Search: Syria Insta-Symposium
10 Sep What Does Putting Syria’s Chemical Weapons Under “International Control” Mean? (And Some Thoughts on Russia’s Use of International Legal Rhetoric)
destroying all existing chemical weapons under international verification by the OPCW; 2. monitoring chemical industry to prevent new weapons from re-emerging; 3. providing assistance and protection to States Parties against chemical threats; and 4. fostering international cooperation to strengthen implementation of the Convention and promote the peaceful use of chemistry. See their annual reports here. Although Syria is not a signatory to the CWC, given the OPCW’s expertise, it is a fair assumption that they would be involved in some capacity in any international control of Syria’s chemical weapons. The...13 Sep Does the Washington Post Editorial Page Have ANY Standards Left?
is required to bring some wars to an end. And yet there’s been little evidence of that sentiment in American opposition to missile strikes against military targets in Syria. Obama has specifically disclaimed any intention to end the Syrian civil war through military action. But whatever. Even after 1,400 Syrian civilians, including 400 children, were killed in a nerve gas attack that was in all likelihood carried out by government forces, the prospect of American military intervention has been met with a combination of short-sighted isolationism and reflex pacifism —...
05 Dec Russia’s Attack on Kafr Nabl Surgical Hospital and the Role of Open Source Information in Building a Case for Legal Accountability
Surgical Hospital in Idlib, Syria, on 5 May 2019. Two brothers died as a result of the attack, and the lives of approximately 30 people working in and using the hospital were endangered. Attacks of this type were, and are, a common feature of the conflict in Syria, to the extent that the UN Security Council issued a resolution calling for the protection of medical facilities. These attacks are widely documented online, and Syrian documenters have filmed and shared extensive footage of attacks on hospitals and their aftermath. On 1...16 Nov Why It’s Not Surprising Syria Is Destroying Its Chemical Weapons
revulsion. So what’s his motivation? For reasons of his own, he must have decided that he was better off without chemical weapons than with them. Perhaps it has to do with the internal political situation in Syria. Or maybe Russia got fed up for some reason. But it’s a bit of a mystery, and not one that I’ve seen any plausible explanations for. I don’t think it’s a mystery at all. Here is the explanation: Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad have firmly seized the momentum in the country’s...
29 Sep On the Anvil: The Netherlands v. Syrian Arab Republic at the International Court of Justice?
to the International Criminal Court; and yet another relates to the critical role of fact-finding and evidence gathering, being undertaken by the International Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria and other actors. However, important as these are, I focus on the route that has been chosen by the Netherlands in this instance – that of the CAT and its potential application to the International Court of Justice. In its press statement, referencing a diplomatic note sent to the Syrian government, the Netherlands states: “The Netherlands has invoked Syria’s responsibility for...
27 Jul Holding Transnational Corporations Accountable for International Crimes in Syria: Update on the Developments in the Lafarge Case (Part II)
...for the financing of a terrorist enterprise in Syria. In this part II, the authors analyze the decision of the French Court rescinding the charge of complicity in crimes against humanity and shed light on the broader significance of the Lafarge case in the field of criminal corporate accountability. Interpreting complicity: The cornerstone of criminal corporate accountability for grave crimes ECCHR and Sherpa filed extensive briefings in conjunction with the legal complaint outlining, first, the international consensus affirming that the atrocities perpetrated by IS at the time amounted to crimes...
10 Jul Conclusion to the Symposium on Art, Aesthetics and International Justice: The New Geometries of International Justice
[Marina Aksenova is an Associate Professor of International and Comparative Criminal Law at IE University] In this concluding post, I would like to offer a few observations on the themes raised by the participants of the symposium. Above all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the contributors for taking time to reflect on my book and offer their brilliant and innovative insights as well as to Kevin Heller and Opinio Juris team for generously hosting the symposium. The points I raise are not exhaustive but rather tentative...20 Aug Online Symposium: Eric Posner and Adrian Vermeule’s “Terror in the Balance”
Opinio Juris is very pleased to host for the next few days an online symposium on Eric Posner and Adrian Vermeule’s new book, Terror in the Balance recently published by Oxford University Press. The format for this symposium will be familiar to those who followed the symposium we held three weeks ago on Michael Ramsey’s book, The Constitution’s Text in Foreign Affairs. We will begin with a few posts introducing the broad outlines of the book. We will then have comments from experts who will address various aspects of the...
24 Jul Introducing a Symposium on Ljubljana – The Hague Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance: Critical Reflections
...the treaty. This joint Asia Justice Coalition – Opinio Juris symposium is to introduce you to some key aspects of the negotiations and to provide you with a flavour of the fortnight of intense discussions in Ljubljana, that have resulted in the ‘Ljubljana – The Hague Convention’. A list of contributions is listed below, with links: Priya Pillai, Introducing a Symposium on Ljubljana – The Hague Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance: Critical Reflections Vaios Koutroulis, A New Tool in the Fight Against Impunity for Core International Crimes Raquel Saavedra and...
05 Feb International Economic Law Symposium: Response by the Author
...the participants when the idea for this symposium materialized. Adding to this dept, commentators provided excellent reviews over the last week. In the following I seek to address some of their arguments being aware that exchange will continue beyond the symposium. Why are Emerging Powers not more radical? I am very grateful for Cai Congyan‘s remark that in his opinion my perspective departs from that of many Western scholars and instead of focusing on the threat emerging powers – and particularly China – may pose for a value-based international order,...