Search: extraterritorial sanctions
21 May Guest Post: Foreign Official Immunity and the Chinese Cyberespionage Indictments
...cyberespionage by its military (based on the argument that such activity is not commercial in nature), then denying conduct-based immunity to Chinese officials for the same acts would reinforce the disjunction between foreign state immunity and foreign official immunity in U.S. courts. At a broader level, the announcement of indictments against named Chinese officials reinforces a trend towards focusing pressure on individuals associated with undesirable state policies, whether through immigration enforcement or targeted sanctions. The full implications of this trend for international law and international relations remain to be seen....21 Jul Guest Post: Jurisdictional Aspects of the Article 12(2) Rome Statute Vessel Provision: Some Thoughts on the Provision’s Dogma and Implementation in light of the Comoros Referral
...regarded as having a functional character. States try to protect social bonds of attachment against mere formal nationality imposed by the technicalities of law. This functional inquisition is evident in diverse fora. For example in the case of UN sanctions, such as those against Serbia and Iran, the relevant Security Council Resolutions considered the nationality of the vessel based on ownership or contract terms, regardless of the flag under which the ship may sail. (see UN SC Res 787 (1992) and UN SC Res 1929 (2010)). Essentially then, Article 91(1)...
24 Jul The Law of Gravity: A Newtonian Proposal for Public International Law
...of all three legal regimes: to prevent human beings from suffering harm caused by acts considered to be the worst of the worst across the globe. Whether it entails prosecuting a war criminal or economic sanctions aimed at a State, the goal is the same, nonetheless. In my view, the divergence across the various enforcement bodies should be a question of degree of punishment, rather than the need for varying definitions of gravity across the different arenas of public international law. Admittedly, the malleability of gravity can be useful when...
09 Sep The Case of the Istanbul Bar Association: Justice on Trial in Türkiye?
...turn, lawyers can act effectively to defend the rights of others. The important role of bar associations in defending the rule of law and human rights is also attested to in international standards. The UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, the foundational international text on the protection of the legal profession, affirm that lawyers must be able to carry out their professional duties without interference or intimidation (Principle 16); to participate in public debate on legal and human rights issues without facing sanctions (Principle 23); and to operate...
07 Mar The Elephant in the Room: Invoking and Exercising the Right of Collective Self-Defence in Support of Ukraine against Russian Aggression
...carefully choreographed mantra on three points: first, recognition of the pro-Russian separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk is unacceptable and involves a grave violation of international law; second, if Russia invades Ukraine it will have to face severe sanctions; and third, leaving aside the delivery of weapons and other support, NATO and western States will not participate militarily in a Russian-Ukrainian conflict. A number of legal and political issues arise with respect to these positions, and this contribution will zoom in on the last issue. Since the start of the...
04 Jun ICL and Environmental Protection Symposium: International Criminal Law as a Tool for Corporate Responsibility for Environmental Crimes (Part I)
...has caused long lasting environmental damages. Peoples’ tribunals have been very active in the field of corporate responsibility for environmental damage. Triggered and set up by the victims’ organizations, some of these tribunals have contributed to the legal debate on violations not yet recognized by international law or insufficiently explored by international courts. As a result, the Monsanto Tribunal analyzed the new legal concept of the crime of ecocide by the company Monsanto. According to the Monsanto “jury”, the increase in criminal sanctions in trials relating to environmental damage before...21 Jan Reflections on the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill
...a foreign relations matter, the proposed legislation also raises the significant practical issue of pragmatic transnational norm advocacy. What is the most effective response for those in the West who wish to defeat this bill? Is it threats of economic sanctions, démarches from European diplomats, or pastoral letters from one (famous) clergyman to another? Is the best recipe for success a mix of carrots and sticks, or a soft appeal to reason and conscience? I for one have little doubt that on an issue like this someone like Rick Warren...
15 Oct International Organizations Accountability Symposium: Reputation and Accountability
[Kristina Daugirdas is a Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School.] Absent a contractual relationship, individuals who have been harmed by the acts of international organizations rarely have access to institutions to hear their claims. National courts are often unavailable on account of organizations’ immunities. Some organizations have established alternative mechanisms to resolve such claims. The World Bank Inspection Panel is one example; the Ombudsperson for the ISIL and Al-Qaida UN Security Council Sanctions regime is another. Such accountability mechanisms must be deliberately designed, adopted, and implemented....15 Jul Hobbling the Monitors: Should U.N. Human Rights Monitors be Accountable? by Philip Alston
...food, health, etc.), represents the Council’s most effective system for independent human rights monitoring. In 2010, in the context of major discussions about the future of the Council, the same group of governments proposed the establishment of a Legal Committee to enforce compliance with the Code through sanctions. Other governments, the SRs themselves, and civil society groups have been highly critical of the way the Code has been used so far to stifle the work of the monitors and are strongly opposed to the creation of any compliance mechanism. In...