Implications of the 30th Ratification of the International Criminal Court’s Crime of Aggression Amendment by Palestine

[Jennifer Trahan is Associate Clinical Professor, at The Center for Global Affairs, NYU-SPS, and Chair of the American Branch of the International Law Association’s International Criminal Court Committee. The views expressed are those of the author.] A significant event happened quietly at the UN on June 27: Palestine deposited the thirtieth instrument of ratification of the International Criminal Court’s crime of...

As the news of the Brexit vote sinks in, commentators are considering the various longer-term effects. I want to highlight the how this may look to the EU’s neighbors to the east, especially countries such as Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia that have recently signed Association Agreements with the EU. Ukraine and Moldova, in particular, have electorates that are divided over...

[This post is brought to you by ICRC's Humanitarian Law and Policy Blog, Intercross and Opinio Juris.] The updated Commentaries are an interpretive compass emerging from more than 60 years of application and interpretation of the Geneva Conventions. Over the rest of 2016, several academic blogs are hosting a joint series that brings to light the significance of the updated Commentary on...

Event Adjudicating international trade and investment disputes: between interaction and isolation The PluriCourts Centre of Excellence at the University of Oslo will host a two-day conference on international trade and investment disputes. The conference will take place on Thursday and Friday, August 25-26 at the Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, Norway. The webpage with the final programme and registration information is...

Foreign Policy has a great report from Michael Shifter on the ongoing diplomatic battle within the members of the Organization of American States over how to respond to Venezuela's ongoing political and economic crisis.  According to Shifter, the OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro is pushing hard to get the OAS membership to invoke Article 20 of the OAS Democratic Charter...

I am delighted to announce that OUP has just published Mark Kersten's new book, Justice in Conflict: The Effects of the International Criminal Court's Interventions on Ending Wars and Building Peace. Here is the press's description: What happens when the international community simultaneously pursues peace and justice in response to ongoing conflicts? What are the effects of interventions by the International Criminal Court...

From our friends at ASIL comes word of the call for proposals for this year's ASIL Research Forum. The deadline for proposals is July 11.  Here's the text of the whole message: The American Society of International Law calls for submissions of scholarly paper proposals for the ASIL Research Forum to be held at ASIL Academic Partner University of Washington School...

On behalf of Doughty Street Chambers, I want to publicise two Memorials -- one in the Hague and one in London -- that will be held in the next few weeks for John Jones QC, beloved friend and colleague, who tragically passed away in late April. Here is the information: In order to celebrate the life and many personal and professional...

After about two months of public statements threatening to take the U.S. to the International Court of Justice over frozen Iranian assets, Iran finally instituted ICJ proceedings yesterday under the 1955 U.S.-Iran Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations, and Consular Rights.  Iran alleges in its complaint that the U.S. has violated the treaty's obligations by taking Iranian government assets and redistributing them to...

[Caroline Kaeb is Assistant Professor of Business Law and Human Rights at the University of Connecticut.  David Scheffer is the Mayer Brown/Robert A. Helman Professor of Law and Director of the Center for International Human Rights at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. They are co-chairs of the Working Group on Business and Human Rights of the U.N. Global Compact’s Principles...

Event Between Europe and the United States: The Israeli Supreme Court in Comparative Perspective is being held Monday, June 27, 2016 - 9:00am to 6:00pm at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. For more information, click here. Despite a shared commitment to constitutional norms and a shared intuition that constitutional norms reflect universal principles, the United States and Europe interpret constitutional norms...

Earlier today, President Obama took time out during his commencement address at the Air Force Academy to make a pointed plea for the value of treaty-making.  Here's the relevant excerpt from his remarks: By the way, one of the most effective ways to lead and work with others is through treaties that advance our interests.  Lately, there's been a mindset in...