In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Search: Symposium on the Functional Approach to the Law of Occupation

26 Oct

[Marina Lostal is a Lecturer in International Law at The Hague University of Applied Sciences.] On 27 September 2016, the International Criminal Court (ICC or the Court) entered a conviction and sentence that marked several firsts in the history of the Court. It found the Accused – Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi, guilty of the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes, historic monuments (in violation of Article 8(2)(e)(iv)of the Rome Statute). He was sentenced to 9 years of imprisonment....
26.10.16 | |

09 Oct

...response that the award was not a response or indication of any present, definitive achievements in international law thus far. Indisputably, the inauguration of President Obama inaugurated a new era in America's interaction with nations abroad and a new generalized perspective with respect to formulating both domestic and foreign policy. We are more candid in how we approach and negotiate with nations today-a breath of fresh air. Under his leadership the U.S. has abandoned the prior zero-sum game approach often representative in President Bush's rhetoric in favor of a more...
09.10.09 | |

13 Apr

and Israel must end all attacks on Palestinians. If Israel agrees to the cease-fire, Hamas will take responsibility for preventing and punishing Palestinian violations, whether committed by Islamic Jihad, the al-Aqsa Intifada, or its own people. Hamas understands that it cannot demand recognition as the legitimate government of Palestine if it is not prepared to enforce such a cease-fire, in the context of its responsibility for law and order. Hamas's first priority will be to revitalize Palestinian society by strengthening the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, the...
13.04.06 | |

26 Nov

...would be that the Palestinians could rely on the rights and duties under international law that every other state shares. If you neuter that then there’s not much point is there. The practice since at least the establishment of the UN has been that recognition of new states is dressed up in the rhetoric that bona fide engagement with, commitment to, and respect for international law is one of the basic conditions for recognition. Premising recognition of statehood on a condition that you absent your new state from rights or...
26.11.12 | |

30 Mar

the land/island in the Spratlys is currently in dispute and one cannot rule on the seas until the land aspect is clarified. ITLOS is just a subset of international law and the judges in ITLOS should seek guidance or at least postpone judgement until she hear from any case China file in ICJ. I hope China file one there to expose Philippines illegal occupation of the Kalayaan islands starting from Tomas Cloma since 1947 right after US grant Philippines independence on 4th July 1946 till pretext res nullis occupation on...
30.03.14 | |

14 Jan

It's equally a fact that Israel has been occupying a large part of Palestine since 1948 -- the part that is called "Israel". The question of Geneva applying to the occupation isn't a matter of facts, but of law: "The Convention shall also apply to all cases of partial or total occupation of the territory of a High Contracting Party, even if the said occupation meets with no armed resistance." Palestine per se isn't a high contracting party, though Britain, Jordan and Egypt are. Geneva was signed in 1949, after...
14.01.09 | |

29 Jul

...only insofar as Congress’ military commissions legislation of the time was read to be consistent with the common law and international law of war that applied. That’s why, for example, Justice Stevens’ opinion in Hamdan was at pains to emphasize that the absence of “conspiracy” as a charging offense under the law of war was a jurisdictional problem for the last commissions. As Justice Stevens pointed out, the justification at common law for military commissions was one of necessity. Military commissions were permissible as jurisdictional gap-fillers, where no other court...
29.07.09 | |

17 May

hearings to denounce the use of foreign and international law in interpreting the U.S. Constitution. I’d expect Elena Kagan to get similar questions when her nomination comes before the Senate this summer. But, in Abbott the Court ignores this controversy, and thereby suggests its limited only to the use of foreign law in interpreting the Constitution. Indeed, every member of the Court in this case–in both the majority and the dissent–end up citing and relying on foreign law as a significant part of their analysis of whether the ne exeat...
17.05.10 | |

26 May

this case is influenced or controlled by international law.” Similarly, in Center for Reproductive Law v. Bush, 304 F 3d. 183 (2d Cir. 2002), in rejecting a lawsuit challenging the ban on funding for overseas abortions under constitutional and customary international law, Judge Sotomayor disposed of the customary international law argument in a single footnote: “As plaintiffs’ claims based on customary international law are substantively indistinguishable from their First Amendment claims, they are dismissed on the same ground. We express no view as to whether those claims are otherwise viable.”...
26.05.09 | |

18 Nov

also speaks volumes to the neocons’ stance toward international law. Then there is Senator-elect Tom Cotton. As Heilbrunn notes,”Perhaps no one has been more impassioned in their support of the foreign policy of George W Bush than Tom Cotton.” Cotton, 37 years old, is the neocon wet dream. After Harvard College (where he wrote for the Crimson, citing intellectual idols Allan Bloom and Leo Strauss) and Harvard Law School, Cotton signed up for the military insisting that he be sent into combat in Iraq. While, as the legend goes, the...
18.11.14 | |

27 Feb

...mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;} .MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; margin-bottom:10.0pt; line-height:115%;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Territoriality and Origin of Goods. All: Importing states generally apply two territorial approaches when determining a product’s origin: the practical-trade approach, and the political-sovereignty approach. The practical-trade approach evaluates the question of origin from a purely...
27.02.10 | |

27 Mar

...Bush approach", or identified as the specific locus of much of the legal criticism received by the Administration. Indeed, under this account, the curative role played by this criticism is accepted so readily that it is almost as if the Bush Administration never had a differing original approach before the roll-backs took place. Well done Julian, for this impressive sleight of hand! After all, it makes so much sense to view the roll played by the courts, OLC and Justice lawyers, public opinion, and cooler minds in the Administration -...
27.03.10 | |