Search: Symposium on the Functional Approach to the Law of Occupation
08 Sep Protection of Civilians Symposium: Some Thoughts on the Use of Force by UN Peacekeeping Operations to Protect Civilians
[Marten Zwanenburg is legal counsel at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. The views expressed herein are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.This post is a part of the Protection of Civilians Symposium.] In this post, I will focus on Mona’s chapter in “Protection of Civilians”, in which she addresses the issue of the use of force by UN peacekeeping operations for the protection of civilians. Mona’s main point is that the mandate to use force...31 Aug Syria Insta-Symposium
We have invited several academic luminaries to post here at Opinio Juris over the next few days about the ongoing situation in Syria. We also are going to follow in our own footsteps from our Kiobel symposium, by inviting young academics and practitioners to submit guests posts for possible publication. We can’t guarantee we will publish every post submitted, but we would love to broaden the discussion to include new and emerging voices. So if you want to write a guest post for Opinio Juris about Syria of approximately 500...07 Sep Protection of Civilians Symposium: Some Thoughts on Legal Obligations for UN Peacekeeping Operations to Protect Civilians
of peacekeeping operations. In this post, I will focus on Siobhan’s chapter in the book. I will return to Mona’s chapter in a separate post. Siobhan’s main proposition, with which I fully agree, is that relevant to peacekeeping operations are legal obligations to protect that are largely derived from international human rights law (IHRL), International Humanitarian law (IHL), and the law of international responsibility. I also agree with her that these obligations are relatively weak, but have important operational implications for UN missions. Siobhan’s contribution is especially important because it...
22 Mar Symposium on Early Career International Law Academia: Reflections from a Supervisory Role – Interview with Sundhya Pahuja
[Srinivas Burra is in conversation with Sundhya Pahuja, ARC Kathleen Fitzpatrick Laureate Professor and Director of the Institute for International Law and the Humanities (IILAH) of Melbourne Law School, the University of Melbourne.] Srinivas Burra: Professor Pahuja, thank you very much for accepting to share your thoughts in this symposium. As you have a long experience of supervising doctoral students, we would like to gain an insight into some of the challenges involved in pursuing doctoral studies. Your thoughts from your personal experience of supervision as well as from the...
30 Nov UNSC Veto Power Symposium: Are there Jus Cogens Limits to UN Security Council Vetoes in Atrocity Crime Contexts?
Even, counter intuitively, in the context of jus cogens crimes. For its part, the International Law Commission (ILC) has affirmed the jus cogens status of genocide and “the basic principles of international humanitarian law” (IHL), these being in the words of the ICJ Nuclear Weapons Advisory Opinion (1996) “intransgressible” customary law principles applicable in armed conflict. (Para. 79). Concerning war crimes, there is a question of scope and whether these are limited only to the “grave breaches” of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Professor Trahan wisely took a cautious approach. She...
19 Mar SCSL Symposium: Dealing with Gender-Based Crimes in International Criminal Law
[Tamara Cummings-John works for the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (UN Women) and previously worked for the Offices of the Prosecutor of the ICTR and the SCSL. The views and opinions expressed here- in are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations. This essay was initially prepared at the request of FIU Law Review for its micro-symposium on The Legal Legacy of the Special Court for Sierra Leone by Charles C. Jalloh (Cambridge, 2020). An edited and footnoted version is forthcoming in Volume 15.1 of...07 Sep Protection of Civilians Symposium: Will an Improved Legal Framework Affect the Situation on the Ground?
legal framework for the protection of civilians in armed conflict can be found in international humanitarian law and international human rights law. I agree with the legal analysis outlined by Prof. Wills. Much of what she outlined was qualified, as many of the legal issues are not so clear-cut. Although it is evident that peacekeeping operations must comply with international human rights obligations, the scope and extent of the obligations is ambiguous. Nevertheless, human rights law has potentially more relevance for the protection of civilians. I am not convinced that...
16 Apr ICC Prosecutor Symposium: The ASP Should Choose a Prosecutor from the P-3
This has been an exceptional symposium, so it’s difficult to know what to add. As many of the contributors have noted, the next Prosecutor, whoever she is, has to be a jack-of-all-trades: a skilled lawyer, so she can oversee effective investigations and prosecutions; a talented administrator, so she can herd the hundreds of cats that populate her office; and a gifted politician, so she can navigate the treacherous waters of state cooperation, the sine qua non of a successful ICC. Instead of simply reiterating those points, I thought I would...06 Sep Protection of Civilians Symposium: Why are UN Peacekeepers Failing to Protect Civilians?
[Mona Khalil is a Legal Advisor with Independent Diplomat (ID) and formerly a Senior Legal Officer in the UN Office of the Legal Counsel; the views expressed herein are her own and do not necessarily represent the views of either ID or the UN. This post is a part of the Protection of Civilians Symposium.] The protection of civilians (POC) mandate in UN peacekeeping was borne out of the failed UN mandates and genocidal massacres in Srebrenica and Rwanda. Since the first POC mandate was entrusted to UNAMSIL in 1999,...24 Apr Kiobel Insta-Symposium: A More Positive Outlook for International Law
its citizens, and corporations to respect human rights and the rule of law, and to promote international agreements with other nations. It’s time to rebuild the legitimacy of international law, and to reclaim international law and its institutions as the primary methods for global governance. Unilateral domestic regulation, even when purporting to apply a “universal norm” undermines those efforts. These ideas are explored in more detail in a piece written for the Maryland Journal of International Law for the University of Maryland Law School’s Annual International and Comparative Law Symposium....