Search: self-defense
12 Aug Kate Gibson on Erlinder’s Arrest in Rwanda
the Rwandan prosecutors regarding the link between the alleged genocide denial and Erlinder’s pleadings as a defense counsel in the Military I case. For example, according to one statement, “during the Military I Trial at the ICTR, Carl Peter Erlinder denied and downplayed genocide. He managed to prove that genocide had not been planned nor executed by the military officials he was representing.” The Court itself concluded that Erlinder should “answer for his acts at the ICTR.” To be clear, although it is unconscionable to persecute a defense attorney for...24 Apr In Reluctant Defense of the Law of Occupation
[Sari Bashi is Executive Director at Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement.] This is the second post of our Symposium on the Functional Approach to the Law of Occupation. Earlier posts can be found in the Related Links at the end of this post. I am grateful to Opinio Juris for hosting this symposium in its best tradition of fostering robust debate on cutting-edge issues in international law and to Aeyal Gross for providing the theoretical framework for understanding Israel’s obligations in Gaza. As the director...19 Jan Flipping Youngstown: The DOJ Unveils its Legal Defense of NSA Spying
As the NYT reports, the U.S. Justice Department has released a memo defending the legality of the controversial NSA spying program. The NYT (of course) barely describes the memo and then devotes half of the article to quotes by legal experts who say it is unpersuasive. Dean Robert Reinstein speaks of a scholarly consensus that the NSA program is illegal. Unbelievably, Marty Lederman of Balkinization has not weighed in yet (I spoke too soon, Marty is on the case here and Orin Kerr is on the case here),...31 May VJIL Symposium: Introducing “Investment Treaties and Investor Corruption”
quite limited. There was little in the Siemens award itself to suggest that Argentina had much, if any, chance of convincing the committee to annul the award. Bilateral investment treaties (BITs) are famously asymmetric. They grant investors rights but not obligations, while imposing upon states obligations unaccompanied by rights. Recent cases suggest, however, that BIT tribunals are poised to recognize a defense to state BIT liability that, in effect, imposes upon investors the obligation to avoid involvement in public corruption in the course of making a treaty-protected investment. In this...
23 Jul In Defense of Process: Why States Should Not Nominate New Candidates for ICC Prosecutor
...reference check (para 33). The report also explained that experience, by itself, was not the most important criterion; rather, it was competency. How, the Committee asked, did the candidates “demonstrate certain behaviours/skills” not merely by virtue of their resume, but “within the strategic context in which the ICC is situated” (para 37)? As Ambassador Sabine Nolke, the committee’s chair, later put it, “The fact that you’ve done something in the past doesn’t mean you’re the right person to do it again.” At the same time, the report is also refreshingly...
27 Apr MH-17 Trial: U.S. Satellite Imagery and Foreign Confidential Intelligence in a Public Trial
...unclassified secret sources that he was shown during an intelligence briefing with several U.S. officials. In its reaction on the 26th of June to the Defense request to hear Stolworthy from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence concerning the written statement, the PPS mentions that not all underlying sources could be seen anyways by the National Public Prosecutor for Counterterrorism, Intelligence and Security Services. For this reason, the PPS emphasizes that as a result of this deficiency in the evidence. “[the] court will have to take this into...08 Apr A Defense of Foreign Policy Schizophrenia
Chris makes some very good points about the Bush Administration’s foreign policy “schizophrenia” and listing the nomination of Bolton as symptomatic of the problem. Not surprisingly, I disagree. I think this “schizoprenia” is actually a good thing. I do agree that there is some back-and-forth in the Bush Administration’s foreign policy recently, but I actually think this reflects an increasing sophistication rather than increasing confusion. Indeed, the main complaint up to now with the current administration has been that it has been way too consistent in the pursuit...19 Apr In Defense of Humanitarian Intervention
[Jennifer Trahan is Associate Clinical Professor, at The Center for Global Affairs, NYU-SPS, and Chair of the American Branch of the International Law Association’s International Criminal Court Committee. The views expressed are those of the author.] Postings on Opinio Juris seem fairly squarely against the legality of the U.S. missile strike last week into Syria. Let me join Jens David Ohlin (blogging on Opinio Juris) and Harold Koh (blogging on Just Security) in making the contrary case. When NATO intervened in Kosovo in 1999, member states did not...08 May Jus Post Bellum Symposium: In Defense of a Central Role for Sovereignty in the Jus Post Bellum Conversation
...or the rule of law. In this sense, it is important not to confuse the empirical reality of how the concept evolved and is used on the discourse, and the concept itself. Which leads me to the second idea : sovereignty, in one form or another is a sociological necessity. What I mean by this is that sovereignty, in its simplest definition of a delegation of power (legislative, executive, judicial, police, administrative, etc.) to centralized authorities is an inevitable phenomenon in any human community that reaches a critical mass. This...
25 Mar Smoke and Mirrors: The Art of Misdirection in Claiming Diplomatic Immunity
enjoys diplomatic immunity and that both his arrest in Cabo Verde and the request of extradition by the US are unlawful as they violate the conventional and customary rules governing diplomatic immunities. The logic behind the defense is that, since 2018, Saab has acted on behalf of Venezuela as Special Envoy to Iran and, -since December of last year- as Alternate Permanent Representative-designate to the African Union and therefore enjoys the ensuing immunity. This contention merits scrutiny since the immunity claimed by Saab’s defense exhibits deficiencies that preclude it from...