Search: Symposium on the Functional Approach to the Law of Occupation
02 Sep Back to the Drawing Board of the Partition Plan: Vice-President Sebutinde’s Erroneous Account of Palestinian and Israeli Claims of Title to the Territory of Mandatory Palestine (Part One)
[André de Hoogh is Associate Professor in International Law, University of Groningen; his research covers a wide range of topics in public international law. He is a member of the Advisory Committee on Public International Law , a statutory body which provides advice to the Dutch government and parliament; this contribution has been written in his personal capacity, and does not reflect in any way the views of the Advisory Committee.] In its advisory opinion on the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), the International Court of Justice (the Court) held that...17 Oct China’s Rising Geolegal Sphere
power. Evidence from the South China Sea, however, suggests an important exception to this claim, with China increasingly demonstrating effective exercise of regional power without the authority of international law. The observation that international law facilitates effective power turns on a globally recognised order in which legal rules inform states’ rational calculations about what actions will likely be challenged as threats to that order. In Hathaway and Shapiro’s words: “Real power—power useful for achieving important political objectives—does not exist in the absence of law. Law creates real power. States can...
24 Jun The Pathology of Arab State Silence on Palestine: How Rapprochement with Israel Reveals Complicity in the Conflict and Could Cause Further Unrest in the Region
...open reversal of prior commitments to Palestinian statehood and ending Israeli occupation reflects the abandonment of an earlier era of firm Arab opposition to Zionist expansionism. More shockingly, Arab leaders over those perilous 11 days showcased a callous lack of empathy. In the face of a level of violence and destruction unseen by Palestinians since ‘Operation Protective Edge’ in 2014, deemed illegal under international law and subject to an open investigation by the International Criminal Court, several Arab states displayed a form of state psychopathy in their willingness to ignore,...06 May Michael Kearney on the Palestinian Declaration
Statute despite half its sovereign territory (the TRNC) being under full (effective) control of a foreign occupation. In conclusion, while Davenport cites the necessity of the ICC having to balance between values of sovereignty and internationalism, his arguments suggests no attempt at considering the facts of the matter at hand. The OTP and the Court must balance between such values it is true, but to do so they must root their approach in international law, and not simply exclude Palestinians from the rule of law on a political basis, nor...30 Jan The Hamas Party Platform
willtotruth That's the most comprehensive summary I've read so far of the charter via articles, blogs etc. Despite some ridiculous (and anti-Semitic) beliefs within, I couldn't but read it as a manifesto for the active defence against occupation.This sentence stood out for me: "Before expressing optimism about what might be, let's look at what is."It seems to me that the charter more accurately reflects what might be not what is. You've got things backwards. What is, for example, is the history of settlements, occupation, resource theft and so on. What...07 Nov Saddam’s Appeal Begins
...do this under the Geneva Conventions, which allow prisoners of war and even civilians to be executed by the occupying power under certain conditions. Rather, he was responding to concerns by his partners in the occupation, the United Kingdom. As a State party to the European Convention on Human Rights, and its two protocols concerning abolition of the death penalty, Britain cannot participate in executions of persons “within its jurisdiction.” Recent case law of the European Court of Human Rights indicates that occupied territories are protected by the European Convention...
02 Sep ‘State of Exception’: Judicial Discretion and the Amicus Curiae Mechanism in the ICC’s Palestine Proceedings
(OPT), all states are under an obligation not to recognise Israel’s unlawful presence in the OPT and must not render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s continued presence in the OPT. As for the Oslo Accords, the ICJ held ‘the Oslo Accords cannot be understood to detract from Israel’s obligations under the pertinent rules of international law applicable in the Occupied Palestinian Territory’. Notwithstanding the ICJ’s ruling, it is far from clear whether the amicus curiae observations were permissible in the context of challenges to the...
08 Aug Symposium on Unbroken Bond: Tracing the Ties Between African and Palestinian Anti-Colonial Struggles – Peoples’ Rights Without Borders? The Significance of the African Charter’s Liberation Ethos to the Palestinian Struggles
Israel’s capital. The AUC Chairperson notes such a move may decrease tension in the region and foster a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Sadly, however, some African countries promised to move their embassies in Israel to Jerusalem. Conclusion At this stage, my conclusion should be clear: the African Union and its Member States must be more demanding towards Israel than they have been thus far. As the ICJ ruled, Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories is unlawful under international law and so are its human rights-unfriendly policies in occupied territories....
08 Aug Symposium on Unbroken Bond: Tracing the Ties Between African and Palestinian Anti-Colonial Struggles – Wale ni sisi: Na sisi ni wale: (Re)viewing the Palestinian Struggle from an African Anti-colonial and Anti-imperialist Lens
Wale ni sisi: Na sisi ni wale: This Swahili phrase means “They are us: and we are them.” It has been borrowed from Katama Mkangi, ‘Walenisi’ (1995). [Dr. David Ngira is an African who lives in Kenya. The views are his own and do not represent those of any organization or entity.] Introduction The Global North’s imperialism has significantly shaped the development of international law, including international human rights law. While the substantive content of international law seems to resonate with realities in the Global South and is, indeed, somewhat...
28 Jul The Oslo Accords and the International Criminal Court’s Jurisdiction in the Situation in the State of Palestine
paras. 13-16) Furthermore, “considering the complexity and novelty of the Prosecutor’s Request” the court invited other States, organizations and/or persons to submit amicus curiae (friends of the court) observations. (Ibid., para. 17) The author assisted Dr. Robert Heinsch and Dr. Giulia Pinzauti in submitting their amici curiae observations to the ICC on the said case. The Heinsch-Pinzauti amicus curia brief was the only academic brief to focus on the relevance of the law of occupation in determining Palestine’s statehood under relevant rules of international law, and remarkably it was the...