In the first place, I want to express my thanks to the hosts of Opinio Juris and to the editors of the Yale Journal of International Law for the opportunity to discuss this piece in a public forum—and, above all, to Derek Jinks for kindly taking the time to read and comment on it. What animated this article is my...
The Yale Journal of International Law (YJIL) is pleased to continue its partnership with Opinio Juris in this third online symposium. Today, Friday, and Monday we will feature three Articles published by YJIL in Vol. 34-1, which is available for download here. Thank you very much to Peggy McGuinness and the other Opinio Juris bloggers for hosting and...
Homework, people, homework: Bangladesh may request the International Criminal Court to put on trial Pakistani forces for alleged war crimes, a top official said Tuesday. 'We will take the matter to the International Criminal Court and seek the trial of the members of the Pakistani occupation forces who committed crimes against humanity during our liberation war,' State Minister for Liberation War...
Our colleagues at International Law Observer asked me to write a post for them in honor of the blog's second anniversary. I was delighted to do so, and the post is now up. It's a long reflection on the pros and cons of international law blogging -- a timely subject, I think, given that I have been cited twice by...
The more things change, the more things stay the same -- at least with this administration: He had become the most vocal opponent of the trial of Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr, taking on a position more akin to politician than lawyer and launching a two-year public and media campaign that landed him on the front pages of newspapers and inside...
I know I shouldn't let mainstream American conservatives' ignorance of international law bother me, but it does. Today's example: The United States is not a signatory to the International Criminal Court, and Spanish judge and prosecutor Baltasar Garzon is a good reason why. He is considering a lawsuit by lawyers for human rights groups seeking the arrest and extradition of six former...
Back in February, I noted that the ASIL Task Force on U.S. Policy Toward the International Criminal Court had adopted a set of recommendations for how the Obama Administration could take steps to engage with the ICC in new, more positive ways than the preceding Bush Administration. As part of the ASIL Conference last week, the Task Force released a...
Oy vey iz mir. The blogosphere is positively abuzz (see here and here) with the news that the ICTY Trial Chamber has used my post about meeting Dr. Karadzic to supports its recent decision that he speaks English for purposes of the Statute and Rules of the Tribunal, a decision that relieves the Prosecution of the obligation to translate its...
A quip that is often heard at gatherings international lawyers is "If I were [insert name of some prominent Bush Administration official], I wouldn't plan on any more vacations in Europe." Well, after all the talk of possible European prosecutions of one or more officials from the previous administration, the possibility has now taken a step closer towards becoming reality....
The Institute for War and Peace Reporting's article today about Darfur is entitled "Darfuris' Mixed Feelings Over Bashir Warrant." When I first saw the title, I thought that the article was going to discuss Darfuris who believe that the warrant will undermine the possibility of a lasting peace in the region. My bad: “We are really very happy about the arrest...
In response to my previous posts on the correct interpretation of Article 58, Alex de Waal asked three lawyers to answer the following two questions: 1. Did the Pre-Trial Chamber misinterpret Article 58's "reasonable grounds" standard? 2. If so, does the Prosecution Application establish reasonable grounds to believe Bashir is responsible for genocide? It's an interesting survey. Two of the three lawyers agreed...
It's called The Reckoning, and although I have not had a chance to see it yet -- like New Zealand, Australia lags embarrassingly behind the Northern Hemisphere in getting movies, especially documentaries -- I've heard nothing but good things. It even made Sundance, a tremendous accomplishment for any documentary. Here is the synopsis: Late in the 20th century, in response to...
