In association with the International Commission of Jurists

General

06 Jun

This is big.  Huge, even. From the Wall Street Journal: U.S. officials appear poised to make history by approving the first private space mission to go beyond Earth’s orbit, according to people familiar with the details. The government’s endorsement would eliminate the largest regulatory hurdle to plans by Moon Express, a relatively obscure space startup, to land a roughly 20-pound package of...

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06 Jun

Here’s your weekly selection of international law and international relations headlines from around the world: Africa Chad's ex-ruler Hissene Habre has been convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in prison at a landmark trial in Senegal. Ivory Coast’s former first lady Simone Gbagbo goes on trial on Tuesday for crimes against humanity, but rights groups acting as plaintiffs...

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03 Jun

States and nations are not the same thing.  A nation is a "people," itself a difficult concept to define under international law. A state is a recognized political entity that meets certain criteria. International lawyers will tell you that the characteristics of statehood include a defined territory, a government, a permanent population, and the ability to enter into foreign relations. State...

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30 May

Here’s your weekly selection of international law and international relations headlines from around the world: Africa Five United Nations peacekeepers were killed and one other seriously injured in an ambush in central Mali on Sunday, the United Nations said. Dozens of children are still missing after a cross-border raid on villages in the Gambela region of western Ethiopia by South Sudanese tribesmen. Middle East...

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13 May

Picking up on Jens’ post about the Administration’s apparent lack of plans for holding detainees picked up in Iraq/Syria, I too found the Times report troubling. In part I suspect it was because I was immediately reminded of one of the findings of the many Pentagon investigative reports issued after the revelations of torture at Abu Ghraib and other...

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12 May

Today's New York Times tells us that the Obama Administration currently has no active plan for holding Islamic State (ISIS) detainees captured on the battlefields of Iraq or Syria. The article makes clear that the lack of a plan isn't because the Obama Administration hasn't been thinking about the issue. In reality, the lack of a plan stems from the...

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12 May

[Ekaterina Kopylova is a PhD candidate at MGIMO-University, Moscow, and a former Legal Assistant with the ICC Office of the Prosecutor on the Bemba, et. al case] A month ago the ICC Trial Chamber V(A) vacated without prejudice the charges of crimes against humanity against the sitting Kenyan Vice-President William Ruto. This case involved intense cross-parties allegations of witness tampering. Some...

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09 May

Here’s your weekly selection of international law and international relations headlines from around the world: Africa Three Red Cross staff members kidnapped three days ago in eastern Congo in an attack blamed by a rights group on Rwandan rebels, have been released, the Geneva-based organization said on Friday. Dozens of nuns, convened in Gisagara District in Rwanda for the 22nd commemoration...

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08 May

Sponsored Announcements Admissions to the Venice Academy of Human Rights – Backlash against Human Rights? (4 – 13 July 2016), organised by the European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation (EIUC) are open until 22 May 2016. The Venice Academy of Human Rights is a centre of excellence for human rights education, research and debate. The  Venice Academy provides an enriching forum...

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04 May

Does anyone have an idea of what would be a fair hourly rate for someone to cite-check -- both for substance and for accuracy of citation -- a leading international law treatise published by a leading university press? Rates in pounds, dollars, or euros would be most appreciated!...

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02 May

[Patrick Wall is studying for an LL.M. in International Law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, as the Sir Ninian Stephen Menzies Scholar in International Law.] Last week, the British home secretary, Theresa May, called for the United Kingdom to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights. Describing ‘the case for Britain remaining in organisations such as...

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