In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Recent Posts

15 Mar

In 1958, Air Force Chief of Staff Thomas D. White wrote: “For all practical purposes air and space merge, form a continuous and indivisible field of operations.” White later coined the term “aerospace” and used it in a Congressional hearing. Later it was used in policy papers to explain why the U.S. Air Force would also have the responsibility for...

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15 Mar

[Tilman Rodenhäuser is a PhD candidate at the Graduate Institute in Geneva. He worked with different international and non-governmental organizations on the implementation of international humanitarian and human rights law.] It is uncontroversial that international law prohibits and criminalizes appalling crimes such as summary executions, torture, or rape and other forms of sexual violence. An understudied but increasingly relevant issue is...

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14 Mar

Along with more than 200 other lawyers and academics, I have signed an open letter to the UK government criticising the UK's investigatory powers bill -- aka the "Snooper's Charter." Here is the text of the letter: The UK’s investigatory powers bill receives its second reading on Tuesday. At present the draft law fails to meet international standards for surveillance powers....

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14 Mar

Here’s your weekly selection of international law and international relations headlines from around the world: Africa Al-Qaeda's North Africa branch claimed responsibility after six gunmen opened fire on civilians at an Ivory Coast beach resort, killing at least 16 people. Uganda has persistently violated the rights of its citizens and media in the aftermath of last month's presidential election which saw President Yoweri Museveni...

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13 Mar

Calls for Papers The Utrecht Journal of International and European Law is issuing a Call for Papers on ‘General Issues’ within International and European law. The Board of Editors invites submissions addressing any aspect of International and/or European law. All types of manuscripts, from socio-legal to legal technical to comparative, will be considered for publication. The Board of Editors will select articles based on quality...

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11 Mar

[Abdollah Abedini is an Assistant Professor of International Law at the Faculty of Law, Farabi College at the University of Tehran.] On December 19, 2015, John Kerry, the United States Secretary of State, sent a letter to Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister of Iran, on the US government’s firm intention to implement the JCPOA. The letter was issued pursuant to...

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11 Mar

It's been a rough U.S. presidential campaign season for free traders.  Very few of the candidates are willing to voice broad support for free trade and free trade agreements.  Populist candidates like Senator Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump have made some pretty ugly noises about either violating or withdrawing from existing trade agreements. Although Donald Trump's proposal for 45% tariffs on China...

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10 Mar

A transcript is now available for the Haiti Cholera Appeal:    Georges, et al. v. UN Oral Argument_ActiveUS(153242982)_ActiveUS(1)-Final In addition, the audio recording is available here. Of particular note were questions from the judges that addressed (i) whether domestic courts should have the right to determine the adequacy of remedies in tort actions involving the UN, (ii) why states parties have not...

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07 Mar

Here’s your weekly selection of international law and international relations headlines from around the world: Africa Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has travelled to Indonesia, defying an international warrant for his arrest, to attend an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit. South Africa’s human rights record will be reviewed for the first time by the UN Human Rights Committee. Africa Union peacekeeping forces (AMISOM) backed by Somali...

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07 Mar

In a tumultuous U.S. presidential campaign season, it is easy to conclude that the U.S. is hopelessly polarized between a proto-fascism and a proto-communism. But while there may be some truth to that observation with respect to immigration and economic policy, it is worth noting that the presidential candidates of both parties agree on many issues of foreign policy, even...

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06 Mar

Sponsored Announcements The Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law is happy to announce its call for applications to the 2016 Program of Advanced Studies on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, which takes place in Washington D.C. from May 31 – June 17. This annual Program offers 19 courses in English and Spanish lectured by over 40 scholars of relevance in...

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