From the Sudan Tribune: The Sudanese government today reiterated its rejection the proposal set of an African Union (AU) to setup hybrid tribunals to try Darfur war crimes suspects. Speaking to reporters in Cairo the Sudanese presidential adviser Mustafa Osman Ismail said that Khartoum accepts the AU report “in its generalities” and the “African solution for the Darfur crisis”. Asked about the hybrid...
Having been pilloried from all sides about my insistence that Dr. Karadzic should be given more time to prepare for trial, it's important to note that I am not the only one who thinks that. Bogdan Ivanisevic, who works for the International Center for Transitional Justice -- a group that can hardly be accused of being soft on Dr. Karadzic...
Reuter's reports on a speech given by Philip Alston at the UN, criticizing the US for its drone attacks or, at a minimum, for not being forthcoming on its drone attacks. Philip - a friend and well known to many OJ readers as an NYU law professor - is the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial execution. (I would be curious...
As trial-watchers know, Judge Kwon implied today that he will impose counsel on Dr. Karadzic next week if he continues to boycott the trial. It's worth noting, therefore, that nothing in the ICTY Statute or the ICTY Rules of Procedure permit the Trial Chamber to hold the trial in Dr. Karadzic's absence, even if he is represented by counsel. The...
I just finished giving an interview about the Karadzic case to the BBC's World Today program. It was, to say the least, a shocking experience. I assumed that they wanted to ask about Dr. Karadzic's decision to boycott the beginning of the trial -- why he made it, what it means for the trial, etc. My bad! Instead, the first...
I have to admit, when I first heard about the Mbeki Panel, I was skeptical. I assumed that the Panel's report would be a typical apologia for the Sudanese government's crimes, criticizing the ICC and defending the African Union's promise not to surrender Bashir to the Court. It looks like I owe Mbeki an apology. The recommendation section of the report...
Yes, says John Bellinger in Thursday's Washington Post: While it has done important work, the tribunal has largely outlived its utility for both sides -- and the Obama administration could face a significant international legal challenge if the tribunal orders the United States to make large monetary payments to the Iranian government. . . . When it was set up under the...
I will remain agnostic until I can read the actual report, but a new article in the Sudan Tribune seems encouraging: The African Union (AU) panel that was tasked with balancing peace and accountability in Darfur has made an implicit endorsement of the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutions despite unfavorable disposition to the issue by African leaders and also called for...
Here's a fun game everyone can play. Take five minutes (and no more than five minutes) to list the five most important treaties ever. By "important" I mean in terms of historical significance--i.e., their impact on human history. Thus, despite the views of some, focus on what the treaty did (or did not) do, rather than its potential. This, I think,...
Jonathan Adler, a blogger at The Volokh Conspiracy, has asked me what I think about the editorial that Robert Bernstein, the founder of Human Rights Watch, published yesterday in the New York Times criticizing the organization's coverage of Israel. My basic response: although I disagree with much of what Bernstein has to say, his criticisms must give anyone pause, because...
One of the pleasures of teaching at Washington College of Law is that so many of your colleagues are involved in so many real world public international law activities. They include our dean, Claudio Grossman, who in his capacity of chair of the UN committee against torture, today addressed the General Assembly. (I'll try to provide a webcast link; can't...
I had resolved to avoid blogging about Bernstein's endless series of attacks on Human Rights Watch, but I couldn't let the following pass without at least some acknowledgement: At what point does the MSM stop treating HRW as a neutral source on human rights in the Middle East, and start treating it like the left-wing, anti-Israel, anti-Western organization it has openly...
