Search: Symposium on the Functional Approach to the Law of Occupation
03 Oct People Make the World: A Conversation with Georges Abi-Saab
...and, as he wrote, “may the personal cost be damned.” This idea resonated deeply with the previous generation of critical Third World international legal scholars, including Mohamed Bedajoui, Taslim Olawale Elias, and, the subject of this essay and podcast, Georges Abi-Saab. Intellectual insurgency—or guerrilla legality as Abi-Saab termed it—is evident throughout his intellectual trajectory, particularly his role in introducing a Third World perspective to the discourse on international law. Indeed, Abi-Saab’s scholarship and praxis reveal the same courage and commitment that Said praised. In a podcast Omar Kamel and I...22 Oct Louis Henkin (1917-2010): The Power of His Ideas Live On
law. He asserted that war “has no significance in international law…. War stands in the way of international law…. [T]he Constitution accepts the word “war” and uses it colloquially[.]” But, squaring the Constitution with the U.N. Charter, Lou acknowledged that while “the word ‘war’ is in the U.S. Constitution, and therefore it binds us… the most important [provision] in the U.N. Charter is Article 2, Section 4 [, which] says, ‘Nations shall not use force.’” As far as Lou was concerned, the U.N. Charter’s exception for self-defense under Article 51...10 May And Now For Something Completely Different: the Arab/ South American Summit
...Order (or “NIEO”) from the 1970’s. Whether such attempts at political coordination actually amounted to significant changes in world politics or international law is another matter. According to some reports, the U.S. is a quite concerned about this summit. The BBC reports that Washington asked to send an envoy with observer status but was rejected. Note to Arab and South American states: When Washington is actually willing to take part in an international conference, you should not shut the door. This just reinforces the view that this conference is about...04 May On the Legality of the Russian Vetoes in the UN Security Council and the Harsh Reality of International Law: A Rejoinder to Professor Jennifer Trahan
Complicity in International Law) Turning now to the question of the legality of Russia’s vetoes, let me put it succinctly: Russia’s veto on April 10, and its previous eleven vetoes on draft resolutions relating to Syria, were lawful. In fact, each of the 203 vetoes (for the full list: see here) cast by the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council since the veto was first exercised by the Soviet Union on February 16, 1946, were lawful. To explain my position I’m going to identify and engage with the...
09 May Jurisdiction in Palestine: What the ICC Prosecutor Did Not Say in Her Response …
[Jonathan Turner is a barrister in London and Chief Executive of UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) ] Practising advocates know that what is not included in reply submissions is usually more interesting than what is there. One of the omissions in the ICC Prosecutor’s recent Response on the issue of the Court’s territorial jurisdiction in respect of Palestine is that it does not address the argument made by the amicus, UKLFI, based on the rights of the Jewish people derived from the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine. Indeed, while...23 Mar More Thoughts on the CPT
I couldn’t agree more with Roger about the CPT response. I’m particularly appalled by the verb the CPT uses to describe what happened to the hostages — “released.” Not “rescued.” Not “freed.” “Released” — as if, like Roger says, the Brigades of the Swords of Righteousness simply had a change of heart and let them go. I understand being opposed to the war. (I am.) I understand blaming the kidnappings on the U.S./U.K. occupation. (A strong case can be made.) But to not acknowledge the bravery of the U.S. and...06 Apr Spoils of War and The Golden Tablet of Ishta Temple
...returned some, but not all, of the objects in 1957…. The estate claims that under the applicable laws of the Soviet Union … cultural property taken by Russian troops during the occupation of Berlin after World War II was lawfully transferred from one sovereign to another and that this taking of the gold tablet by Russian troops extinguished the rights of the museum pursuant to international law. Thus, a party subsequently acquiring the tablet could obtain good title and transfer good title to others. The museum maintains, however, that the...
09 Aug Muddying the Waters: A Reply to Kay and Kern on the Statehood of Palestine and the ICC – Part II
role of recognition in the law and practice of session” in Marcelo G. Kohen (ed.), Secession: International Law Perspectives (Cambridge University Press, 2006), p. 136. Israel is not Palestine’s parent state. However, an argument could be made that Palestine’s title to the territories occupied since 4 June 1967 compensates for the lack of effective governmental power over all its territories (such as Area C) given that the lack of such control is the result of unlawful conduct by Israel. For five decades, the Government of Israel has persistently refused to...02 Mar Fighting for Freedoms: Supreme Court In 21st Century (Part 2)
...the communication shutdown in Kashmir. Instead, it directed the fresh publication of all orders, with the Review Committee reviewing all these orders. The reliance on Lord Diplock’s aphorism ‘you must not use a steam-hammer to crack a nut if a nutcracker would do,’ was, at least for the people of Kashmir, meaningless. A judicial review involves more than a mere declaration of the law. It requires the application of the law to the facts at hand. And the facts, quite simply, are that for more than 150 days, and even...