Courts & Tribunals

[I serve as Special Adviser to the ICC Prosecutor on War Crimes. This post is written solely in my academic capacity.] Introduction A few weeks ago, I wrote a long response to an Open Letter calling on the Assembly of States Parties to interfere in the Prosecutor's investigation into the situation in Palestine. Opinio Juris has now published a new attack on...

[Triestino Mariniello is Professor of Law at Liverpool John Moores University (UK). He is also Member of the Legal Team representing Gaza Victims before the ICC. This post is written in his personal academic capacity.] On 3 December 2023, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) concluded his first mission to Israel and Palestine. In Israel, the Prosecutor met with survivors and...

[As stated on the Contributors page and in my full profile, I serve as Special Adviser to the ICC Prosecutor on War Crimes. This post is written in my personal academic capacity.] Introduction A group of scholars and practitioners have published an open letter to the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) expressing their "grave concern over the integrity of the Office of...

[Shawan Jabarin is General Director of Al-Haq. Ahmed Abofoul is an international lawyer, legal researcher and advocacy officer at Al-Haq, and a research fellow on international law and legal mobilization at the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam.] The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Mr Karim Khan, recently published an op-ed, which read more like a diplomatic...

[Mohammad H. Zakerhossein is an Assistant Professor at the University of Tehran, Iran] In recent times, the Gaza Strip has become the center of a devastating humanitarian crisis that only worsens by the hour, leaviång the world dismayed. The Palestinian people in Gaza have suffered immensely, with widespread destruction, loss of life, and unimaginable suffering. The conflict has reduced homes, schools,...

This post is an adapted from an article in the forthcoming Volume 26 of the Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law in which Sai Venkatesh, the Managing Editor of UNYB, interviewed Judge Hilary Charlesworth. It has been edited for blog format with permission.  Judge Hilary Charlesworth has had a profound impact on the advancement and development of international law over...

Introduction Of all the questions I've been asked concerning the latest round of violence in the Israel/Palestine situation, the most common is whether Israel's actions in Gaza amount to the war crime of collective punishment. Because of my role as a Special Advisor to the ICC Prosecutor, it would be inappropriate for me to address that question; there is, of course,...

[Chuka Arinze-Onyia is a practicing criminal defense lawyer with an avid interest in international justice issues. He authored this article during a recent stint as an International Justice in Africa Fellow with Amnesty International.] On 16 December 2022, the ICC Prosecutor announced that his office had concluded the investigation phase of its work in Central African Republic (CAR) and would not pursue new...

[Dr Letizia Lo Giacco is Assistant Professor of Public International Law at the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies of Leiden University] The International Court of Justice (ICJ, ‘the Court’) has recently heard the preliminary objections in the case Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v Russian Federation: 32 States...

[Gabrielle McIntyre is Chair of Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice, Co-cordinator of Africa Legal Aid’s Gender Mentoring Programme for International Judges; Independent international law consultant. Nicholas Vialle is a Pro Bono Lawyer (human rights, refugee and migration law), Australia; Independent international human rights law consultant.] This brings us to the second issue concerning the development of AI which may raise issues...

[Gabrielle McIntyre is Chair of Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice, Co-cordinator of Africa Legal Aid’s Gender Mentoring Programme for International Judges; Independent international law consultant. Nicholas Vialle is a Pro Bono Lawyer (human rights, refugee and migration law), Australia; Independent international human rights law consultant.] The explosion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems and corresponding evidence of significant efficiencies and innovation in...