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05 Feb The Ethnic Cleansing-Genocide Nexus
[Ben Gerstein (JD, BA) is a Visiting Fellow at the University of Sarajevo Institute for the Research of Crimes against Humanity and International Law] What is the difference between pursuing the violent ethnic homogenization of a territory and the physical destruction of the group living on that land? And further, when does ethnic cleansing reach the threshold of genocide? Examining the jurisprudence of both the ICTY and ICJ, and applying it to the ongoing campaigns of wanton violence in Gaza and Myanmar, this post aims to offer critical points of...07 Aug Why Hamdan’s Material Support Convictions Violate the Ex Post Facto Clause
...pirates and the like are not objects of IHL as Bart suggests. They violate the universal common law (see Blackstone, as well as Bart’s reference to malum in se), not the common law of war (see Lieber and Winthrop) which now must be thought of in terms of customary IHL (to account for the positive law movement). Across the western world, pirates and brigands have been long recognized as military combatants, who by their actions have placed themselves outside the laws of war - thus the term unlawful combatants. See...
24 Sep Too Little, Too Late? On the Meaning and Consequences of the Recognition of the State of Palestine
...Palestine (UNSCOP) unanimously determined that “the peoples of Palestine are sufficiently advanced to govern themselves independently”, and that political “independence shall be granted in Palestine at the earliest practicable date”. Nevertheless, on 29 November 1947 the then western dominated General Assembly, driven with a desire to resolve its own self-described “Jewish question” in the aftermath of the Holocaust, voted to partition Palestine into an Arab State and a Jewish State. This was done in the most iniquitous terms and in flagrant violation of the self-determination right of the majority Palestinian...15 Mar Does the U.S. Really Need The Law of the Sea Treaty to Make Claims in the Arctic?
...Zone and deal with other regional and national claims to extended territorial and functional jurisdiction that stretch the intent of the LOS Convention as a non-party and outsider. This would require an increased commitment to the contentious Freedom of Navigation Program and would engender situations in which the US must choose between our long term interest in demonstrating our interpretation of our navigational freedoms and resource management authorities and our near-term interests of partnerships with allies on matters of terrorism, trade, and bi-lateral relationships. The need to protect long term...
21 Nov Suspension of the United States From the United Nations: Procedure, Limits and Feasibility
the right to self-determination. Importantly, the obligation to cooperate is upon other States and in line with the UN Charter and international law. In Legal Consequences of the Separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius, the ICJ concluded that the right to self-determination is an obligation erga omnes and directed “all member States to co-operate with the United Nations to end the breach in question.” The ILC commentary on Article 41 of the Articles on State Responsibility (concerning consequences of breach of a peremptory norm) recommends that this could be...
08 Apr Symposium on Dominic Ongwen Case: Perspectives from Ugandan Survivors and Activists on Reparations in the Dominic Ongwen Case
...range of primarily Ugandan experts including survivors (lived experience experts), grassroots activists and practitioners who have been working with survivor activists in Uganda. The central issues which will be addressed by the contributors fall under two broad headings, namely: Victim-Centred Reparations and the Challenge of Exclusion, and Localising Justice: Transitional Justice and Long-term Healing: Victim-Centred Reparations and the Challenge of Exclusion Central to any meaningful and sustainable reparations is the imperative to adopt victim-centred approaches that prioritize the voices, agency, and participation of survivors and affected communities. Meaningful engagement with...
16 Oct Confronting the Court with its Past: Winds of Change over the Old Specter of ‘Civilization’
[Dr Letizia Lo Giacco is Assistant Professor of Public International Law at the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies of Leiden University] The International Court of Justice (ICJ, ‘the Court’) has recently heard the preliminary objections in the case Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v Russian Federation: 32 States intervening). At this preliminary stage, the Court shall determine whether there existed a dispute between the parties under the terms of Article IX of the Genocide Convention at the...
16 Jul Your Guide to Ecocide: Part 1
...one that has the most attention and is likely the most viable. This is the “widespread, long-term and severe” (hereafter, “WLS”) threshold, from Additional Protocol I and the ILC draft Code of Crimes (1994). The Panel definition adopts the WLS formula, but makes “widespread” and “long-term” disjunctive alternatives. Jurists will surely debate disjunctive versus conjunctive approaches. It is a natural reflex of every progressive person to push for a disjunctive test, on the reasoning that it will be easier to prosecute and will catch more conduct. However, a principled approach...
29 Feb Charting a Pathway to Resolving Conflicts through Harmony and Mediation: Chinese Approach to International Conflict Management
[Naimeh Masumy is a research fellow at Maastricht University and a dispute resolution expert specialized in energy and investment disputes] The author would like to express gratitude for the valuable comments and feedback received from Wolf Von Kumberg, as well as the support given by Hiba al Abiad. Human beings are members of a whole In creation of one essence and soul If one member is afflicted with pain Other members uneasy will remain If you have no sympathy for human pain The name of human you cannot retain Saadi...