Search: crossing lines
23 Jun New Rules for Cyberwar?
...the U.S. can defend itself by blocking cyber intrusions and taking down servers in another country. And, as in cases of mortar or missile attacks, the U.S. has the right to pursue attackers across national boundaries — even if those are virtual network lines. Under the new Pentagon guidelines, it would be unacceptable to deliberately route a cyberattack through another country if that nation has not given permission — much like U.S. fighter jets need permission to fly through another nation’s airspace. Uri Friedman over at the Atlantic Wire distills...08 Apr O’Connell’s “Who’s Afraid of International Law?” and the Koh Nomination
...5, 6, 7), by conservative students at Yale, and also by prominent officials from across party lines. A few days ago, Ted Olson defended Koh from the right-wing criticism. A letter in support of the Koh nomination that has been recently delivered to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee includes signatories such as former Republican State Department Legal Advisers John Bellinger, William Taft, and Davis Robinson as well as former Democratic Legal Advisers David Andrews, Conrad Harper, Roberts Owen and Herbert Hansell. If I had to throw in my lot with...
02 Nov Third Annual Symposium on Pop Culture and International Law: Ground Control to Major Tom: The Role of International Law in the Rescue of Astronauts
...story of an astronaut named Major Tom’s journey into space and his loneliness because of the loss of communication between him and Earth. Thanks to Bowie’s soulful voice and the song’s haunting lyrics, listeners can feel the emotional loneliness of an astronaut travelling through the endless void of space. Furthermore, this song has become a cultural sign, reflecting the relationship between the marvellous imagination of humanity and the magnificent but frightening space, and the impact of the space race on society. If we moved from the world of music to...
30 May Options for a Peace Settlement in Ukraine: Option Paper V – Dispute Settlement Mechanisms and Peace Agreements
...arrangement would be particularly useful given the part-domestic and part-international nature of any likely agreement. It would offer the opportunity of dealing with disputes related to the domestic aspects of the agreement first in a domestic setting (utilising both political and judicial dispute settlement mechanisms) before referring any unresolved matters to an international body. Such an international body could, in parallel, deal with any disputes arising from the international aspects of the agreement. Alternatively, one could consider a hybrid body, for example along the lines of the Joint Supervisory Body...
22 Mar SCSL Symposium: The Important Contributions of the Special Court for Sierra Leone on Amnesties and Immunities–Reinforcing Foundational Principles of International Criminal Law, Part II
...of its creation and its pedigree, was an “international court” along the lines of similarly created (although not identical) institutions – the ICTY, the ICTR, and, of course, the ICC. For this reason, it found that it fit squarely within the Yerodia exception. Likewise, in its 2019 decision in the Al Bashir case, the ICC Appeals Chamber resolved the case similarly. Although Jordan had argued before the Appeals Chamber that the ICC was a ‘foreign’ court, and that it could not exercise jurisdiction over Al Bashir who was a sitting...13 Dec Transitional Justice and Judicial Activism Symposium: Closing
...They stall, dither, and, eventually, render flawed decisions that try to square the circle and appease everyone but end up appeasing no one. And when they take advantage of the little leeway they have and manage to dodge the case, they are open to criticism because of the lack of transparency about the considerations that have been weighted. His proposal that international tribunals would have discretion to refuse cases say along political question lines is very interesting. No doubt, where a tribunal is long established and has acquired considerable legitimacy...
11 Dec Symposium on Forensic and Counter-Forensic Approaches to International Law: Private Investigators, Public Accountability – Digital Forensics and the Politics of Evidence in International Crimes
...for selective curation of evidence, and, importantly, the vulnerability to weaponization and politicization of sensitive data. In this short post, I critically examine these risks and argue that the current lack of accountability structures beyond voluntary codes of conduct for private actors creates legal and ethical fault lines. As a potential solution, I propose a shift in international legal thinking: rather than relying on formal legal personality, responsibility should be based on an actor’s practical engagement in justice processes. The Politics of Evidence in International Conflicts Since these armed attacks...
24 Mar The Potential of Gender Persecution in ICC Case Abd-Al-Rahman: A Twofold Opportunity to Interpret its Customary Status and Intersectional Discrimination
...para 54). Intersectionality fulfils this role enhancing ICL interpretations as it involves the application of customary IHRL standards such as the prohibitions of gender-based violence and discrimination. Intersectionality is not a substantive standard to be implanted in ICL, but a tool to interpret complex discrimination processes underpinning violence through contextualization, capturing the dynamics and lines of force of discrimination (MacKinnon 1023-4). Intersectionality does not involve any concept foreign to ICL but is inherentto it. It addresses concepts such as the prohibition of discrimination and gender-based violence that (as above-mentioned) have...
09 Aug Doing Justice to History Symposium: Doing Justice Through History
...the MRTA armed groups as an armed conflict under international humanitarian law, and 2) it decided to study the history of the conflict in the context of Peru’s history of structural inequality. Thus, the TRC concluded that the Peruvian armed conflict had had a two-tiered explanation: the most immediate cause, it said, was the decision of the Shining Path (and only the Shining Path) to launch an assault on Peruvian democracy. At the more structural level, however, the Shining Path sought to “exploit old historical fault lines, that are transversal...19 Dec Bali High?
...of bold transformation that many think is needed, given the severity of the climate problem. Moreover, the difficulties in negotiating the Bali Roadmap do not bode well for the treaty negotiations that will now commence. Despite the Bali decision, many countries (the United States foremost among them) still appear unprepared for serious negotiations – certainly, not until after the US Presidential elections next year. To make real progress, what is needed, above all, is US domestic action, along the lines of the Lieberman-Warner bill that was reported out of committee...