Robert Petit, the International Co-Prosecutor, is resigning effective September 1: In a statement, Robert Petit said he would be stepping down as of 1 September for personal and family reasons. “It has been the greatest privilege of my career to have the opportunity to bring some justice to the victims of the crimes of the Khmer Rouge,” he said. “I remain convinced...
Apparently, that bastion of freedom and human rights didn't get the memo that Holmes' infamous comment in Buck v. Bell -- that "three generations of imbeciles are enough" -- isn't exactly viewed as a shining moment in US constitutional jurisprudence: Rwanda is being urged to drop a draft law which would forcibly sterilise people who are mentally disabled. US-based campaign group Human...
After more than a decade of legal wrangling, Chile has finally ratified the Rome Statute. Chile's accession means that every country in South America is now a member of the ICC -- a significant accomplishment. Congratulations, Chile!...
A quick update on the OTP's efforts to include genocide charges in Bashir's arrest warrant. Pre-Trial Chamber I has now granted leave to appeal the issue I've discussed before -- whether it misunderstood Article 58's "reasonable grounds" requirement when it rejected the genocide charges. It's a very defensive decision, almost certainly written by Judge Steiner, who is the only holdover from...
(Note from Ken: OJ has been very pleased to have Amos Guiora guest-blogging with us last week, offering a series of posts on the question of administrative detention in Israel, and how its legal and security system address the many complex questions raised. I raised to Amos a question about the role of the judiciary in Israel in counterterrorism operations,...
Scott Horton has a typically must-read post today at Harpers.com on Jose Padilla's lawsuit against John Yoo, which, happily, just survived a motion to dismiss and appears to be headed to trial. Scott takes apart the state-secrets defense advanced by both Yoo and -- predictably -- the secrecy-obsessed Obama administration. Here's a taste: In seeking dismissal, Yoo argued that the case...
Florence Hartmann's contempt trial began today at the ICTY. Hartmann, a celebrated journalist who served as the Tribunal's spokesperson from 2000-2006, is charged with knowingly disclosing confidential Tribunal information: On 10 September 2007, a book entitled Paix et Châtiment, authored for publication by Florence Hartmann, was published by Flammarion. Pages 120-122 of the book Paix et Châtiment in particular disclose information...
Disclosure: I am one of Dr. Karadzic's legal associates. This post is offered with his consent. The defense team has just filed its definitive motion arguing that the Karadzic-Holbrooke cooperation agreement -- in which Holbrooke promised Dr. Karadzic that he would not be prosecuted at the ICTY if he cooperated with the international community's efforts to bring peace to the Balkans...
Deniz Aydiner wins the honors for one of the dumbest murderers ever. He was indicted for aggravated murder in 2003 and while the investigation was pending he returned to Turkey. The state of Oregon subsequently indicted him and sought to impose the death penalty. But Aydiner missed his wife so much that he just had to return...
People magazine reports: Before heading to the glitz and glamour of the Cannes Film Festival in France, Angelina Jolie spent Tuesday in a courtside booth at The Hague in the Netherlands watching the prosecution of warlord Thomas Lubanga, calling it "a landmark trial for children." At one point, Jolie found herself under the watchful eye of Lubanga, the founder and former leader...
Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC has summoned Bahar Idriss Abu Garda, a Darfuri rebel leader, to appear before the court to face war crimes charges: Abu Garda, member of the Zaghawa tribe of Sudan, is charged with three war crimes allegedly committed during an attack carried out on 29 September 2007 against the African Union Mission in Sudan (“AMIS”), a...
I realize that it's foolish to expect accuracy from the Wall Street Journal's editorial page, but it has outdone itself with the following statement, part of an editorial lavishing praise on Obama for resurrecting the military commissions: Another red herring is supposedly tightening the admissibility of hearsay evidence. Tribunal judges already have discretion to limit such evidence, and the current rules...
