In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Organizations

19 May

Earlier today, Russia called on the ICC to investigate possible war crimes committed by NATO forces during its bombing campaign in Libya: The International Criminal Court should look into all cases of NATO airstrikes in Libya that resulted in civilian deaths, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "We welcome the decision of ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo to consider alleged violations of international humanitarian...

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09 May

So reports Mark Kersten in a blockbuster post at Justice in Conflict.  You have to read the whole thing; here is a taste: While haggling between the ICC and Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) over the fate of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and Abdullah al-Senussi continues, Libya quietly, but controversially, passed a blanket amnesty for pro-Revolution rebels. According to Lawyers for Justice in...

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08 May

As I mentioned a few weeks back, I've been collecting treaty clauses for my book, The Oxford Guide to Treaties, on everything from NGO participation in treaties to their denunciation.  In doing so, I tried to cast a wide net, sampling treaties from a wide variety of bilateral and multilateral contexts involving all sorts of States and all sorts of subjects....

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08 May

Things are getting ugly at the ICC.  The Office of Public Counsel for the Defence, which has been appointed to protect Saif Gaddafi's interests at the Court, has now moved to disqualify Moreno-Ocampo from Saif's case on the ground that he "lacks the requisite impartiality to direct the investigations and prosecutions" because of his "repeated failure to respect the presumption...

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30 Apr

Of course, that means it's been a much better week for anyone who isn't so keen on the prospect of attacking Iran.  I'm not sure the nails are in Netanyahu's political coffin quite yet, but the carpenters are certainly gathering their supplies.  First up, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, Chief of Staff of the IDF, rejecting the notion that Iran is...

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30 Apr

The blog, which has been uniformly excellent to date, is dedicated to exploring maritime piracy in all its dimensions.  Here is the description: Piracy is on the rise because of failed states and crushing poverty. A majority of modern pirate attacks originate in the Horn of Africa in Somalia although there is now a growing problem in the Gulf of Guinea. This...

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26 Apr

At International Criminal Law Bureau, Kirsty Sutherland calls attention to a surprise moment during the Taylor verdict that has received, to the best of my knowledge, absolutely no attention from the media: In an unexpected turn of events, as Justice Lussick (Presiding), Justice Doherty and Justice Sebutinde rose to leave the courtroom after delivering the verdict, Justice Sow addressed the Court:  “The...

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23 Apr

I am delighted to announce that over the next few days Opinio Juris will be hosting a symposium on what is increasingly called, following Tel Aviv University's Aeyal Gross, the "functional approach" to the law of occupation.  Here is the description that was sent to the contributors: Occupation law has undergone significant evolution in modern times, and cases such as Iraq...

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22 Apr

In my previous post, I discussed the Registry's report of its visit with Saif Gaddafi in Libya, which was posted on the ICC website and then removed without explanation a few hours later.  It has come to my attention that the Office of Public Counsel for the Defence (OPCD) also prepared a report of that visit -- and that the...

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21 Apr

So reports Radio Netherlands Worldwide.  The dispute, not surprisingly, involves Luis Moreno-Ocampo and Libya: This week the court’s public defender, Xavier-Jean Keita, accused chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo of siding with the Libyans and demanded he be removed from the case. In a court filing boiling with indignation, he accused Ocampo of making misleading statements during a visit to Tripoli this week...

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