In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Author: Kevin Jon Heller

02 Nov

No, not actual terrorism, "[c]riminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons, or particular persons for political purposes." That's still going strong. I'm talking about the concept of terrorism, which has officially lost all meaning whatsoever: British authorities claimed the domestic partner of reporter Glenn Greenwald was involved in "terrorism" when he tried to...

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01 Nov

The ICC's Public Affairs Unit has brought to my attention that the Sudan Tribune erroneously reported what Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji said to Ruto concerning his public statements about his case. The unofficial transcript makes clear that although the Judge warned Ruto not to make additional statements, he did not suggest that Ruto would be arrested if he did so: 7 It has...

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01 Nov

The most significant problem with the Order, of course, is the one I identified in my previous post: namely, that Rule 15bis applies only to "part heard" cases -- not cases that have been over for nearly two years. But it's worth noting that the Acting President has also disregarded a number of procedural requirements of Rule 15bis. Recall the...

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31 Oct

Dov Jacobs calls attention today to an ICTY press release announcing that the Acting President of the ICTY has assigned a new judge to the Seselj case, Mandiaye Niang, pursuant to Rule 15bis of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence. Here is the text of the rule, in relevant part (emphasis mine): (C) If a Judge is, for any reason, unable to...

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29 Oct

I refer, of course, to the British Navy's use of the music of Britney Spears to scare off Somali pirates: In an excellent case of "here's a sentence you won't read every day", Britney Spears has emerged as an unlikely figurehead in the fight against Somali pirates. According to reports, Britney's hits, including Oops! I Did It Again and Baby One More Time, are being employed by...

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28 Oct

The Sudan Tribune is reporting that the presiding judge in William Ruto's trial has threatened to have Ruto arrested if he continues to comment publicly on his case: October 2013 (THE HAGUE) – Kenya’s Vice President William Ruto was on Friday warned by the presiding judge in his trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) to desist from making statements about...

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26 Oct

I had the privilege last week of speaking in London at a superb Chatham House/Doughty St. Chambers symposium on the ICTY's recent high-profile acquittals in Perisic, Gotovina, and others. My co-panelists were John Jones, QC, Saif Gaddafi's ICC-appointed lawyer, and Elies van Sliedregt, the Dean of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Chatham House's Elizabeth Wilmshurst was the moderator. I don't believe the symposium...

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25 Oct

In a unanimous decision, the Appeals Chamber has reversed Trial Chamber V(a) and held that Ruto is required to continuously attend his trial, with exceptions to be granted only in exceptional circumstances. The decision is limited to Ruto, but it clearly applies to Kenyatta, as well, whom Trial Chamber V(b) has also excused from continuous presence. It's decisions like these that make...

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23 Oct

Just Security has been kind enough to post my reply to an excellent post by Ryan Goodman. Here is the introduction: In a recent post here at Just Security, Ryan Goodman offered a novel – and characteristically intelligent – defense of the US position that it is involved in a non-international armed conflict (NIAC) not only with al-Qaeda, but also with al-Qaeda’s “associated forces.”...

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13 Oct

One of the most distressing aspects of the admissibility decision in al-Senussi is PTC I's remarkable unwillingness to question Libya's strategic invocation of its precarious "security situation." As described by Libya, that situation really is magic -- somehow managing to prevent the Libyan government from doing anything to protect al-Senussi's rights without preventing the government from prosecuting al-Senussi. Consider the issue I...

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12 Oct

Pre-Trial Chamber I has granted Libya's challenge to the admissibility of the case against Abdullah al-Senussi. This is obviously a major win for the Libyan government, especially given that the very same PTC denied its admissibility challenge regarding Saif Gaddafi. There is much to like in the PTC's decision. It takes a very broad approach to the "same conduct" requirement with regard...

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10 Oct

In my previous post on the Taylor appeal, I noted two troubling aspects of the Appeals Chamber's judgment concerning customary international law: (1) its erroneous belief that legal principles that narrow criminal responsibility have to have a customary foundation; and (2) its hypocritical affirmation that recklesness is the mens rea of aiding and abetting (which goes beyond the ICTY and ICTR)...

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