal issues that have...

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01 Sep

[Florence Shako is a Lecturer at Riara Law School, LLM (LSE), LLB (UoN), Advocate, MCIArb, CS, CPA.] Formal education was introduced in Kenya by Western missionaries, as an instrument for advancing the civilising mission. However, in the years of colonial rule, no facility for legal education was established. This is curious given that the period witnessed significant expansion of public as well as private institutions, and...

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29 Aug

[Andrea Farrés is a young international lawyer specialized in IHL, international security and human rights issues.]  With the fog of war getting thicker and thicker, commanders and politicians are naturally inclined to search for tools to get guidance on how they can better comply with the international humanitarian law (IHL) targeting principles, specifically the principle of distinction. To distinguish a civilian from a combatant, or a person who is taking...

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