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16 Mar Preliminary Reflections on Sinochem
...put it, quoting the Intec decision from the Seventh Circuit, “Jurisdiction is vital only if the court proposes to issue a judgment on the merits.” Certainly, this understanding harmonizes the Court’s rulings—both before and after Steel Co.—in a wide variety of contexts, e.g., declining to adjudicate state-law claims on discretionary grounds without first determining whether the court has pendent jurisdiction over those claims, Moor v. Alameda County, 411 U.S. 693 (1973); abstaining under Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37 (1971), without first determining whether the case presented an Article III...
04 Aug Is Genocide Happening in Gaza?
...(including the author) (see, e.g., here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here). The term has been used by authors of posts on this blog (e.g. here, here and here), and other blogs (e.g. here, here and here). The term has also been applied by human rights organisations (see also here), including Israeli human rights organisations, and UN experts. The question merits a straightforward legal analysis, applying the law (the definition of genocide as found in the Genocide Convention and the International Criminal Court’s Rome Statute) to the...09 Jun Guest Post: International Criminal Justice and Reconciliation: Beyond the Retributive vs. Restorative Divide (Part 2 of 2)
[ Carsten Stahn is Professor of International Criminal Law and Global Justice and Programme Director of the Grotius Centre for International Studies.This two-part post is based on a talk given at the seminar on Reconciliation v. Accountability: Balancing Interests of Peace and Justice, organized by the Centre for International Law Research and Policy on 29 May 2015 at the Peace Palace. Part 1 can be found here.] 2. International Criminal Justice and Reconciliation: Improving Connections It is easy to criticize international criminal justice for its shortcomings. A hard question is:...10 Nov Yawn…Russia’s 18 Year Quest for WTO membership is Almost Over
deal, and Russia will become the last of the “BRICs” to join the WTO (assuming the U.S. Congress will play ball, which I assume it will since Russian imports threaten no U.S. industries, and Russia has enjoyed low tariff status in the U.S. since 1992 anyway). What is the significance of this? Short term, it is not a very big deal. Russia is not currently one of the world’s most dominant economic players, but it obviously has a very important long-term role in the world economy. And Russia is agreeing...
11 Jul The New STCoA: The Good, the Bad, the Curious, and the Terrible
...term of life imprisonment when justified by the extreme gravity of the crime and the individual circumstances of the convicted person.” This provision, which is also borrowed from the Rome Statute, makes sense in the context of “ordinary” international crimes. But it seems ill-suited to the crime of aggression, which applies only to the most important political and military leaders and has traditionally been seen, following the IMT, as the “supreme international crime.” How will the STCoA judges determine which defendants deserve less than a life sentence even though they...27 Sep HILJ Symposium: Ozan Varol Responds
...phenomenon and the constitutional entrenchment thesis: (1) the 1960 military coup in Turkey, (2) the 1974 military coup in Portugal, and (3) the 2011 military coup in Egypt. Professor David Landau’s response to the article raises two important points. He notes that terms like “coup” and “revolution” are politically charged and that we might be better served by focusing on the various dimensions of democratic transitions, rather than on terminology. I sympathize with his concerns and agree that, in the long term, we should abandon value-laden terms such as “coup...
12 Feb The Need for Specific International Legal Protections of Journalists
...and that one of its members, Russia, is committing violence against journalists. However, the reality is that Russia would veto any punishment against nations that murder journalists due to Russia’s own actions. Attacks against journalists appear to only be getting worse. Though the UN’s ideas for further coordination and resources in order to protect journalists and bring attackers to justice is a good short-term solution to an urgent problem, establishing specified protection through international law by way of a convention or a similar measure would be a better long-term strategy....
26 Aug Symposium on Myanmar and International Indifference: Rethinking Accountability – Five Years on: Reflections on the Myanmar Military’s Murderous Campaign to Drive 750,000 Rohingya Into Bangladesh
...setting entire villages ablaze. Many lived in the same area as their victims; and today, many still live in areas Rohingyas want to return to. Getting justice for the Rohingya does not stop with addressing international crimes that will lead to only a limited number of indictments. It requires a much broader approach, including transitional justice measures that assist the Rakhine state’s diverse ethnic communities to come to terms with their terrible legacy of conflict and repression. This is important for the approximately 600,000 Rohingya who still lives in Rakhine...27 Jun An Important Maori Land Settlement — But Where’s the Treaty Itself?
...atu ki te Kuini o Ingarani ake tonu atu-te Kawanatanga katoa o o ratou wenua. I have bolded the operative terms. The problem is that kawanatanga does not mean “sovereignty”; it means “governance” — a much weaker term. Indeed, it is clear that the Maori did not intend to cede anything resembling sovereignty to the Queen, given that the Maori version of the Treaty does not use the Maori word for “sovereignty,” kingitanga, or even the Maori word for “independence,” rangatiritanga. Just as important, the British had to have known...17 Dec Overcoming distrust – the need for a global climate finance registry
...this issue. A consensus is emerging among developed countries on significant “Fast Track” funding for the next several years. Also, the recent AWG-LCA Chair’s draft, recognizes that private finance through carbon markets should be included in climate finance arrangements along with public funds. However, there is still no agreement on long-term financing, regulatory and other mechanisms, or governance structures. The impasse stems from two basic problems: first, the lack to date of credible and substantial developed country commitments on public funding; and second, the absence of institutions and governance structures...