Search: Symposium on the Functional Approach to the Law of Occupation
23 Mar Pacifist Hostages Rescued in Iraq
...in the power of the love of God and of their Iraqi and international co-workers. We believe that the illegal occupation of Iraq by Multinational Forces is the root cause of the insecurity which led to this kidnapping and so much pain and suffering in Iraq. The occupation must end.” So according to the CPT, the United States is responsible for the CPT workers’ captivity, but apparently not their freedom. UPDATE: I was not alone in my criticism of CPT’s ingratitude. As noted in the comments, on March 24 the...26 May The Aussies Take Over East Timor (Again)
its own military forces. Although Australia is at pains to emphasize its limited role in East Timor, Australia is clearly going to be calling the shots in the near future. And this foreign occupation is almost certainly to the benefit to the East Timorese. Still, one very much hopes no serious violence breaks out. Australia does not acting under the authority of the U.N. or of any regional arrangement, so the legality of their semi-occupation of East Timor will depend on the whims of the very fragile East Timor government....13 Sep The Legality of a U.S. Space Force
[Adam Irish is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at California State University, Chico.] President Donald Trump’s pronouncements that the United States needs to develop a “Space Force” were initially met with derision by national security establishment. In a letter to lawmakers, Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, wrote that he did not “wish to add a separate service that would likely present a narrower and even parochial approach to space operations.” However, three Space Policy Directives, one speech by the Vice President, and one report by the Department of Defense...
10 Aug Jerusalem before the International Courts: Utopias 2020
Land implied in its seemingly technical language. Lurking in the Israeli brief, however, is a rather different utopian vision, one undoubtedly not intended by its authors. When one seeks in the brief for the source of the “all powers” which Israel “holds,” one finds a footnote to the 1995 Oslo II Accord which traces Israeli authority to its “military government.” Under international law, this “military government” possesses authority by virtue of the law of belligerent occupation, governed by an array of treaty and customary law rules. A belligerent occupier “holds...25 Jan Is the UN Becoming More Like the Pentagon?
...Republican-controlled Congress appears disinclined to look to closely at how US taxpayers money has been spent in a war effort it heartily supported. In order for criticism of UN practices to be taken seriously, the US needs to set the best example for the international community. The UN needs better oversight; so, apparently, does the US government. It all puts me in mind of a memorable, cynical quote from the movie Syriana (which, though a flawed film, has an interesting take on Washington lawyers) about the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act:...
13 Feb Options for a Peace Settlement for Ukraine: Option Paper XVIII – Energy
are received and then allocated. Alternative options, such as local taxation, would not appear to be appropriate (Bruch et al, 962). Finally, there is the question of the allocation of revenue from the sale of the resources. In some peace settlements, revenue is split according to a given formula: Aceh, for example, receives 70% of oil and gas revenues (Article 181 of Law No 11/2016 of Indonesia), while Bangsamoro receives an even split (Article XII(34) of the Law No 11054/2018 of the Philippines). It is not possible to speculate on...
10 Feb False Equivalences in the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict – International Humanitarian and Criminal Law Perspectives
...other (non-occupied) cities in Azerbaijan. Second, from the perspective of international criminal law (ICL), the 1992 Khojaly massacre (recognised by some states as a genocide) of Azerbaijanis is frequently compared to the Sumgait pogroms which killed 26 Armenians, despite the latter atrocity having been fully addressed under domestic law in the absence of state complicity. In the light of further territorial claims made by the Armenian government on Georgia and Turkey, filling in these gaps is key. IHL distinctions in occupied and non-occupied territories The applicability of IHL rules necessarily...
10 Nov Security Challenges in the Black Sea: Military Exercise or a Navy Blockade? Analysis of the Russian Navy Activities in Bulgaria’s Exclusive Economic Zone in the Black Sea
Russian military vessels strategically hinders Russia’s ability to reinforce its military. Any loss of Russian naval battleship due to Article 19 would be irreplaceable in their campaign against Ukraine. 2. The Occupation of Snake Island At the beginning of the invasion, the Russian warships attacked Snake Island, held by Ukrainian forces. The attack was successful, leading to 13 Ukrainian casualties and occupation of the island. In April 2022 the Ukrainian forces began a counteroffensive from Odessa and launched two R-360 Neptun anti-ship missiles, which successfully destroyed the Russian battleship “Moskva”....
17 Oct A Visible College, 2.0: Israel, Hamas, and the International Legal Community
Debate and disagreement are also vital parts of international lawyering; one’s success as a lawyer often depends on their ability to construct a legal argument to justify the acts or omissions of their clients. Yet the international legal community’s responses to the events of the past week give rise to some important questions about our discipline. I pose three of these below. I. Is There any Law Beyond Politics? The past week has highlighted, first and foremost, the law’s susceptibility to politicisation. World leaders have unsurprisingly thrown international legal terminology...
05 Sep Iran’s Threat of Retaliation
[Sava Janković is an Assistant Professor of International Law and Visiting Scholar at Durham Law School.] [Volker Roeben is a Full Professor of International Law and Dean of Durham Law School.] [Francis Grimal is a Reader in Public International Law at the University of Buckingham and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal on the Use of Force and International Law.] Introduction Towards the end of August 2024, Iran vowed retaliation after the prominent Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in Tehran following his attendance at the inauguration of Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian,...