In association with the International Commission of Jurists

On Calling Things What They Are: Family Separation and Enforced Disappearance of Children

24 Jun

Recently, there’s been many a discussion in the Global North on the semiotics of law. What does it mean to say there was a genocide in Canada or that ICE runs concentration camps. In general, these debates follow a similar pattern: specific groups of people are outraged that scholars and experts would use the correct terminology to describe a policy they support, because it sounds...

|
23 Jun

Featured Announcement SOAS Executive Course in Public International Law The School of Law at SOAS, University of London, is pleased to announce that its Executive Course in Public International Law, 9-13 September 2019, is now open for applications. Taught by some of the leading international lawyers in the UK, the short course is for professionals, but open to anyone interested in international law....

|
20 Jun

[Nicolás Zambrana-Tévar works for KIMEP University in Kazakhstan.] The “1-O” trial Several Catalan separatist leaders are being tried before the Spanish Supreme Court on charges of embezzlement, rebellion and contempt of court in relation to a failed referendum for independence in Catalonia, on October 1, 2017. In the course of four months, the Spanish Supreme Court has listened to 422 witnesses and has watched almost 200 videos...

|
13 Jun

As I have discussed before, in March 2018 the Presidency curiously dissolved the Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC III) that had been dealing with the Afghanistan situation for six months and assigned that situation to a new PTC. Judge Mindua remained part of the new PTC (PTC II), while Judges Chung and Pangalangan were replaced by two newly-elected judges, Akane and Aitala....

|
10 Jun

[Rawan Arraf is an Australian lawyer and founder and director of the Australian Centre for International Justice. This post represents the personal view of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Centre for International Justice. ACIJ is not associated with the litigation mentioned in this post but volunteered to provide research assistance to the plaintiff’s...

|
08 Jun

Call for Papers The Senior Legal Advisor to the UN Special Rapporteur on Counter-terrorism and Human Rights is pleased to announce a call for inputs published by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Ms. Fionnuala Ní Aoláin. The Special Rapporteur is studying the impact of the proliferation of “soft law” instruments and related standard-setting initiatives and processes in...

|
08 Jun

As expected, the OTP has asked the Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) to grant leave to appeal its refusal to authorise the Afghanistan investigation. I'm in Kiev and don't have as much time to write as I'd like, so I just want to offer a few quick thoughts on the OTP's motion, which seeks appeal on three interrelated issues. First, I think it's...

|
07 Jun

[Benjamin K. Nussberger is the Head Coach of the Philip C Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition at the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford and a research fellow at the Institute for International Peace and Security Law in Cologne. You can find him on Twitter @bknussberger] In times of growing tension between Iran, and the US and Saudi-Arabia, it is as...

|
02 Jun

Call for Papers The Silk Road Institute for International and Comparative Law, Xi’an Jiaotong Unviersity, is pleased to announce a call for papers for the international conference on “Multilateral Reform of Investor-State Dispute Resolution: A Dialogue between Different Approaches”, taking place on 15-16 September 2019 in Xi’an, P. R. China. This conference aims to bring together leading scholars and practitioners in...

|
28 May

You have heard the news and know what might happen. Your President may pardon a war criminal. You, certainly, disapprove. You believe in international justice and you are convinced war criminals need to be punished for their crimes. You want to do something about it, but you have read the blog posts and newspapers. Judging by recent experience, the ICC will likely not help. Yours...

|
24 May

A few days ago, the New York Times broke an explosive story on Colombia. The journal claimed Major General Nicacio Martínez, the head of the Colombian Army, had issued new and worrisome targeting orders for his troops. Soldiers were requested “not to demand perfection” and to “do anything to boost their results”. According to the article, the order asks commanders to “launch operations with 60...

|
24 May

I had the pleasure on Wednesday of attending Keith Raynor's talk "International Criminal Justice: Where Does It Go from Here?" at Lincoln's Inn in London. I had never been to an Inn of Court before, and it was great fun. I still can't get over not being allowed to go the bathroom during dinner, and -- as someone who...

|