Search: Symposium on the Functional Approach to the Law of Occupation
02 Aug Reflecting on Genocidal Intent in the ICJ Case
serve as proof of genocidal intent where it is also accompanied by the elimination of its military personnel, which—much like the destruction of law enforcement—leaves the group “defenceless.” This may seem like a particularly controversial view since the military personnel of a belligerent force is generally considered targetable during armed conflict, pursuant to the laws of war. It is important to recall, however, that the laws of war and the prohibition on genocide are not one and the same. It is, in fact, possible for military personnel to be lawfully...04 Jun Thoughts on Samantar
employment prong under the non-commercial tort exception? Some lower court case law suggests that state law, not federal law, informs the question. Other case law looks to the law of the sovereign itself. Consequently, we end up in a situation where different sources of law inform the same inquiry, an unfortunate result. 3. What’s the authority for the federal common law? Most of you are familiar with the very good Seventh Circuit cases arising out of the Enahoro litigation that discuss this question. After Erie and maybe Sosa too, one...
26 Sep How the Global Counterterrorism Forum Can Become More Human Rights Compliant (Part II)
[Zsófia Baumann is a Junior Researcher at the T.M.C. Asser Instituut in The Hague, where she works on topics related to foreign terrorist fighters, counterterrorism and human rights and carries out research on the rehabilitation and reintegration of terrorist offenders.] Part I of this post outlined the main criticisms directed at the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) from the human rights community. It assessed the challenges the Forum faces in terms of its procedures of document creation, the alleged lack of human rights compliant approaches and accountability in its Framework Documents,...
17 Jul Symposium on PMSCs: Ukraine’s New Bill on PMSCs – A Possible Pandora’s Box for Operations Abroad?
[Darío Bürky Arellano holds an MA in International Law from the Geneva Graduate Institute] On 6 May 2025, a new bill was presented to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine: the “Draft Law on International Activities of Private Law Legal Entities in the Military and Security Spheres” (“Draft Law on PMSCs”). The proposal was referred to the parliament’s Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence, and seeks to regulate the activities of private military and security companies (PMSCs), as well as to establish specific state requirements for providing these services both...
09 May A Special Justice Mechanism for the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine – For Who, By Who, Against Who?
...international law to (absolute) personal immunity from foreign jurisdiction. There are moreover doubts whether functional immunity, which covers the acts of any State officials, is inapplicable to the crime of aggression (See Draft Article 7 on Immunities of State Officials from Foreign Jurisdiction and its Annex, provisionally adopted by the International Law Commission). Accordingly, the creation of a hybrid tribunal – in the form of a Special Chamber within Ukraine’s judicial system – would be unable to exercise jurisdiction over these individuals, unless Russia consents to such proceedings. Akande has...24 Oct Remedying UN Abuses by Forcing the Host State’s Hand: Current Case Calls for the Haitian Government to Trigger a Standing Claims Commission
[Frédéric Mégret is an Associate Professor of Law at McGill University Faculty of Law.] On the 26th September, a group of diligent Haitian lawyers headed by human rights defender Patrice Florvilus requested an emergency injunction (“en référé”) before the Tribunal de Première Instance de Port-au-Prince against the State of Haiti, that would compel it to trigger the creation of the standing claims commission, as anticipated by the Status of Forces Agreement in effect with the United Nations since the creation of MINUSTAH in 2004. The goal of triggering such a...
16 Sep Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace Bends the Law to Dub Paramilitaries as State Officials: The Time For Critique is Now
...However, the Chamber failed to explain why in its decision. In a couple of footnotes (para. 148), the Chamber merely held that international humanitarian law (“IHL”) permits the incorporation of auxiliary forces into the military and that international tribunals have developed different tests “to determine whether certain private groups – some of a paramilitary nature – act under the state’s command and are, therefore, its organs.” The Chamber’s approach reveals a flawed understanding of the law. Firstly, article 4 of the III Geneva Convention may allow for the incorporation of...