In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Public International Law

17 Apr

[Safia K Southey is a student at Columbia Law School, with experience at Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Center for Justice and Accountability, and the International Center for Transitional Justice. She focuses on international law, Middle East policy, and alternative justice mechanisms.] On March 11, 2025, something unusual happened—the International Criminal Court (ICC) secured the arrest of a former head...

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16 Apr

[Andrew Forde is an Adjunct Lecturer at the Irish Centre for Human Rights.] In his famous poem, The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost laments the fact that travelling one road precludes travelling another but acknowledges that taking the road less travelled can make all the difference. The journey towards accountability for the crime of aggression has begun but we have reached a fork in the...

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08 Apr

[Ben Saul is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism] The Israeli human rights NGOs Public Committee Against Torture in Israel and Hamoked recently reported that around 6,800 Palestinians are detained by Israel outside the regular criminal justice process. Approximately 3,436 are held as “unlawful combatants” captured in Gaza – although...

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18 Mar

[Luciano Pezzano is Professor of Human Rights at the University of Business and Social Sciences (UCES, Argentina) and Lecturer of Public International Law at the National University of Cordoba (UNC, Argentina)] On 5 March 2025, the Republic of Sudan instituted proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the United Arab Emirates (UAE), for breaches of the Genocide Convention. The...

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13 Mar

[Dr Erica Harper is Head of Research and Policy Studies at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights] International humanitarian law (IHL) stands at a crossroads. Once a universal touchstone for safeguarding basic human dignity during conflict, its foundational norms are eroding at an alarming pace. The IHL in Focus: Annual Report (June 2023-July 2024) (‘the Report’) paints...

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11 Mar

When the news broke that the former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte had been arrested and detained upon arrival at Manila’s airport from an overseas trip, by Philippine police executing an international arrest warrant, it was the culmination of months of speculation. The political feud and infighting in the Philippines halls of power certainly facilitated this moment. But let us not forget, it’s been the relentless work...

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25 Feb

[Benjamin Thorne is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Criminal Law at the University of Reading] Almost 3 weeks into Donald Trump’s second term as US President and one could have been forgiven for becoming somewhat numb to the seemingly never ending conveyor belt of Executive Orders (EO) being announced. However, one particular EO jolted many from their numbness, not because it...

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12 Feb

[Emma Charlene Lubaale is a Ugandan Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Greenwich in London, and a non-resident Research Professor at Rhodes University’s Faculty of Law in South Africa. Some of her recent publications focus on National accountability for international crimes in Africa and the intersection of gender and criminal justice in Africa.] Introduction  Thomas Kwoyelo was a mid-level commander...

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10 Feb

[Nurul M. Azmi is a Legal Researcher and Ciara Laverty is a Legal Adviser with UpRights, an NGO which builds partnerships with victims, civil society, and judicial authorities to document human rights violations and international crimes, and identify and pursue effective legal pathways to accountability, including in the contexts of Ukraine and North Korea] Recent reporting has confirmed the deployment of...

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31 Jan

[Maria Crippa is a postdoctoral fellow in international criminal law at the University of Milan and a visiting researcher at the University of Tilburg. Matteo Colorio is a PhD candidate in international law at Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa and a visiting researcher at the University of Tilburg.] Introduction Osama Elmasry Njeem, also known as Elmasry, was arrested in Italy on...

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30 Jan

[Dr Eitan Diamond serves as Manager and Senior Legal Expert at the Diakonia IHL Centre in Jerusalem. Dr Ellen Nohle serves as a Senior Legal Advisor and Legal Team Coordinator at the Diakonia IHL Centre in Jerusalem.   Anna-Christina Schmidl serves as a Legal Advisor at the Diakonia IHL Centre in Jerusalem.] Introduction Between 7 October 2023, when hostilities broke out in Israel and Gaza,...

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29 Jan

[Dr Patrick Kroker is senior legal advisor with the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, where he is responsible for the center's work on accountability for crimes in Syria. He is a German-qualified attorney and, in this capacity, regularly represents survivors of international crimes in UJ investigations and trials, including in the first case on Syrian state torture in...

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