In association with the International Commission of Jurists

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05 Jun

According to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, forensic examination has shown that the Syrian regime used sarin gas against the rebels. He added that all options are now on the table regarding the response to the situation in Syria. Syrian troops, assisted by Hezbollah militia, have seized control of the strategic city of Qusair. The US International Trade Commission has sided with Samsung in its ongoing...

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04 Jun

The indefatigable Benjamin Wittes at Lawfare has a short post describing a lively exchange between the Chinese and Filipino representatives at MILSOPS, an invitation-only off-the-record meeting of top military officials from the Asia-Pacific region, about China's nine-dash-line claim to the South China Sea. Apparently, this has been an ongoing debate at this annual conference. Last year, the Chinese representative presented this...

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04 Jun

[Jennifer Trahan is associate clinical professor at NYU’s Center for Global Affairs (NYU-SCPS). She is also chair of the American Branch of the International Law Association International Criminal Court Committee and was a member of the American Bar Association’s 2010 International Criminal Court Task Force.] Yesterday, June 3, 2013, Germany deposited its instrument of ratification of the Kampala Amendment on the crime...

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04 Jun

As readers of Opinio Juris know, Ryan Goodman argues in a forthcoming article in the European Journal of International Law  that: "the modern law of armed conflict supports the following maxim: if enemy combatants can be put out of action by capturing them, they should not be injured; if they can be put out of action by injury, they should not be killed; and...

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04 Jun

Here's the official explanation: the US had yet to "satisfactorily complete" the "process of conforming the official translations" of the agreement. Via Twitter, FP's David Bosco sees a back-up excuse once the analysts at State finish reading the French version: US delays signing arms trade treaty as experts verify that no provisions were written in invisible ink. Bosco is almost certainly on the...

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04 Jun

Sixty-three states have signed the UN Arms Trade Treaty on the first day that is was open for signature, and at least three more are expected to do so in the next few days. The US will ratify once all official translations have been completed. The head of the IAEA has expressed his frustration about the lack of progress in nuclear...

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03 Jun

A quick reminder to all readers that the American Journal of International Law is looking for submission on "Transnational Human Rights Litigation After Kiobel." You can see Opinio Juris' own discussion on the topic here.  The June 15th deadline for the AJIL Agora is approaching. Here is the call for submissions, which is also available on the ASIL's website. Call for AJIL Agora Submissions:  Transnational Human...

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03 Jun

Pfc Bradley Manning's trial over his whistleblowing to WikiLeaks finally starts today. Anti-government protests in Turkey have reached their fourth day. Foreign Policy Blog asks how democratic Turkey is. The UN Arms Trade Treaty opens for signature today in a ceremony at the UN Headquarters. Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court has ruled Parliament's upper house to be illegal but stopped short of dissolving it. Palestinian President...

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02 Jun

A couple of months ago, the ICTY Appeals Chamber acquitted Momčilo Perišić, the Chief of the General Staff of the Yugoslav Army, of aiding and abetting various international crimes committed by the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) during the war in the Balkans. According to the Appeals Chamber, when a defendant is accused of aiding and abetting crimes committed by an organization,...

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01 Jun

By any standard, the Pre-Trial Chamber's rejection of Libya's admissibility challenge is a crushing defeat for the Libyan government. Libya's challenge failed for two basic reasons: (1) Libya is not investigating the same case as the OTP; and (2) Libya is currently unable to genuinely prosecute Saif. I will address the first ground, which I think is legally correct but...

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01 Jun

This week on Opinio Juris, we teamed up with SHARES Blog for a symposium on the intersection between the law of the sea and the law of responsibility, introduced here by Kristen. A first series of posts dealt with whaling. Natalie Klein contrasted responsibility regimes on whales and sharks. In his comment, Tim Stephens expressed hope that the ICJ will apply...

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