On 7 August 2012, in response to Moreno-Ocampo's decision not to accept Palestine's ad hoc acceptance of the ICC's jurisdiction, Bill Schabas and John Dugard submitted a letter -- signed by 30 leading ICL experts -- to the Assembly of States Parties asking it to place the issue of Palestine's statehood on the agenda of its November 2012 session. The...
Article 37(1) of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR) provides that a diplomat's immunity extends to cover "[t]he members of the family of a diplomatic agent forming part of his household ...
John Kyl, Douglas Feith, and John Fonte have this offering in the July/August edition of Foreign Affairs. It's a strong restatement of the sovereigntist position on the incorporation of international law from a powerful trio - Kyl, the sovereigntist legislator par excellence; Feith, the veteran executive branch point-man; and Fonte, the house intellectual. But the piece feels tired from the...
Human Rights Watch has called on China to end forcible relocations of ethnic Tibetans. South Korea's President Park is in Beijing for her first talks with the new Chinese administration, in a visit that is seen as increasing pressure on North Korea to return to nuclear disarmament negotiations. EU Finance Ministers have agreed on a blueprint on how to deal with bank...
I want to call readers' attention to "Assessing the Control Theory," an important new essay written by three of the best substantive international criminal lawyers. Here is the abstract of the essay, which is forthcoming in the Leiden Journal of International Law: As the first cases before the ICC proceed to the Appeals Chamber, the judges ought to critically evaluate the...
Violent clashes in China's western Xinjiang province, home to the Uighur minority, have killed 27 people. President Obama gave his long-awaited speech on climate change yesterday, but it fell short of environmentalists' expectations. During his visit to the Middle East, US Secretary of State Kerry has been pressed by Saudi leaders to respond to the "genocide" in Syria. US officials are hoping...
The Taleban has claimed responsibility for an attack on the compound that houses the Presidential Palace and the CIA Headquarters in Kabul. US Secretary of State Kerry has meanwhile assured Afghanistan's neighbours that the US will maintain a military presence even after next year's withdrawal of combat troops. The mystery surrounding Edward Snowden's whereabouts continues, as does the diplomatic fallout. In his...
After weeks of anticipation, I finally had a chance to watch the premiere of Crossing Lines, the new NBC drama about a police unit that works for the International Criminal Court. As a police procedural, the show is not bad. William Fichtner is fantastic as always. Production values are extremely high. Bringing together detectives and investigators from a number of...
Edward Snowden has left Hong Kong for Moscow, a first stop on his way to Ecuador via Cuba and Venezuela. The NYTimes' blog reports that the final call to let Snowden leave was made by China. Israel has carried out air strikes in the Gaza strip after rockets were fired into Israel overnight. The Emir of Qatar is expected to announce today...
I considered adding a question mark to the title of this post, but there's really no need. I argued a couple of days ago that the real scandal concerning Judge Harhoff's letter was the Judge's willingness to reveal confidential discussions between the ICTY's judges. We now have to acknowledge another aspect of the scandal: quite understandably, defence attorneys are making...
I read my friend Andrew Guzman's book Overheated: The Human Cost of Climate Change with great interest because I know Guzman is exceedingly capable at communicating complex ideas in an accessible format. He's done that throughout his career, and Overheated is no exception. Like Hari Osofsky, I commend the book to our readers. Before you teach...
This week on Opinio Juris, Kevin flagged three problems with the PTC's decision on Libya's obligation to surrender al-Senussi to the ICC. He also discussed Libya's admissibility challenge: he criticized the defence's response to the challenge for adopting the due process thesis and he argued why the President's refusal to excuse one of the Appeals Chamber judges is erroneous. Kevin also turned his...
