Search: Complementarity SAIF GADDAFI

Eugene Kontorovich Kevin, I'm in agreement almost across the board. Any thoughts on what puzzled me - why no discussion of complementarity, which could be more straight forward than gravity? Kevin Jon Heller Eugene, Fair question. I agree that analysing complementarity would have been another (and also better) way to go. But I think the gravity point is so obvious that it was the more logical choice. Complementarity would have involved passing judgment (even if favorable) on Israel's willingness to investigate and prosecute, which is always sticky. Concluding the Comoros...

Beyond that, the legal landscape is less clear. Most interesting to me is your choice of authority to support your perfect complementarity position. You start by saying: "International jurisprudence accepts the logic and necessity of applying IHRL in war. The explicit terms of both IHRL and IHL instruments are in accord." You then cite ICJ advisory opinions and other special tribunals rather than actual sources of international law for the proposition of perfect IHL/IHRL complementarity. It is espcially inappropriate, I think, to refer to ECtHR decisions, a body that primarily...

...Kevin responded to comments disagreeing with his claim that politically-motivated acts are traditionally excluded from the definition of piracy, and added his final word (for now). Kevin also described another problem with qualifying the Sea Shepherd’s actions as piracy: that some states -not including the US- do not consider the area where the events are taking place as part of the high seas, but rather as under Australia’s sovereignty. Kevin also revisited Libya’s admissibility challenge in the Saif Gaddafi case. Considering Libya’s decision to let the trial in Zintan go...

The inestimable Mark Kersten devotes his new column at Justice Hub (ignore the scary portrait) to an unusual issue: whether international criminals should be able to pursue higher education once they are released from prison. The column focuses on Thomas Lubanga, who recently stated his desire to complete a PhD at Kisengani University after he is released. Here is Mark’s takeaway, reached after he discusses the (very different) examples of Saif Gaddafi and Sam Kolo: Still, these stories raise important questions: should convicted and alleged war criminals be allowed –...

...It is true that in the Gaddafi and Al-Senussi case, Libyan authorities vigorously opposed the idea of surrendering the suspects to the ICC, arguing that the country had the will and ability to prosecute them. However, this time, things may be different. There is a clear difference of standing and political value between Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi or Abdullah Al-Senussi and Abd al-Rahman al-Milad. Further, surrendering al-Milad would be not necessarily reflect upon the effectiveness of the Libyan judicial system. Rather such a course of action could be taken by Libyan...

In my previous post, I noted that Libya’s admissibility challenge should fail regarding Saif Gaddafi because the government cannot demonstrate that it is able to obtain him from the Zintan militia that is holding him. It’s now clear that the Libyan government has even less chance of obtaining al-Senussi: Mauritania’s president has said former Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi must be tried there before being extradited. President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz said Mr Senussi, who fled after last year’s uprising, must first face charges of illegal entry into Mauritania. Libya...

...the request of President Assad. Although several states criticized this decision, none deemed it unlawful (160). Libya offers a similar example, where the Gaddafi government’s repressive and violent response to Arab Spring protests led the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions and refer the matter to the International Criminal Court. Like with Syria, numerous states concluded that the Gaddafi government was no longer legitimate and had lost the consent of the Libyan people. And like the SOC in Syria, several governments recognized the National Transitional Council as the true representative...

This post is a continuation of the analysis of proceedings at the Philippine Supreme Court, relating to the withdrawal of the Philippines from the International Criminal Court. C. R.A. 9851: A Double Bind? The sufficiency of the “The Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity” or R.A. 9851 in addressing mass atrocity crimes was referenced in the Philippine note verbalenotifying the U.N. Secretary General of withdrawal from the Rome Statute. The relevance of R.A. 9851 touches upon not only complementarity, but also the...

the principle of complementarity. Section 1 criticizes the Court’s jurisprudence concerning Article 17’s ‘same person’ requirement, arguing that the test the judges use to determine whether a state is investigating a particular suspect is both inconsistent with the ICC Statute and far too restrictive in practice. Section 2 explains why the ‘same conduct’ requirement is antithetical to the goals underlying complementarity and should be rejected as a matter of law. The article thus defends what we might call ‘radical complementarity’: the idea that as long as a state is making...

Let me thank Mark Drumbl once again for taking the time to provide his thoughtful response to my Article. As Mark and I agree on many points, I will focus on what appears to be the clearest point of difference between us: our respective answers to the practical question of how the ICC should instantiate its complementarity principle. Absent contrary guidance from the Security Council, I support ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo’s targeted insistence on conventional prosecutions for Kony and the remaining suspects for whom the ICC has issued warrants. Mark,...

the book questions why states ratify the Rome Statute yet seek to undermine it when the Court exercises jurisdiction. Through the theme of complementarity, the book focusses on the inconsistent practice of the ICC in regard to complementarity. Lastly, the book discusses the Court’s entanglement in domestic politics and how those with political power have instrumentalised law and institutions. Through these four themes that cut across most situations before the Court, the book aims to offer perspectives into the interplay between state interests and norms of international criminal justice. States...

...and have not been, or are not being, dealt with in another court (‘admissibility – complementarity’). The last phase of this preliminary examination asks if there are any ‘interests of justice’ reasons not to open an investigation.  The process is contemplated in the Rome Statute (articles 15(6) and 53), but fleshed out in the OTP’s PE Policy 2013 and, in relation to allegations of sexual violence or other gender-based crimes, Part IV of the SGBC Policy. The core of the SGBC Policy is the requirement for OTP staff to apply...