I've been meaning to write for a while now about Stefan Talmon's brilliant new article for the Chinese Journal of International Law, which is entitled "The United States under President Trump: Gravedigger of International Law." It's rare you see an international lawyer of Talmon's eminence and care give an article such a provocative title, so you know he must be...
Over at Just Security, my friend Adil Haque has written a fantastic post on self-defense and non-state actors. Adil’s main point is that Article 51 of the UN Charter does not apply to armed attacks by non-state actors given its “Latin American origin”. He explains how it should be read in accordance with the Act of Chapultepec, which referred only to inter-state uses of force. I highly...
[Ralph Janik teaches international law at the University of Vienna, Webster University Vienna, and the University of Rostock. He specializes in the interplay of international law and international relations. Twitter: @RalphJanik] A couple of days ago the research services of Germany’s parliament (the Bundestag) published an expert opinion on the legal aspects of Turkey’s Syria invasion. Its principal findings are clear: “Operation Peace Spring”...
I have seen a number of suggestions recently in the media that Turkey's invasion of Syria could lead to NATO being dragged into the conflict as a result of Art. 5 of the NATO treaty. Art. 5 provides, in relevant part, as follows: The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America...
In the late hours of 6 October 2019, the White House announced the withdrawal of US forces from northeastern Syria after a telephone call between US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The announcement shocked defense and intelligence officials and drew rare criticism from Republican lawmakers, who were not consulted before Trump’s decision and who viewed the withdrawal of US...
[Phil Clark is a Professor of International Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London. An Australian by nationality but born in Sudan, Dr Clark is a political scientist specialising in conflict and post-conflict issues in Africa, particularly questions of peace, truth, justice and reconciliation. This is the final post in our symposium on...
[Mark Drumbl is the Class of 1975 Alumni Professor and Director, Transnational Law Institute, Washington and Lee University. This is the latest post in our symposium on Phil Clark’s book, Distant Justice: The Impact of the International Criminal Court on African Politics.] I never thought this day would endI never thought tonight could ever beThis close to me-- The Cure (1985) from the album The Head on the...
[Xabier Agirre Aranburu is Head of the Investigative Analysis Section at the Investigations Division of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. The views expressed herein are those of the author alone, and do not reflect the views of the Office of the Prosecutor. This is the latest post in our symposium on Phil Clark’s book, Distant Justice: The Impact of the International Criminal Court...
[Kamari Maxine Clarke is a Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. This is the latest post in our symposium on Phil Clark’s book, Distant Justice: The Impact of the International Criminal Court on African Politics.] With a spectacular introductory opening that sets the stage for understanding Bosco Ntaganda’s appearance before the International Criminal Court (ICC), Phil Clark’s Distant Justice draws on eleven...
[Owiso Owiso is a Doctoral Researcher in Public International Law at the University of Luxembourg. This is the latest post in our symposium on Phil Clark’s book, Distant Justice: The Impact of the International Criminal Court on African Politics.] A distant ICC ‘orbiting in space’ as rogue regimes make merry This post makes a few observations on Phil Clark’s book Distant justice:...
[Phil Clark is a Professor of International Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London. An Australian by nationality but born in Sudan, Dr Clark is a political scientist specialising in conflict and post-conflict issues in Africa, particularly questions of peace, truth, justice and reconciliation. This is the latest post in our symposium...
[Patryk I. Labuda is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Thijs B. Bouwknegt is a Researcher at the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies (part of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, KNAW).] The International Criminal Court (ICC) is struggling. Fifteen years after it opened its first investigation, the Court has tried just a handful of cases. Only...