In association with the International Commission of Jurists

International Criminal Law

13 Jun

It looks like the ICC Review Conference has reached consensus on a definition of the "crime of aggression" and the mechanisms governing the ICC Prosecutor's jurisdiction over such a crime.  According to the AFP, the new amendment to the Rome Statute provides: [T]hat the UN Security Council will hold primary responsibility for determining whether an act of aggression has occurred. But where...

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10 Jun

The news out of The Hague today is the genocide convictions of Popovic and Beara, both of whom the ICTY trial chamber found to be key leaders of the Srbrenica massacre of 1995.  Each was sentenced to life imprisonment, among the longest sentences for the ICTY. Lesser convictions and sentences were handed down to five other former Bosnian Serb officials....

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08 Jun

I couldn't make it to Kampala for the review conference (not that anyone invited me), but luckily, the magic of the internet means I don't have to go to find out how things are going.  For two really different takes on the negotiations, I highly recommend you follow EJIL Talk's ongoing coverage here and Brett D. Schaefer (of the Heritage...

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07 Jun

A few days ago, I recorded a conversation for Bloggingheads.tv with Mark Leon Goldberg of the invaluable UN Dispatch.  It was a wide ranging discussion -- and long, 45 minutes -- covering everything from the Gaza blockade to the definition of aggression to drone attacks.  Something tells me, though, that the only thing people will remember is my description of...

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07 Jun

I know Ken's busy finishing his book and can't yet reply to Marko's remarkable post.  (And personal congrats, Marko, on the lectureship.  Nottingham is lucky to have you!)  When he does, I hope he'll address the criminal-law aspects of his belief that self-defense justifies targeted killings outside of armed conflict.  I have two scenarios in mind, borrowed and adapted from...

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05 Jun

This would be amusing, were the Obama administration not backing Israel's insistence that any investigation into the attack on the flotilla be conducted (read: whitewashed) by Israel itself: When placed under journalistic scrutiny, the IDF is being forced to admit that its claims about the flotilla’s links to international terror are based on innuendo, not facts. On June...

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04 Jun

In addition to saying kind things about me, which I appreciate, Julian noted in his earlier post that Eric Posner has an editorial in today's Wall Street Journal that uses Lincoln's blockade of the Confederate States of America (CSA) to defend the legality of Israel's blockade of Gaza.  I find the editorial very unconvincing, for two reasons.  First, it provides...

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02 Jun

Julian beat me to the punch regarding the news that Peter Erlinder, the William Mitchell law professor who is one of the leading defense attorneys at the ICTR, has been arrested in Rwanda for "genocide denial" -- code for "criticizing the Kagame government."  There is no need to waste time criticizing the arrest; anyone who follows Rwanda knows that Kagame...

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01 Jun

Detained U.S. lawprof Peter Erlinder was hospitalized in Rwanda over the weekend after five hours of questioning. A St. Paul attorney jailed in Rwanda was hospitalized with high blood pressure today after being interrogated, according to his daughter and an attorney. Peter Erlinder, who is charged with promoting genocidal ideology, is expected to be kept in the hospital overnight and returned to jail...

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31 May

My friend and colleague Gerry Simpson has, along with other international-law luminaries, just published an open letter in The Guardian defending Judge Garzon's actions.  Here it is (emphasis mine): As teachers and practitioners of international law we note that the validity and effect of an amnesty granted by national law in respect of international crimes has been addressed by ...

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30 May

Winning Afghani hearts and minds, one dead civilian at a time: In the civilian deaths case, attack helicopters fired missiles and rockets into the convoy on a main road near Khod village, where U.S. Special Forces and Afghan troops were battling militants at the time, a summary of the investigation said. Commanders judged that the convoy contained...

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